Guided and Protected

"The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead" (Proverbs 11:3-8)

These six verses are strung together for us so that we can learn the wonderful value of a godly life when it comes to guidance and protection from the hardships of life. Just as a lighthouse offers guidance and protection for ships on a stormy night, integrity guides us down a path with far fewer obstacles. Not so with  a life of treachery, especially when it comes to the day we die.

Our money cannot buy us a long life. When the "day of wrath" (death) hits, our money is no good anymore. The righteousness we have, because of our faith in God, is what protects us from His wrath on that day that awaits us all. Until that day arrives, it is our righteous living that guides us down a path that has fewer pitfalls, problems, and roadblocks. The wicked are the ones who ultimately fall due to their misguided lives.

When death hits the wicked, all their hope is gone. Their hope of amassing enough wealth to bring them life is evaporated by the reality of their spiritual poverty. Their money can neither guide them toward real life nor protect them from a broken life.

While the righteous experience deliverance, the wicked remain trapped by their own lusts and wounded by their own trouble. Haman, the treacherous man we meet in the book of Esther, found this out first hand. It seems the trouble he planned for Mordecai backfired onto him instead. It was his own ship that hit the rocks he planted for another.

The righteous are guided and protected in life while "the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them." Seems we all have a choice to make as we face the day of wrath.