Proverbs 21:8

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about guilt: 

Proverbs 21:8 (NASV)

The way of a guilty man is crooked,

But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

Proverbs 21:8 (NIV)

The way of the guilty is devious,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Guilty men make evil plans.   Think King David.   David was guilty in regard to his sin with Bathsehba.   He committed adultery with another man's wife and failed to immediately confess that sin.   His Psalm 51 tells us that he felt like his bones were broken within him.   Guilt was eating him away.   He didn't experience God's compassion and forgiveness because he did not seek it.   As a result the had crooked plans.  He was devious in that he planned the death of Uriah, Bathsheba's husband.   Adding murder to adultery is the result of a guilty man's thinking.   When we have unconfessed sin in our hearts we are left with the devising of evil (something The Lord hates ... Proverbs 6:16-17).   Guilt will drive us to feel out of joint and corrupt in our thinking.   We need to seek God right away after our sin lest we do the same thing.   Once we have been made "pure" by God's forgiveness we can rejoice in "upright" conduct. Confession will squelch guilt that will in turn squelch evil plans.  The "pure" or the "innocent" in Solomon's world are those who fear The Lord.  It would be those who seek God's forgiveness and find purity and innocence through Christ's redemptive work.   If you walk around with guilt on your heart and refuse to confess than crooked and devious plans are on your future.