Living in a country, as I do, where pretty much every native animal is out to kill you – spiders, snakes, I was even attacked by a kangaroo once as a child – the idea of a snake in the long grass is seriously scary.

Yep, that snake in the grass is a great analogy for people who lie in wait to do you harm, to do evil towards you. It conjures up a picture of the danger and the deceit, the venom that lies in wait to strike just in that moment when you least expect it.

Proverbs 14:17 A quick-tempered person does stupid things, but it is also true that people don’t like anyone who quietly plans evil.

Yesterday we chatted about that spur of the moment evil – the quick-tempered person who does stupid things. Today, we’re moving on to the next form of evil.

It is also true that people don’t like anyone who quietly plans evil.

And right there, you have the proverbial snake in the grass … upset by something, planning an evil response, storing up the venom, ready to strike at their enemy’s weakest, most unsuspecting moment. You know how it goes … those thoughts of revenge, or of success, or of whatever happens to be driving you toward evil go round and round in your mind, poisoning your heart, causing you to dream up your evil plans.

Really? Is that really what God wants from us? Not on your life. And whilst we may be planning our evil quietly, imagining that no one else sees, we can be certain that God sees and He is not pleased.

No one – neither people nor God – likes anyone who quietly plans evil. Don’t be that snake in the grass.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.