Live Like a Lion
Proverbs 28:1
A chill runs down your spine…Your palms begin to sweat…A knot forms in your stomach…Because your boss just called you to his office. And immediately, your brain frantically begins to review the last six months, analyzing every possible thing he could want to talk about. It’s only normal for you to assume you must be in trouble for something, so your perspective turns negative as you try to remember anything you’ve ever done wrong.
We’ve all been there. And King Solomon must have been there too, but on the other side of it. Perhaps because of his position of authority, King Solomon may have seen this human commonality numerous times. In Proverbs 28:1, he penned these powerful words – “The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
We’ve all felt that twinge of worry when we wonder if we’re in trouble. But we’ve also felt the assurance of knowing we’ve done nothing wrong. What Solomon is pointing out in this verse is that when you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. So many people live their lives in guilt over what they’ve done and fear that they might be found out. And Solomon points out that this feeling of fear is usually unwarranted. Few people are walking around as police officers trying to find out what others have done wrong. Yet a feeling of guilt overwhelms the wrongdoer until they imagine a suspicious twinkle in the eye of every person who walks by. They see someone hiding around every corner waiting to turn them in. They spend their life running from people who aren’t even chasing them. But Solomon counteracts that by saying the opposite is also true. When a person does right, they live their life courageously and confidently.
I saw a video the other day of two people wanting to have a good time. They dressed up in a big striped outfit and paraded out into a herd of zebras to see what would happen. Well what happened was a couple lionesses were doing reconnaissance around the herd. When they saw the big, fat zebra, they thought it looked like the best option on the lunch menu. It wasn’t until the zebra costume had gotten ripped in half and the lioness had dragged away the big head full of stuffing that the two people could quickly escape. I don’t know if that video was completely true (can you really trust the internet these days?), but what I do know is that no one sees a lion and thinks “timid.” And Solomon says that the righteous are as bold as a lion.
How can a Christian live with audacious, tenacious, ambitious vigor? By having a clean conscience. Because if you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear.
I Timothy 1:19 – “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck”