“An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.”
Proverbs 6:18, first part
There are seven deadly sins that God hates, and they are noticeably the spring from which all sin flows. However, it is a simple fact that too many people are not aware of the real issue which plagues us, that gives rise to our overt responses, dictates our actions, and molds our characters.
The children’s Sabbath School song still rings true.
“Watch your eyes, watch your eyes, what they see
“Watch your ears, watch your ears, what they hear
“Watch your lips, watch your lips, what they say
“Watch your hands, watch your hands, what they do
“Watch your feet, watch your feet, where they go
“For there’s a Father up above, looking down in tender love
“Watch your eyes, your ears, your lips, your hands, your feet.”
Interestingly, the song begins with the key entry points to our minds, our eyes and ears—what we see and what we hear, what Inspiration describes as “avenues of the soul.” Next it addresses what we say with our lips, do with our hands, and where our feet take us. This is a step-by-step process that begins with what we see and the internal reaction it invokes, coupled with what we hear, which causes us to say, do, and go. Our lips express what is in our minds (Luke 6:45), our hands are the instruments which perform what is in our soul, and our feet are the vehicles that transport us to where we need to go in order to fulfill what has been hatched in our minds.
Sadly, the majority of the time, the things which we look at and listen to are not wholesome and suitable for the formation of a moral and Christlike character! How important then that we guard mainly what we see and hear.
The Wisest Man
Solomon lays out a formula for the preservation of the mind.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:23–27
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” (Nephesh, in Hebrew means “heart, mind, soul, life, or the entirety or essence of a person”) Proverbs 23:7
“Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.” Proverbs 24:1, 2
“The heart is deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Matthew 12:34
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are [the things] which defile a man … .” Matthew 15:18–20 (Kardia, the Greek word for heart used by Matthew in these passages, means “the thoughts or feelings, the mind.”)
“An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.” Proverbs 6:18. This is the fourth deadly sin which God hates. According to the Hebrew, “wicked imaginations” literally means “thoughts of iniquity,” and all of this begins in the heart or the mind. Let us remember that there are evil thoughts in the minds of all human beings: but the devising, fabricating of them, and thus making the mind into the devil’s workshop, is the mark of utter depravity and wickedness, and therefore is repugnant to God.
This was the state of mind of the majority of the people in Noah’s day. Moses records, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. In Paul’s day, it was no different, for he tells us of the spiritual disposition of the people of his time, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21
We also read Paul’s account in his letter to the Ephesians, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” Ephesians 4:17–19
The question that we need to answer is, how does the mind become the fountain of “wicked imaginations” or “thoughts of iniquity?” Paul gives us the answer.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:28–32
People’s minds become the reservoir for “thoughts of iniquity” because they choose to reject the ways of God for the ways of Satan. They find pleasure in dwelling upon the things of unrighteousness rather than holy things. This was the attitude of the church people who had apostatized from the Lord in Jeremiah’s days.
“Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now everyone from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will everyone do the imagination of his evil heart.” Jeremiah 18:11, 12
Furthermore, Paul told Timothy that in the last days some people would have “their conscience seared (to brand; to render insensitive) with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:2
Understanding the gravity of the matter, the servant of the Lord wrote, “All should guard the senses, lest Satan gain victory over them; for these are the avenues of the soul.
“You will have to become a faithful sentinel over your eyes, ears, and all your senses if you would control your mind and prevent vain and corrupt thoughts from staining your soul. The power of grace alone can accomplish this most desirable work.” Counsels for the Church, 166
And Peter states, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13
“The apostle sought to teach the believers how important it is to keep the mind from wandering to forbidden themes, or from spending its energies on trifling subjects. Those who would not fall a prey to Satan’s devices, must guard well the avenues of the soul; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind must not be left to dwell at random upon every subject that the enemy of souls may suggest. The heart must be faithfully sentineled, or evils without will awaken evils within, and the soul will wander in darkness.” The Review and Herald, July 25, 1912
We must ask ourselves, what do I relish looking at and listening to on social media (Facebook, SnapChat, X, etc.), in books and magazines, on television and radio, and online gaming? Do the things that I look at or listen to cause me to love Jesus more? Do they encourage me to live the holy life? Or do they inspire me to desire those things that are ungodly? Does online gaming, which often depicts stealing, murder, war and death, and other violations of God’s law pull me away from things which pertain to Jesus Christ? Do these social media mediums reinforce in my mind unholy traits that cause me to speak and act in unChristlike ways?
Jesus used a similar expression as Peter, when He said, “Let your loins be girded about … .” Luke 12:35. What must the Christian gird his or her mind with? “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth … .” Ephesians 6:14. Jesus is the Truth. The word girt used in this verse has the same meaning as the word gird used by Jesus and Peter. It means “gird all around.” Why is it so important that we do this?
“Satan and his angels are busy creating a paralyzed condition of the senses so that cautions, warnings, and reproofs shall not be heard; or, if heard, that they shall not take effect upon the heart and reform the life.” Counsels for the Church, 166
“All who name the name of Christ need to watch and pray and guard the avenues of the soul; for Satan is at work to corrupt and destroy if the least advantage is given him.” Testimonies, Vol. 3, 476
We also are reminded, “It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature, that by beholding, we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence.” The Great Controversy (1888), 555
“The mind of a man or woman does not come down in a moment from purity and holiness to depravity, corruption, and crime. It takes time to transform the human to the divine, or to degrade those formed in the image of God to the brutal or the satanic. By beholding we become changed.” The Adventist Home, 330
Sadly, we daily witness the display of “wicked imaginations” or “thoughts of iniquity.” These “wicked imaginations” are reflected on the billboards along our streets, on the television and social media, in books and magazines, from the music of the day. They speak to mankind’s hopeless condition. God abhors this fourth deadly sin because it corrupts the mind and pollutes the motives, thus leaving the soul morally and spiritually bankrupt.
A man in such a condition has no desire for spiritual things, but instead craves the unfruitful works of darkness. His conscience is rendered insensitive to any and everything that is holy. It is interesting that this fourth deadly sin is no respecter of persons. It doesn’t care who you are. Much like a boa constrictor wraps itself around its prey, squeezing ever more tightly, until it dies and is consumed. This kind of sin holds its captive prisoner until he or she becomes spiritually and morally depraved, dead to righteousness, as a result.
But Jesus offers hope. “Blessed (happy) are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8. Those who do not entertain “wicked imaginations” will be happy because they will have peace in this world and will spend an eternity with God in the next.
May David’s prayer be our prayer, too. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
[All Scriptures from the KJV.]
Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at 718-882-3900.