For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
The wicked are restless for evil and cannot rest or sleep unless they have done harm and caused others to fall. They feed on wickedness and violence as if on bread and drink. Their way is darkness in which they stumble without knowing what makes them stumble. This dark way is the opposite of the path of the just, which grows brighter and brighter to the perfect day. Therefore the way of the wicked must not be entered but must be avoided, turned from, and passed by.
This restlessness shows the power of habit, which holds evildoers so they cannot rest unless they keep doing wrong. Leaving the right path removes barriers and breaks down safeguards, so one step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another and makes return difficult. Corrupting the ways takes less time and labor than grafting habits of righteousness and truth into the character. Whatever a person becomes accustomed to, whether its influence is good or evil, is difficult to abandon. Even the least deviation from right and principle starts a growth that leads to separation from God and to apostasy.
A single glass of wine as a small beginning opens the door to drunkenness. A single vindictive feeling indulged opens the way to murder. This restless, corrupting activity is the condition of the world today.
The wicked are restless for evil and cannot rest or sleep unless they have done harm and caused others to fall. They feed on wickedness and violence as if on bread and drink. Their way is darkness in which they stumble without knowing what makes them stumble. This dark way is the opposite of the path of the just, which grows brighter and brighter to the perfect day. Therefore the way of the wicked must not be entered but must be avoided, turned from, and passed by.
This restlessness shows the power of habit, which holds evildoers so they cannot rest unless they keep doing wrong. Leaving the right path removes barriers and breaks down safeguards, so one step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another and makes return difficult. Corrupting the ways takes less time and labor than grafting habits of righteousness and truth into the character. Whatever a person becomes accustomed to, whether its influence is good or evil, is difficult to abandon. Even the least deviation from right and principle starts a growth that leads to separation from God and to apostasy.
A single glass of wine as a small beginning opens the door to drunkenness. A single vindictive feeling indulged opens the way to murder. This restless, corrupting activity is the condition of the world today.