Proverbs 24:1-3 (ESV)

[1] Be not envious of evil men,

nor desire to be with them,

[2] for their hearts devise violence,

and their lips talk of trouble.

[3] By wisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;

This chapter begins and ends with the same idea. Do not envy evil doers. Build with wisdom and understanding. How often we look at the wealth and experiences of those who do not follow God, and envy their lifestyle!? We somehow buy into the idea that if only we had what they have, if only we had the breaks they got, if only we possessed what they possess, or experienced what they experience, then we could be really happy. But it is all a lie, a smokescreen.

It is amazing how we pattern our lives after the wicked and place them up on pedestals as models for life. Foul mouthed comedians breed more foul mouthed comedians and foul mouthed followers. Self-centered artists and actors/actresses are exalted, celebrated, and emulated. The recent Me-Too movement has exposed countless actors for who they really are. People that we held in high regard turned out to be lechers, immoral individuals who lacked the respect and self-control that decency demands. We discovered that people we thought might be believers, or at least felt that they modeled Christian behavior, were in fact nothing more than immoral, self-centered individuals.

We have envied and followed after a lie. But wisdom leads down another path altogether. Wisdom recognizes that God is there behind the scenes taking notes. “If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?” (Prov 24:12). Wisdom listens to wise counsel rather than to the distortions and false images of a world that is more interested in appearance than in substance.

Wisdom recognizes and embraces the value of delayed gratification over instant gratification. Wisdom understands that in the end, “the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out” (Prov 24:20). Wisdom refuses to take advantage of others. It speaks truth, works honestly, and lives justly. Wisdom doesn’t make a big splash. It doesn’t promote self. But wisdom is the path to follow. Let’s look behind the curtain of celebrity smokescreens and realize the vanity and emptiness of their ways. Let us embrace wisdom and stop envying the lifestyle of the wicked. Let us walk the path of God’s wisdom, not the world’s.