Proverbs 10:6-7 gives us a contrast between the righteous and the wicked. This contrast covers both the physical life and the spiritual life afterward. As such, there are some important points for us to consider.

 

The first is the blessings on the righteous. We have talked about righteousness and what it means to be righteous. This is a right standing before God, and notice what comes because of that right standing. Blessing is a new word in Proverbs. Blessing has the idea of being blessed, or in peace. It also brings an idea of having a treaty of peace which is fascinating considering a right, or righteous standing before God, is the only place for true peace. We have talked about peace throughout the book of Proverbs so we will not revisit that here. If anyone wishes to have peace, you must come to God. Any other peace presented, outside of God, is no peace. It may bring a temporary lessening of turmoil and trial, but it is not true peace. This peace is offered to all who call upon God and is available for everyone! But in coming, there is a surrendering of ourselves to God which means we no longer have a say in how we live or what we do.

 

But notice what it covers, the head. The head is the part of the body that leads and where the thoughts come from. When the head is in view, the whole body follows. In this case, there is peace on the individual as a whole, but also in the mind and thoughts. A steady mind, and a sure mind is missed in our society. Instead there is fear, hurt, agony, suspicions, and a mentality of, “Everyone is out to get me.” What kind of life is that? No, we do not remove situational awareness, but how blessed is it to put our head on our pillow at night and not worry or fret. This is only from God.

 

The contrast is obvious here. The wicked has violence. Violence speaks of wrong, cruelty, injustice. This is a way of life that harms not only the individual but also those around them. These individuals not only express violence on others around them, they are covered in violence. Jesus tells us that what comes out of the mouth is what defiles us (Matthew 15:11). If someone says they are good, listen to what they say. It may not be noticeable at first, but it will come out. This violence is contrary to the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and instead falls under the fruit of the flesh (Galatians 5:20).

 

The mouth can and will be a window to what is going on inside an individual. This is why the mouth is in focus. Therefore, dear reader, what is coming out of your mouth tells those around what is going on inside. There is enough violence around us to understand and see this truth played out in every corner of life. Those who hate God and Jesus spew vitriol against those who are Christian and have a Biblical moral world view. If this is doubted, look at the response of the world and the social groups of the world that deal with abortion, sexual deviancy (anything that is not one biological man, one biological woman under a covenant vow of marriage before God), rebellious and feminist groups that are told what God’s plan is for how society is to live and function. The anger and hatred that is spewed out is unrelenting.

 

But in Proverbs 10:7, the focus is shifted from this present life to the Spiritual life. This is what comes after death. Notice what is said. The memory of the righteous is blessed. Same words for blessed and righteous as in Proverbs 10:6. The memory and reflection on their life is something that is warmly remembered and thought of. No, this is not the case for everyone for as we said, those who are covered in violence will not remember the righteous well. Why? They are full of violence.

 

This does not remove the memory of those who are righteous. Their memory will be remembered joyously because they exhibited the traits and fruits that should be exhibited by all believers.

 

This is not true for the wicked. Instead of being honored and viewed positively, look at the name of the wicked. It will rot. We can see this throughout history, even in our own day. Someone who was evil, or did evil, will always be remembered as such and their name is going to rot away. Sure, there will be platitudes for the individual from the world, but that is a minor view. A tyrant is not remembered fondly. An evil neighbor is not missed. This even goes with leaders in nations. A politician who did all they could to promote, support, and encourage evil, when they pass away, there is very little sorrow or grief. From a Christian’s perspective, the biggest sorrow is knowing that unless they accepted Jesus in the last moment of their life, they are facing an eternity in hell. No Christian wants that.

 

The challenge then for us who are living is to consider what our ending will be. Will it be one that will be remembered and joyed over, except for the world and those who love evil? This position comes with eternal glory with God Who knows all and sees all. In that moment, the Righteous who passes will dwell with God for all eternity. However, the world’s platitude for the “evil doer” does not remove the fact that they are in judgment from God. It also does not remove the truth that their name will rot because of their evil. What ending do we want? One that lasts for eternity or one that will fade from memory and be in judgment? The solution is whether we as readers accept Jesus or reject His sacrifice on the cross.