Stop Digging
An ungodly man digs up evil…. – Proverbs 16:27a NKJV.
Near Greeley, Colorado a man was arrested for DUI, handcuffed, and he was put inside of a police vehicle. Police officers interviewed a witness while the intoxicated man waited in the police vehicle. At least the officers thought that the arrested man was waiting. The arrested man was able to bring his hands that were handcuffed behind him, around in front of himself. He then escaped by driving off in the police vehicle. It was a short drive as officers were able to stop him about a mile down the road. Now, instead of one charge for DUI he will have two DUI charges. In addition, he will be charged with escape, attempting to elude, and possibly resisting arrest. If he tried, in his escape, to ram another police vehicle, or to run over an officer or someone else, he could be facing even more serious charges. In retrospect, when he sobers up, he will probably be thinking that just one count of DUI wouldn’t have been all that bad.
There is actually a webpage devoted to giving instructions for digging a hole. Here’s the link in case you have a hole to dig: http://everything2.com/title/How+to+dig+a+hole According to the digging a hole webpage you may need a round point shovel, a square point shovel, a posthole digger, a digging bar, a measuring tape, and a rope. As one who has dug some holes in the ground, including postholes, I know that digging holes takes some effort. The effort exerted will depend, to some extent, on the hardness of the ground. When you have reached the depth that you wanted to go to how do you stop? You simply stop digging. It is an old, old saying filled with wisdom, which says, “When you are in a hole, stop digging.”
The man arrested in Colorado for DUI apparently had not dug his hole as deep as he wanted, and so he kept on digging. The result is the possibility of several charges being added to the one that he was arrested for originally. The writer of Proverbs has a good and wise point, “An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire (Proverbs 16:17).” Those who are not led by the Spirit of God will dig up evil. It may be in the form of gossip that they will spread, or it may be like the DUI man in Colorado, who dug up some more trouble for himself.
In Romans 8:5-6, we are told this, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” If the man in Colorado had been led by the Holy Spirit, he would not have been drunk, he would not have been arrested, and he would have a much more peaceful life than he will have as he spends some time in jail, or possibly even prison.
Instead of spending all of the effort necessary to dig yourself a hole in life, set your heart and mind upon the Lord. So, if you find yourself digging a hole, and want out of the hole, step one is to stop digging. Stop doing evil and stop storing up provision for evil (Romans 13:14). Step two is “live according to the Spirit.” That is how you can get out of the hole and start to really live life, a life filled with peace.
(Those who are not led by the Spirit of God will dig up evil.)