Proverbs 1:12: Celebrity death match!

“like Sheol let us [sinners] swallow them [the innocent] alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;”
-Proverbs 1:12

(First thing’s first: what is “Sheol?” There’s some debate on this, so let me try to be brief. Think of it like “death.” Sometimes we use the word death to mean more than death, right? We mean eternal death, as in hell. Sometimes we just mean death. I may worry that an unbelieving friend will “DIE,” meaning that I’m afraid he will go to hell when he dies. But I will also “die,” though the words do not mean the same thing. Sheol is the same way. Righteous people in the Bible are said to go to Sheol, simply meaning they have passed over into the spiritual realm. But sometimes the word is used in a darker sense, as in this verse, probably meaning hell. When you come across the word, check the context of it, and you’ll be fine. Now on to the actual content!)

So sinners are crazy, huh? We’re in the middle of the speech of the sinner here, where a group of bad fellows are trying to get us to go attack some people on the highway. At first, they seemed to just be after some money, but now they’re really going overboard with it. Now they really seem to be out for blood.

I have to admit, the first time I read this section of Proverbs, I thought it was just a little over the top. I know there are some people out here who really do think this way, but I certainly don’t, right?

Except that I do, and you do too.

Let me give you an example. The other day I was at work, and my coworkers and I were talking about a celebrity that I actually admire. I usually don’t get into the whole celebrity thing, but this person had always seemed like a stand up person to me. Well, one coworker of mine had heard some, er, not nice things about this particular celebrity.

And I found myself online, looking it up to see if it was true.

I’m surprised I was so interested. I like to think I’m not susceptible to the lure of gossip and rumor. But the truth is, even though I’m not as interested in that sort of thing as so many people are, I still need to watch myself.

There’s something in us that likes to watch people fall. If you doubt it, take a look at the news. If there is a story about a celebrity, it is that this one went to rehab, or this one shaved her head, or this one tried to commit suicide, or when this one gets divorced for the tenth time. There isn’t a story when one regularly spends time with the family. Why not? Because we don’t care about that!

Take a look at the things you find interesting. Are you more interested when a nationally known pastor has a loving relationship with his wife, or when he has an affair? Even amongst friends, we just have to know when something goes wrong. It’s just INTERESTING.

Much of the time, we seem to be lying in wait, ready to watch someone be swallowed whole by Sheol. Sometimes, sometimes, we actually help. Have you done this? Have you exaggerated to your boss when reporting on a mistake a coworker made? Have you spread rumors about someone that put that person in a bad light? There is more than one way to watch someone go down.

And sometimes you are pulled yourself.

You know, this is the whole problem with most religions in the world. They ask you to be good enough for God. Our instincts, desires, and entertainment are all so slanted toward evil, and these religions are telling us, “Do better.” Well, we have all watched someone be pulled down and smiled. We have all pulled someone down personally and laughed. And then we have all been pulled down ourselves. Friends, we are not good enough for God.

But God had mercy on us and sent His Son Jesus. And we, in our darkness, killed Him, even though He hadn’t done any of those evil things we all do. We were the sinners from this verse, dragging down the only perfectly innocent man in history into Sheol. But in that death He took the punishment we all deserve.

Christianity is not about becoming “good enough” for God. It’s about Jesus being good enough for God, and letting us in with Him. When we recognize our inability to be that good, we repent of those efforts. We ask for His forgiveness. On the Cross, Jesus died in our place, taking on our sin, so we don’t have to die. He traded us. He took our sin, and He gives us His righteousness.

Walk no more in the ways of the sinner; turn away and come to the Cross. It’s our only hope. Once there, Jesus will give us His Spirit to teach us how to walk in righteousness, so that next time the sinners come calling for us, we can keep our eyes on He who saves us.