We’ve all heard the saying “opposites attract.” And, we’ve all see that in our science classes with magnet poles. And sometimes we even see it play out in people’s relationships where their personality differences provide the perfect balance for a friendship or partnership. But opposites don’t always attract. Sometimes, they repel.
The last proverb Solomon writes tells how the relationship between righteous and the unrighteous ultimately plays out. The unjust see the righteous as an abomination. They hate everything the righteous stand for and defend. While the unrighteous are an abomination to those who walk the straight way. They see everything about the wicked as a direct affront to God and their lives.
The light repels the dark and the dark hates the light. And ultimately, the two will not coexist. The choices the wicked make are the exact opposite of the choices the righteous make. Those differences do not pull them together like opposite ends magnet poles instead them push them apart like then same magnet poles pushes away each other. No matter how hard you try you can not force a north and north together on a magnet. They will never click together.
So what is Solomon really saying here? Is it that we can’t be kind to each other? No. He is saying ultimately the life values and choices are so different there is no common ground between the wicked and the righteous. One serves self, the other serves God. This fundamental difference drives the two apart – it does not bring them together.
So, what we need to ask ourselves is do our lives as the righteous clearly show that there is that fundamental difference? That we are truly living a life opposite of that of the wicked? Or, are we trying to live like magnets were opposites attract? We say we are righteous but we are pulled and embrace the wicked?
Solomon concludes his proverbs saying it can not be. If you are righteous, you will repel the wicked. And the wicked will be repulsed by the righteous.
Do you attract or do you repel?
Adonai's Appeal 