(Prov 6:12-14 KJV) A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
In the King James version of the Old Testament the word ‘naughty’ occurs only 3 times and the word ‘nice’, does not appear at all. Naughty is generally used as a substitute word for being deceitful, bad or evil and has more in common with being double minded or speaking with a forked tongue… the man that winks or gestures is a man that is conveying alternative secret messages, not being open or honest. Jesus was not crucified because he was ‘naughty’ - Jesus was a straight talker and true to his word. Neither was Jesus ‘nice’, ‘nice’ people are generally people that have no strong conviction or values and continually yield to please others, that is why they are considered ‘nice’.
I really only appreciated the difference recently after growing a herb garden… Like a good gardener, first I had to prepare the soil by removing rocks, rubbish and weeds that would impact the plants growth, next there was the heat of the sun and ensuring that my plants had enough shade and water. Lastly, I enjoyed watching butterflies come and go, but slowly the leaves of my herbs were devoured by hungry caterpillars.
My dilemma was that I have always been a ‘nice’ man, I loved insects but I also loved these plants and my ‘niceness’ was the thought that there was probably enough leaves to sustain all. As it turned out, some of my plants leaves were devoured to such an extent that they suffered badly. So I began to question my righteousness.
Another enlightening incident occurred when I spent a few days in the damp bush and found myself the victim of blood sucking leeches. Again leeches are fascinating creatures and like caterpillars have no say in their creation, their nature or their short life span…is such an attitude… loving niceness or neglectful stupidity?
Would I have been so complacent about the leeches if they had been hungry bears, wolves or vampires? More recently a man in Western Australia was totally debilitated by a disease transmitted from a mosquito. Many of these tiny killers seem to thrive in areas where people either shouldn’t live or areas that people should make more liveable. Leeches thrive in swamps and mosquitoes in stagnant pools… not really good home sites. If we look back through human history, we see millions decimated by plagues passed on by fleas, rats and other creatures that have been allowed to live alongside human habitations…. millions have also died through drinking water that was filthy and contaminated by inappropriate lifestyles…. Not to mention the millions killed by human transmitted diseases, famine and war…. So if we live by the swamp, we must expect to die by the swamp….and maybe over time, develop an evolutionary immunity.
The responsible father or gardener must care for his offspring by settling in a wise place and protecting his garden from pests that would steal, destroy and kill…. whatever consumes without providing a sustainable future is contrary to life. Anything that behaves like this is evil. More dangerous still is the appearance of goodness that cloaks its evil with attractive words and imagery.
(Mat 7:15 KJV) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
NAUGHTY OR NICE