Walking with the Wise #205: In Hot Pursuit

“The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but He loves him who pursues righteousness.”—Proverbs 15:9

Man is rather complex—filled with desires, dreams, delights and disappointments. There are so many different things man could choose to be with endless career choices, vocations, callings, concerns. Add in different ethnic backgrounds, educational opportunities, hobbies and interests, and man becomes very hard to nail down to one particular way of life. Nevertheless God places man into one of two categories: either man is righteous or he is wicked. There are no other choices.

God is extremely black and white when it comes to knowing and living for Him. Man can rail all he wants against God’s categories, but it will do no good. Man can categorize himself, creating hundreds if not thousands of subgroups, but in the end it still comes back to one of two ways—wickedness or righteousness; there is nothing else.

The way of the wicked, or the path, pursuits, and purposes of the wicked, are an abomination to God, because they do not involve God as the main pursuit of life. Whether it is denying God’s existence, stating that it is impossible to know whether He exists, redefining Him to fit some of our personal preferences, or some vain and frivolous attempt to pacify God by giving Him an honorary position in our life-- in no way can any of these fool Him. God knows everything about us. In fact, He knows us better than we know ourselves. God wants our heart and if He has our heart, everything else will follow. There is no amount of pacifying or placating Him. We can’t trick or fool Him, He is the perfect judge who is and contains justice within Himself.

If God is God then it is our responsibility to love, adore, and honor Him by ordering our life to show His excellence. We are to pursue and love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Such a life lived in devotion to Him is something He delights in, as the Bible says:

“Delight yourself in the LORD,
and He will give you the desires of your heart”
—Psalm 37:4.

May we live such a life that finds its delight in Him! May His name continually be upon our hearts, and may His praise be upon our lips, as we seek to know Him—for His glory and our joy. Amen.