Oct 27 - Psalm 7:14-15

The wicked … are …

pregnant with trouble

and give birth to lies.

They dig a pit to trap others

and then fall into it themselves.

Psalm 7:14-15

 

Men, let me save you a lot of grief. The most important question to NEVER ask a woman is …

 

Are you pregnant?

 

Even if the woman appears to be thirty-nine and a half weeks along, you’re better off talking about the weather until she’s holding the baby or she says something about it to you.

 

Good advice … nevertheless, I think it would be wise if we in society talked a little more about pregnancy – the Psalm 7 kind of pregnancy.

 

Too many people in our world are “pregnant with trouble.” Unfortunately, it’s politically incorrect to talk about wickedness nowadays. Only tolerance is tolerated.

 

As Christians, we are called to be loving. It should be our absolute calling card. But is tolerance really love?

 

Let me tell you a story: A year or two ago, a friend of mine was trying to take a picture. To get the whole scene in the frame, she backed up … and backed up … and backed up … until she tripped. Falling, she broke both writes.

 

If we see someone backing up blindly toward the edge of a cliff, shouldn’t we warn them? Isn’t that the loving thing to do?

 

Wickedness is a cliff.

 

In just one book of the Bible – Proverbs – look at all the things that wickedness is associated with …

 

·         treachery and injustice (2:22, 19:28),

·         compromises and lies (25:26, 6:12),

·         hurt and harm (9:7),

·         danger and fear (28:15, 28:28),

·         cravings and addiction (10:3),

·         “shame and disgrace” (13:5),

·         worry and moaning (24:19, 29:2)

·         hatred and tyranny (29:27, 29:16),

·         darkness and trouble (4:19, 15:6),

·         alienation and evil (15:29, 15:28),

·         crushing, hatred and punishment (20:26,29:27, 21:18),

·         ravages and abomination (3:32, 11:11),

·         “contempt, shame, and disgrace” (18:3),

·         perversion and violence (17:23, 21:7),

·         futility and corruption (10:28, 10:32),

·         desolation and the weight of sin (10:30, 11:5),

·         “murderous ambush” and ensnaring traps (12:6, 12:13),

·         great wrath and “the curse of the Lord” (11:23, 3:33),

·         death and destruction (10:27, 3:25).

 

Look at that list! Tolerance is not loving. People we love are backing up blindly toward the edge of a cliff.

 

Wait! Read that last line again. Who’s backing up toward the edge of a cliff? “People we love.” Yes, we should absolutely love all people, but should we be yelling at people we don’t know?

 

People and churches that are great at evangelism are guided by a simple truth: You can’t expect non-Christians to act like Christians. In other words, we shouldn’t yell at non-Christians, even when we worry that they’re pregnant with trouble.

 

Instead, we should love them … and love them … and love them … and love them. And finally, when the time is right, when they’re beginning to give us permission to speak into their lives, then we should point out the cliff. Actually, we should point them to the one who bridges the cliffs and chasms with a cross.

 

There is a canyon between heaven and hell, life and death, hope and destruction. That canyon was carved by sin. But Jesus crossed it with a cross. His love brings forgiveness. Our love of unbelievers brings hope.

 

Yes, this world is pregnant with trouble. But love people and learn their story before you ask if they’re pregnant! In time, you can introduce them to the Father of Truth. With love, you can draw them from the father of lies.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s pregnant

… with hope

 

(Go Ahead: Ask me about it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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