The area that I grew up in was a swamp in generations past. No one, not even the Native Americans made permanent residence in the swamp. When my ancestors and their neighbors moved to the area they dug drainage ditches and lay clay tile lines in the rich dirt. When the drainage ditches filled up with wild vegetation they would set fires in the deep ditches. The scorching fire was controlled to obtain the required goal; a clear channel for the spring snowmelt and rain to be conducted away from the sprouting crops to the great lakes.
The inflammatory speeches and posts of many these days are like the scorching ditch fires of my youth. The truth is burned so their lies will have a clear channel to the souls of their victims. Their purpose is to bring wealth to their evil empire. “A scoundrel plots (digs up) evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.” (See also 6:12-15; Micah 2:1-3; James 3:6)
Rather than point blaming fingers at the wicked and fight fire with fire I should first examine my soul. What motives and plans do I ignite in the recesses of my mind? Jesus taught, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5) That is the point of this proverb. Examine me to see if I am the scoundrel who plots evil and then repent.
