They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord.
We Shouldn’t Ask why Evil Happens
Laws cannot stop evil, and we should know that by now. We need to stop living in a bubble.
When I hear commentators ask how to stop the carnage like the one that happened in Florida on Valentine’s Day, I shudder because to every believer, the answer is very clear. Sin is the culprit. Not guns, not laws, not circumstance, but sin.
A worldly focus
Sadly, the focus in the media misses the point. When a man is determined to destroy, the media goes silent in its echo chamber by rushing to offer explanations that are utter platitudes, that ignore the spiritual.
Why so much mass carnage, they ask? Is this a contagion, they ask? Is this happening because it’s due to lack of compassion, mental illness, youth culture and its proclivities, parental negligence?
A man consumed with hate took the lives of 17 individuals and injured many in his wake. A man led by wickedness did this. A man. A man fully controlled by his own faculties. This crime in Florida is not a gun issue. Moreover, a gun problem should not be conflated with a mental health issue. These are two exclusive entities.
Guns in the hands of the wrong person are dangerous indeed, yet many on the crusade to ban guns are not qualified to assess the threat and manage the risk. Just like we expect our public safety officials to be trained to identify and predict violent behavior, we should—as soldiers of Christ—train ourselves to be discerning of the culture, utilizing our biblical world-view to observe all things. We need to be armed with our sword to protect ourselves and those we love, taking the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
A Biblical focus
Last night, my husband led our family altar. We looked at the word froward. What does it mean, how is it manifested, who are the froward?
It’s an old word found in the KJV of the Bible. To be froward means to be habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition to someone or something like a law. Similes of the word froward are to go wrong, backsliding, twisted, distorted, or crooked.”
The bible is replete with mentions of the froward but to sum it up, Proverbs 11: 20 says:
They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord.
Laws of man cannot stop evil from flourishing because the froward and wicked will continue to be ruled by the works of darkness. They will rebel against truth. Rebel against good. Rebel against God. Outlaws will find a means to destroy themselves and others with weapons, be they:
Hands. Knives. Guns. Bombs. Fires. Words.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:5-6
Imagine what God sees daily, all that is hidden from our view. Imagine how vexed He is at the sight of man’s hidden sin, the secrets of his thoughts, the darkness of his heart.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9
We cannot know our own hearts. We cannot know the hearts of others. But the Lord knows it better than we can pretend to.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. Romans 7:18
The answer is Christ
In this world, dear friends, we will never evade evil and all its fruit. The prince of the power of the air works in the children of disobedience. But we know that Christ is the answer; however, saying so today has become a platitude in our churches, our society, our families, and our psyche.
The Holy Spirit who dwells in the life of a regenerated person is the answer.
We need to look at people—not all the contributing factors in the periphery—as free willing agents of their own lives. God gave us that free will to do as we want. Broken homes, public schools, mental illness, laws of man are all peripheral issues—but the lost person is whom the Lord came to save. That person from a broken home, fatherless, indoctrinated by the humanist public school system is whom He came to save and die for on the cross of Calvary. We need not ever forget that.
For more posts on this subject, read here.
We live in such a sad and fallen world and the media does miss the point. TY for your thought provoking post this morning. Blessings sweet sister … ❤
Thank you Donna, for your response. We need to pray and that should never be out of season, despite what the world says.
Erendira, you bring up many good points. We do need to remember we are soldiers of Christ. And we need to ask Him to help us view the things that happen in this world with His perspective.
“Sin is the problem, Christ is the answer.” Yes. And may we remember this in our ways of viewing the events that happen in our world. Thank you, Erendira.
Thank you, Jeanne, for your insight and sensibility. I am glad we can see the culture through a biblical lens. Afterall, we are called to live for Him and that includes our vision.
Well said, Erendira. All you say is true. And sadly our society, including the schools, largely forgets–no, rejects that.
And those of us in Jesus must also remember that our life before Jesus also was twisted and froward. BUT- Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as you say.
But the Gospel means Good News as I am sure you know. And the Good News is that we are not helpless nor powerless before our lost and hurting nation. We have not only the message of Jesus and His Kingdom, but the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the sole and needed answer-a new Great Awakening and Reformation.
We don’t have to be a majority, for greater is He who is in us that is he who is in the world. And we believers are a far greater percentage of society than was the early church who were a tiny, obscure, poor, uneducated, despised group of people with little or no worldly influence -who yet “turned the world upside down!” The world has usually been changed by small groups with powerful convictions who were willing to risk all.
The best is yet to be for America, one nation under God! Shalom, sister!
Yes, thank you for your thorough response. So glad you were able to find some truth and share it here too!
Wow, that last paragraph of the comment hit a chord for me. Bottom line, with God on our side, we ARE the majority. And the truthful fact of how small they were in number at the birth of Christianity should be encouraging and motivating for the Body of Christ to get out and speak loudly and take loving but firm action.
Wow again! Great comment and inspiring for this reader.
Yes, Ruthenna, victory in Jesus is already a certainty. Therefore, we have nothing to fear. As long as we honor truth and proclaim it, we are on the right track!
So much TRUTH! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Leslie, for stopping by.
Well said! Sin is the culprit and Jesus is the answer! Praying for hearts to hold onto this truth in difficult times!
Yes, Stacey, prayer is needed, despite what the world says.