Proverbs 15:26

Proverbs 15:26, "The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words."

The psalmist of the 119th psalm wrote, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  This proverb is a good example of how the word of God shines a light on our lives.  I have yet to meet a person who, when he reads the Bible, thinks he is the "wicked" that the Bible describes in verses like this one.  I suspect that most everyone who is taking the time to read the Bible either sees themselves as the "pure" or at least, has ambition to become a part of that category.  He may not declare himself in that category but he certainly doesn't see himself belonging to the "wicked" category.  It's easy for the Christian and for the morally-ambitious to treat a proverb like this one as a statement of affirmation than for what it is - a bright light investigating the condition of the soul.

The Bible was designed to educate and instruct but the knowledge it brings to the mind of man is always designed to confront the heart of man.  All Scripture, including the proverbs, is meant to enlighten the mind so that it can then adjust the soul.  Paul told Timothy, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  This and all proverbs are not meant to make us smarter - they're meant to make us purer.  This proverb isn't a brief line of information - it is a bright light of confrontation.  This proverb isn't a simple statement confirming the obvious difference between the wicked and the pure - it is a statement designed to have the reader investigate his soul.

As a general rule, Solomon wasn't writing to the wicked or to those who aspired to be wicked.  He was equipping those who needed and wanted his spiritual guidance, in particular, his son.  He wasn't rebuking the wicked because he knew they wouldn't be reading his material.  He wasn't even informing the wicked of God's hatred for their thoughts because he knew that even if they read his material, they wouldn't heed his material.  Solomon was writing to the pure, to those aspiring to be pure or to those contemplating the pursuit of purity.  By telling this group of people about the thoughts of the wicked, he was giving them an opportunity to search their soul for wicked thoughts.  If they were pure or striving to be pure, they would be motivated to do that knowing how much God hated the thoughts of the wicked. Enter the light of this proverb...

What makes a thought an abomination to God?  Is every thought a person God considers, "wicked" an abomination to God?  What if a wicked man briefly thinks fondly about his wife?  What if a wicked woman has a soft spot in her heart for her child and sincerely thinks lovingly about one of her children?  Does God hate every thought that a wicked person has or just the thoughts that are wicked?  Can't the wicked have good thoughts, like thoughts of repentance or of mortality?  Can't the wicked ever entertain a pure thought?  The answer to these most recent questions must be "yes" and if that is the case, then can't the pure entertain wicked thoughts?
 
This is what the proverb is intended to do for the pure or for the person aspiring to be pure - it is meant to give a person light with which to search his or her thoughts.  By contrasting the undefined and undescribed thoughts of the wicked with the words of the pure, Solomon tells us what thoughts are an abomination to God.  Only the words of the pure are described and defined - they are PLEASANT words.  If pleasant words are ascribed to the pure in this proverb, then it makes good sense to draw the conclusion that Solomon wants us to define the thoughts of the wicked as UNPLEASANT.  When we draw such a conclusion, this proverb immediately becomes confrontational.  

It is not in our nature to read about the wicked and see ourselves.  Instead, we pick some God-hating atheist who commits and celebrates crime to represent the first half of the verse.  We naturally but unconsciously define wicked thoughts as thoughts of hatred, perversion, cruelty, violence and extreme evil so as to prevent ourselves from remotely seeing our thoughts as ever an abomination to God.  But when we accept the reality that Solomon intentionally pit the pleasant words of the pure against the undefined thoughts of the wicked, a far more sobering possibility enters our mind: What makes the thoughts of the wicked abominable to God is not necessarily extreme evil; it can be nothing more than being UNPLEASANT. God clearly loves pleasant words and this proverb infers that He hates unpleasant thoughts.  If that is the case as this proverb implies, this particular Scripture becomes much more than information - it becomes confrontation.

It is relatively easy to entertain and harbor unpleasant thoughts.  The wicked have them all the time, which is why their thoughts are an abomination to God.  The pure can entertain unpleasant thoughts at times and when they do, those thoughts are just as abominable to God.  Those among us who are aspiring to be pure can entertain unpleasant thoughts and when we do, we must recognize that those thoughts grieve God.  Whether we call ourselves Christian or not, an unpleasant thought toward our spouse is wicked.  Whether we go to church on a regular basis or not, an unpleasant thought about a neighbor or co-worker is wicked.  Whether we read the Bible consistently or not, an unpleasant thought about a politician or an employer is wicked. The thought doesn't have to be perverted or violent to be wicked - it only has to be unpleasant for God to turn His holy face from it.

We know if someone is pure based on their pleasant words.  If someone you know never says anything unpleasant about anyone, you're very likely looking at a pure soul.  If someone you know is always saying something unpleasant, you're dealing with a wicked soul.  We know if someone is wicked based on their unpleasant words.  That being said, there are those in our world who don't say much or at least, not in public.  Their lack of words leaves us without something to gage the condition of their soul but because God knows all of our thoughts, He knows if someone is wicked based on their unpleasant thoughts. Wickedness and purity both start in the soul.  You don't have to go online and post unpleasant words to be considered wicked in God's eyes.  You don't have to go around the house constantly saying unpleasant things to your spouse, kids, siblings or parents to be deemed wicked in God's eyes.  Just thinking unpleasant thoughts is enough for God to be convinced of a person's wickedness.

When we start seeing UNPLEASANT thoughts as abominable to God, we should start doing some soul-searching.  When we see the connection between both sides of this proverb, it changes from informative to confrontational.  This proverb isn't meant to be affirmation for the pure - it's meant to be illumination for investigation for the pure.  How pleasant or unpleasant are our words to others?  How pleasant or unpleasant are our thoughts about others?  If they're unpleasant, they're abominable to God no matter who we are or who we think we are.