“Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.”
— Proverbs 14:14
Am I reading this Proverb correctly? Did the wisdom writers actually have and USE the word, “backslider?” I am shocked! I promise you, I thought it was some judgey word from a holiness/pentecostal era. Backslide? Backslider? The Hebrew writers tap into this idea that if Humans don’t want to constantly, continually move towards God, so be it. No one is forcing them to follow God. Well, yeah, there’s also the idea that they CAN get what they want!
The Rolling Stones had a song, “You can’t always get what you want.” It turns out you can. New Living Translation says, backsliders “deserve,” but the Hebrew word is “derek: way, road, or journey.” God will and does give humans the freedom to walk… away.
Oh, and I get the feeling that walking away feels so GOOD, so mature, so freeing, for the moment. Instead of freedom from sin and a redemptive life story, you get whatever results from the rugged, independence of God, “I’ll choose my own truth, own beliefs, own reality – thank you.”
Let me be honest, my parents (all five of them), and much of my extended family choose that way of life. All it brought was a huge pile of poopy for them and us as kids. I’ve been on this God path for over 45 years and there is no way I want to go for it on my own! I’m not perfect either. I’ve had my short bursts of moving away from God, not really intentionally, but just being lazy. The second I realize I’m drifting into a Glenn path, I turn, make it right with God and get back on His road – you know, the narrow, less travelled one.
So be warned or be encouraged, God will let you move away from Him and make your own way. Just know that either way, you’ll reap the results. My advice: move toward and with God. If you’re not on the right path TURN NOW. Find God’s way and get back to following it.
Prayer
Dad,
I had no idea the word, “backslider” was a real thing! I’m kind of shocked about it. Of course, I remember Jesus warning pharisees and prodigals that they can receive their little praise for cool prayers or loud generosity and certainly the son who demanded his future inheritance so he could squander it on Pig Island. They got what they wanted and it wasn’t your desire or path for them. But wow, this is right in our face! I can move towards you or backwards to slide away from you. I want to choose you always. I want to stay on this path, your path for the entirety of my life.