“Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.”
Proverbs 25:26 (NIV)
Reading proverbs relaxes me, for I feel like I am sitting and listening to someone who knows what I need to hear today, in order to live my life in a wise way. These proverbs were written almost 3,000 years ago and yet they are true and applicable to my life today.
In this verse the righteous person is compared to a well or a spring, which brings to mind what our Lord promised the Samaritan woman of John 4 – the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. This comparison turns sour when we realize that this spring can become polluted, or muddied. It is a relief that both conditions described are temporary, if effort is taken to clean them up, that is to God’s credit for His grace abounds. Yet it is our responsibility to do the work. If I don’t want to be a muddy spring, or polluted well, that is if I want the streams of living water to flow out of me and benefit those around, I need to exert effort, to resist wickedness, to exercise self control over my life. When I read this proverb I think of the times in my life where this description fit me, and I feel shame. I took the free gift of water and polluted it. Oh Father forgive me, help me to exercise self control and protect the precious gift you have given me. My righteousness in Christ Jesus.
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