God, the Ultimate Straight Shooter . . . Proverbs 8:8-9

 "All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. "They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Proverbs 8:8-9
 
Ah yes, that sticky doctrine of infallibility of Scripture rises again with a statement made by Wisdom.  God is speaking in this passage as wisdom is personified.  God is calling out to men and women everywhere to listen and to open their hearts to receive the wisdom that God wants to grant to them.  Wisdom is awaiting them at home, in the workplace, in the market, where the two roads diverge in the wood (with thanks to Robert Frost).  But the question should rightly be asked, "Can we trust what Wisdom says to us in all these situations?"

ALL the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness!  Well there is an answer for us.  Wisdom cannot lie to us - cannot mislead us - will not deceive us!  Every utterance - every word from the mouth of God given in wisdom is righteous (that means they are all in a state of being RIGHT!).  What is even better is that we next read, "There is nothing crooked or perverted in them."  Crooked here means to twist something - and it speaks of those who are shrewd and cunning - those who are devious and who wrestle the truth in a direction that is to their liking.  God does not work like this.  Holiness means that God's motives are utterly transparent.  He may speak things in a mystery - but He never speaks things with devious or cunning intent.  What drives Him is His love - and His passion for righteousness and for His own glory.  Perverted here is the Hebrew word "iqqesh" which means something crooked and perverse.  It describes one with a deceitful, perverse, and evil heart.  The person like this perverts morals, social graces, even religious things for underhanded purposes.  Once again - God knows nothing of this kind of mindset or motive.  We read further of His heart in verse 9.

All God's utterances - His Word - are straightforward.  In the vernacular of our day - God shoots straight with us.  The idea behind this word is honesty.  It also has with it the idea of someone who is incapable of being perverted or being partial in their judgment.  Something we all need to grasp is that ultimately God is worthy of all glory - therefore - what He does is ultimately to display His own glory.  What we don't grasp is that God is not being in any way conceited by doing this.  To be conceited, God would have to be gaining or seeking glory that is not rightfully His.  The truth is - all glory is rightfully His - all the time - in every situation - and from every person that has ever lived or ever will live - period!  Therefore God speaks the truth - and He does so with absolute honesty - and with a view to the absolute best at all times. 

Now there is something that would be nice to have.  Someone Who will never be partial to anything but the very best.  Someone Who knows what needs to happen, what needs to be said, what needs to be addressed - and does so every single time with wisdom, with tact, and with razor sharp accuracy.  But we need to note that this ability to see God in this way is for those who "understand."  There is a discernment that takes us beyond fleshly, earthly wisdom that is necessary for men to understand the straightforwardness of God at all times.  You see all the time in liberal circles men and women who don't understand - and who accuse God of the most horrific sins and the most terrible motives.  The fact is that they DON'T udnerstand and are blind the true nature of God.  This understanding comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds.  Without Him and without God's gracious work in us - we will never understand.  Our minds and hearts are perverted and twisted by sin.  It is only when God's grace is manifest to us that we are transformed - and that our sinful tendencies are no longer dominant in our thinking. 

God is offering wisdom to us every day - in a myriad of situations where we need it.  The truly wise man is the one who submits himself to God - and learns to listen at the crossroads as God instructs him in how to live and how to walk.  May we be such men and women - and may we be blessed by the wonderful straightfoward words of God!