These Proverbs say, “A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends. A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things. He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.”
In these passages are some characteristics of those who are given to sin and evil pursuits. The first characteristic says that a wicked person fosters contention between friends. Such a person may gossip or reveal a secret they have learned about a person. They may do so with the intention of creating friction between friends. Their wicked act of separating friends makes them happy.
Another characteristic of a wicked person is that they lead others astray. They may entice an acquaintance to follow them down a sinful pathway. A wicked person wants other people to join them in their sinful activities. So, they may try to learn another person’s weakness. Then, they create situations that will exploit that weakness.
A third characteristic of an evil person is that they may use various facial expressions to deceive as they devise evil plots. In this way they covertly communicate with their partners in an evil plan to cause others harm.
It is important that we know some characteristics of those who are wicked and given to sin. Such knowledge gives us additional armor to resist temptation and avoid sins that lead to spiritual death.
We will encounter many situations in our life that have the potential of moving us off our pathway to Heaven. Being prepared for them helps us to stay on the path of life.
