Evil

Day 3

Proverbs 31:12- "She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life."

Well.. There's really no skirting around this verse now is there? This morning, when I was reading this verse, I made sure to view different translations. I'm glad that I did because the wordage is really interesting here. The verse above in translated in the ESV bible, but there are many versions that use the word "evil" instead of "harm". I supposed it could be taken at surface value and ignored... but hey! What kind of fun is that!

"Evil". I know what the definition looks like in my head... but for accuracy, let's translate.

e.vil [ee-vuh l]

adjective

1. morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life.

2. harmful; injurious: evil laws.

3. characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous: to be fallen on evil days.

4. due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character: an evil reputation.

5. marked by anger, irritability, irascibility, etc.: He is known for his evil disposition. 

 

What really baffles me about this word choice in the text is the simple fact that this was necessary to be said of The Noble Woman. Are there really women out there in the world who bring their husband "wicked deeds", "suffering", that are "disastrous" and live an "evil life"...? I tend to skate along the naive side. Not because I truly believe that the world is a precious land full of unicorns, marshmallows and glitter rain... but because I WISH that wickedness and immorality weren't attributes that people had to refrain from agreeing to live with. 

Harm cuts a lot deeper when it's described in this way. And, to be perfectly honest, it's eye opening. Is it right for me to be spiteful and do something to intentionally upset, hurt or harm someone that I love? To make myself feel better? To get back at them for hurting me? To even the playing field? No... because life doesn't work that way. You can't consistantly live "tit for tat". Being willing to love someone despite the faults they've caused you is what makes forgiveness a rewarding act in the first place. 

We need to learn to do good. To inherently chose to lay down the heavy fist. In this way, we become the woman that can be trusted. We can be someone's confidence. And because of this... we can be seen as noble. It truly is an ebb and flow of small decisions leading to a bigger picture. Always choose your actions based on the bigger picture.