Proverbs 24:9
"The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to men."
the devising of folly is sin
This is an important distinction that is being made here. First observation is that to sit down and plan out how to be more selfish, impulsive, and rebellious is sin in and of itself. It does not become sin when it is acted upon. Doing the planning is sin.
This is an important distinction because many people do not believe that the plotting of evil is sin, let alone plotting just a little rebellion and self-focused indulgence.
What God is talking about here is when you spend considerable time plotting ways to get back at another person or when you plan how you are going to get something at the expense of another or how you are going to be lazy and have others do the work.
Now we are all tempted, at times, to just indulge in selfish thinking – even thinking that is harmful to others. But giving in to those temptations is sinful. It is more sinful to actually do them.
and the scoffer is an abomination to men
We must force our minds to think of positive things rather than self-focused, negative things. How can we bless others and love them?
The scoffer is the person who sees the bad, the negative, and the difficult in everything. Even in the exciting and challenging, the scoffer is able to "discern" the problems. No one likes to be around this type of person; they are a constant downer. They think they are smarter than everyone and this may be true, but they are using their intelligence for negative ends. Most people can point out the bad in something; these people never let it go.
The word scorner seems to carry with it pride and a negative observational ability with superiority. "Oh, I was excited about that once." It is often the attitude developed in junior high. "I am too cool for that." This type of attitude, if it is allowed to fester, is deadly.
Notice that God says that nobody likes being around that kind of person. This is the professional critic. They never do anything themselves but can precisely tell you what is wrong with everyone trying to do something right.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz