Mike Focht 11/7/2025
Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4:24-27
Here is some solid wisdom from one of the wisest men who ever lived. When our lives, or sections of our lives, are filled with displeasing things to the Lord, it is time to do something. When the Holy Spirit begins maturing us, many of our first activities involve removing harmful and childish things from our lives.
We should put away people or things that are deceitful and perverse. Often, our first response to a command like this is to protest that there are certain people or things that we cannot get away from. Sometimes that is true, and if we were honest, sometimes it is not. Sometimes, putting away certain things is hard or costly, so we convince ourselves that it is impossible.
Even so, there are some deceitful and perverse people and things in this life that we cannot escape. Rest assured, the people or things we cannot escape are not what God calls us to put away. We are called to put away things that we can actually put away! Those are the things God will hold us responsible for. The reality or presence of things in our life that are beyond our power to control, we must leave up to God’s care and discretion.
We are called to put away what we can. Who are those people who will deceive you into joining them in sin? What are those places where perverse lips will entice you? Seek to remove family, friends, entertainment, music, hobbies, habits, and conveniences that will feed any evil lusts.
Our eyes should look straight ahead, not back or around. Often, when we turn from sin, we still want to glimpse it. What we need is a solid focus on the goal ahead of us. Paul made it clear that he had a singular focus on pressing toward the upward calling in Christ Jesus. We, too, must make our aim singular. Don’t peek at that image that will entice, or join the company that will degrade, or listen in to the slander or gossip in the other cubicle, or absently wonder what that old flame is putting up on social media, or just have one small drink with your friends, etc. Little indulgences lead to long iniquities.
If we want our path to be established, we must give it some thought. We cannot hope to stumble upon purity or maturity. The paths to those goals are not hidden or secret, but they are straight, narrow, and often solitary. Think about where you are going. Think about your day and what you will face. Think about your week and what might derail your pursuit of godliness. Never forget that an enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy you. Be sober and alert.
We need to set our eyes on Jesus alone, begin moving forward, and never allow anything to entice us to stray left or right. We won’t find anything but evil and sorrow outside of God’s path of obedience. And if you ever get confused about where to take your next step, remove your foot from evil, and you will find yourself on God’s good way soon enough.