Day 39, Year 1 Eradicating the Wisdom of Doing Evil

“For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” (Jeremiah 4:22 NKJV)

“‘Bad, bad,’ says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts.” (Proverbs 20:14 NASB)

Contrary to righteousness and uprightness are unrighteousness and crookedness; behind them is the wisdom of doing evil. We believe that living in a world filled with sins does not necessarily mean that overt crimes like murder or arson are common. Rather, it means that internal and external evils such as treacheries, etc., are prevalent. The above verses highlight what constitutes evil.

First, being the people of God yet not knowing Him illustrates a disconnection between identity and pursuit. For believers, knowing God is a very normal thing, but some people only settle for being nominal believers or churchgoers. As a result, they lack the knowledge to do good since the source of goodness, whether directly or indirectly, is God alone. In their daily lives, what they pursue is more or less the wisdom of doing evil. Actually, unbelievers who do evil seem to receive less punishment than nominal believers who do evil. This is because unbelievers, at least, commit one less sin of hypocrisy, and their hearts might still be somewhat honest.

Second, the latter verse documents a common social phenomenon in the Old Testament time, which is the potential evil that emerged in buying and selling. Buyers might repeatedly disparage the items they intend to purchase so as to bargain for a lower price. Once they secure the goods, they boast about their smartness in the bargaining. The transaction process might involve multiple instances of falsehoods and deceptions. Hence, some might find it challenging to do no evil in certain situations, customs, or systems.

To eradicate the wisdom of doing evil, we should first ask God for a heart that desires to know Him substantially. Simultaneously, we should abandon the motive of profit-making through evil means, even being willing to suffer losses, recognizing that a lifestyle that profits from wrongdoing is foolish and causes disaster for us. Furthermore, pursuing the knowledge and wisdom derived from knowing God, especially how to adjust our attitudes toward life to act following His will, is the firm foundation of doing good.

Reflection questions:

1) What difficulties do you encounter in desiring to know God and receiving His knowledge and wisdom to do good? How would you resolve the problems in doing so if you have any?

2) What would be the first step to eradicating the wisdom of doing evil and changing your attitude to living godly?