Vice Versa

(Pro 17:11 KJV)  An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

(Pro 17:11 NAS77) A rebellious man seeks only evil, So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  When you see these two translations side by side you see that the order of rebellion and evil are reversed.  If you compare multiple translations you find this repeated.  I don’t know enough about Hebrew to make a case for either so I will work with what I can figure out.

The evil is clear.  No matter how you define it, evil is bad.  That is by definition.  Not so with rebellion.  Most of us would accept that there are times when rebellion is necessary and the responsible thing to do.  The problem comes when rebellion is your default mode.

We often talk about children going through their rebellious stage.  Some never get over it and move on.  That is the person referred to here.  When your go-to response to any direction or correction is, “Well, of yeah?” you are this person.

So?  There may be times when God wants us to reject something being presented to us or forced upon us.  We don’t do this in the spirit of rebellion but in the desire to reject evil.  See the difference?  Think about it and see if it makes any difference in your day.