Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Keep straight the path of your feet,
and all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Proverbs 4:24-27

One of the words that has found its way back into popular use in our culture is “crooked.” An on-line dictionary defines the term as such:

crook·ed¹ [ˈkro͝okəd]
adjective

1.  bent or twisted out of shape or out of place: “his teeth were yellow and crooked”
synonyms: bent · twisted · misshapen · deformed · malformed · contorted ·

2.  informal
dishonest or illegal: “a crooked business deal”
synonyms: dishonest · unscrupulous · unprincipled · untrustworthy · corrupt ·

No matter how we use it, it doesn’t seem that we are encouraged to follow the crooked path. The wisdom from Proverbs concurs.

Crooked speech and devious talk should be avoided and not allowed to roll off our tongues. Letting our eyes drift over to the twisted, contorted, and corrupt may be harmful to our thoughts and actions. The best plan is to keep our gaze forward and our feet on the straight path. In the book of Acts, those who followed Jesus were said to have belonged to “The Way.” Acts 9:2

Filling our minds and speech with His words — keeping our eyes on Jesus as we read and study His ways — might just keep our feet straight and in the right way.

Prayer

Wonderful God, help me to fill my heart, mind, and soul with Your word and will, so that my path will stay straight, and the journey with Jesus will be fulfilling each step of the way. Amen.