Thought for the Day

Verse 12 - Hostile people are always stirring up strife. Whoever embraces hatred soon finds that this emotion cannot be confined to only one's enemies, but will spill over toward friends and break out against those whom one does not wish to hurt. It is the nature of sin to grow, if it is not restrained. If we do not resist it, it overpowers us and becomes our master. By harboring hatred, we can become consumed with a spirit of hatred and find ourselves unable to "hate selectively."

Those who choose to love and forgive others will not be mastered by sin. We can conquer hateful thoughts by asking the Lord to enable us to love those who mistreat us. We cannot do this ourselves: only the Holy Spirit can empower us to overcome hatred. We can receive it as a miracle of love. As we grow in Him, we will not want to expose people's sins but rather cover them. Digging up and exposing the sins of others has always been a popular pastime of the ungodly. Gossip-mongers usually do this for political reasons. Many good people in the public eye are censured unmercifully for past mistakes. I do not refer to corrupt leaders who openly sin; they reap what they sow and their own sins "find them out."

Verse 13 - Those who lack understanding will feel the "rod of correction." In early times, wicked deeds were punished by public beatings. A rod is a stick or staff. Every sin carries a penalty. The greater the sin, the greater the penalty. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. All of us deserve to be sentenced to hell, and without Christ's sacrifice, all of us would be. By repenting, asking for His forgiveness and inviting Him into our hearts, we can escape hell and gain a home in heaven.

Verse 14 - Hosea 4:6 says: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." If we wish to be wise, we will store up knowledge. Many Christians foolishly speak evil and bring destruction into their lives because they do not know God's Word. We should not allow negative things, contrary to God's Word, to come out of our mouths.