Pr. 12:13: “The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble.”
I’ve been thinking about yellow jackets all day long. When I read this Proverb this morning, I immediately remembered an incident that happened to me in high school. One afternoon a group of kids in my youth group jumped on me in the yard of the church and began holding me down and tickling me. I very much dislike being tickled, and it was torture. I sincerely begged for them to stop, but they only seemed encouraged and would not relent.
Suddenly a swarm of yellow jackets came out of the ground and began stinging them all. I was untouched.
This Proverb reminds me of that event. One can’t help but wonder if perhaps those kids were punished for their actions towards me. I’m not saying I was perfect and they were horrible human beings, but I was the one being tormented in that moment, and I certainly came through trouble without a single sting. Did they set a trap for themselves?
Our words are a choice that we make. We can choose to allow transgression to flow forth from our lips, and become ensnared by the trap we’ve set; or we can allow righteousness to prevail, ensuring that we come through trouble.
It certainly isn’t always simple to speak right words, but as Luke 6:45 reminds us, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Ensuring that we are filling our hearts with righteous things will definitely help our chances of speaking righteousness over transgression. And that will help us come through trouble.
Trying not to get stung,
jamie
considering the word 