"I don't know what word
in the English language - I can't find one - applies to people
who are willing to sacrifice the literal existence of organized human life
so they can put a few more dollars into highly stuffed pockets.
The word 'evil' doesn't even begin to approach it."
- Noam Chomsky
I am very old indeed. It is so silly of people...to fancy that old age means crookedness and witheredness and feebleness and sticks and spectacles and rheumatism and forgetfulness! It is so silly! Old age has nothing whatever to do with all that. The right old age means strength and beauty and mirth and courage and clear eyes and strong painless limbs. I am older than you are able to think...
Integrity guides decent people, but hypocrisy leads treacherous people to ruin. [GOD'S WORD® Translation]
The integrity and moral courage of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. [Amplified Bible]
Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. [New Living Translation]
The honor of good people will lead them, but those who hurt others will be destroyed by their own false ways. [New Life Version]
__________
Integrity: tummah 8538 (Hebrew) Innocence, completeness, unwavering loyalty; moral wholeness expressed in consistent devotion to God and straightforward dealings with people. It carries the idea of being the same "through and through," free from duplicity or hidden defect. It is a compass for life, contrasting with the self-destructive path of treachery.
upright: yashar 3477 (Hebrew) straight, level, righteous; by extension, that which is morally right and pleasing before God. It speaks to physical alignment, ethical integrity, and social justice. God's own divine character. supplies the fixed reference point that defines "upright," such as obeying God's revealed law. Relativism, human self-reference, has deadly consequences, and leads to demands for a king.
lead: hachah 5148 (Hebrew) guide, direct, govern, instruct; purposeful, benevolent leadership, emphasizing that the path, pace, and destination are all relationally set by the Lord, not merely directional. He whom the Lord leads is accompanied, protected, and instructed; to follow other "guides" is idolatry.
perversity: seleph 5558 (Hebrew) crookedness, distortion, viciousness; moral crookedness that opposes the straight line of wisdom. It stands in sharp contrast to integrity, life-giving speech, and covenant faithfulness, highlighting the destructive power of even subtle deviance from God's righteous standards to warp both individual character and community life. Only by embracing reverence for God, reliance on His Word, and conformity to Christ will we become agents of healing and truth.
unfaithful: bagad 898 (Hebrew) disloyal, betray, deal deceitfully, act treacherously; more than mere social failure, this deliberately treacherous betrayal of relationship commitments results in self-destructive chaos, and is an ethical offense toward others and God, as transparent fidelity is rejected.
destroy: shadad 7703 (Hebrew) devastate, ruin, spoil, oppress, ravage, waste; never random, but always directed retribution by violent stripping away, plundering, or devastation through the ruthless action of a stronger power, whether the foe is material or spiritual, by both sudden destructive action and prolonged continual oppression. leaving the victim emptied and ruined.
