PIT DIGGERS
Christine Wyrtzen
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law. Psalm 119:85
So much about the law is intentionality. If, God forbid, I killed someone by accident, my punishment would be far less severe than if I deliberately planned it.
God has much to say about how we are to treat other people. The law declares that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. That broadly covers this topic and exposes how God would feel about someone who would dig pits that others fall in. But lest I need to hear how God specifically feels about that, I only have to look at Exodus 21:33. God gave a law concerning someone who would dig a pit for an animal. That person would have to make swift restitution. So, whether this crime against others is in the physical or spiritual world, it carries God’s judgment.
What is in the heart of a person who would want to dig a pit, see someone fall into it, and then stand on their back to further themselves? That question needs answering so that we see people for who they are.
I realize, even saying this, that there may be a family member who, daily, sets traps for you with words. Maybe the verbal war is over your faith. Though they can be loving some of the time, oftentimes the snake’s head rears its head and words are spoken to entrap. You find yourself wordless, unable to defend God or your faith because they shot an arrow right where you are vulnerable.
Worse yet, there may be a person in your life who physically sets traps; setting up a series of circumstances where you will fail and be humiliated. In your failure, they will be advanced. Unfortunately, Christians are capable of even this.
I lived many years with blinders on about a few of the people in my life. I refused to acknowledge the possibility of evil because they claimed to be Christians. I’m not saying that they weren’t, but if they were, they had significant strongholds that facilitated deviant behavior against others. My Pollyanna view of others, rooted in denial, fueled by childish thinking, needed to be shattered. God eventually opened my eyes and brought that about.
God is all about truth. Jesus is Truth. He would not have His children live as blind sheep amongst wolves. He calls us to depend on Him for discernment, then to live street smart and worldly wise. Always, this difficult glimpse into others, and myself, leads to the need for a lifestyle of forgiveness. Since King David had a heart for God, I am certain that he forgave the pit-diggers.
Tell me the story of the people in my life. I want to be a truth seeker and see them as you see them. Amen
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Wednesday, 19 May 2021.
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