The Anatomy of a Troublemaker; A Reflection on Proverbs 6:12–15

            The Anatomy of a Troublemaker

A Reflection on Proverbs 6:12–15

Proverbs 6:12–15 (NLT)

“What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars, signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble. But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.”

Introduction

There are people who occasionally cause trouble, and then there are people for whom causing trouble has become a way of life. Proverbs 6:12–15 describes the latter. Solomon gives us a remarkably detailed portrait of a person whose words, gestures, motives, and actions work together to deceive others and create division. This is not someone who simply makes an occasional mistake, says the wrong thing, or becomes involved in a misunderstanding. Solomon is describing an established pattern of character.

What makes this person particularly dangerous is that the wickedness described in this passage often operates beneath the surface. There is no mention of physical violence or some spectacular public display of evil. Instead, Solomon speaks of lies, subtle signals, hidden schemes, manipulation, and the deliberate stirring up of trouble. Evil does not always announce itself loudly. Sometimes its most destructive work occurs through whispered conversations, carefully chosen words, concealed motives, and calculated attempts to turn one person against another.

A Pattern of Wickedness

Solomon begins with a severe description: “What are worthless and wicked people like?” His language is strong because he is not describing someone who simply failed on a particular occasion. Every one of us has said something foolish, communicated poorly, misunderstood another person, or contributed to a disagreement. Those failures are serious, but they do not necessarily define a person’s character.

The difference is found in the pattern. A person may tell a lie and later become convicted, confess it, and repent. Someone may gossip and afterward recognize the damage that was done and seek forgiveness. Another person may contribute to a conflict and later attempt reconciliation. Repentance demonstrates that the sinful behavior is being confronted rather than embraced. The person Solomon describes, however, shows no indication of repentance. Deception, manipulation, and troublemaking have become habitual ways of dealing with other people.

This distinction is important whenever we apply passages such as this one. Scripture does not encourage us to label everyone who makes a mistake as wicked. Instead, it teaches us to recognize the difference between an isolated failure followed by repentance and an established pattern that a person continually refuses to abandon.

The Weapon of Dishonest Words

The first characteristic Solomon identifies is lying: “They are constant liars.” Words are among the most powerful tools God has given human beings. They can encourage the discouraged, comfort the grieving, teach truth, express love, correct error, and proclaim the gospel. Yet those same words can become extraordinarily destructive when they are used dishonestly.

A lie does not always have to be completely fabricated to deceive someone. Some of the most effective deception contains enough truth to make the story believable. An important detail can be omitted, someone’s statement can be taken out of context, or an event can be exaggerated until the impression created is quite different from what actually happened. A person’s motives may be assumed and then repeated as though they were established facts. Even a carefully phrased question can plant suspicion in another person’s mind without making a direct accusation.

This is why Scripture places such tremendous importance upon truthfulness. Ephesians 4:25 (NLT) says, “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” Truth strengthens relationships because trust depends upon it. Deception does exactly the opposite. Once people discover that someone’s words cannot be trusted, every future statement becomes questionable.

Communication With a Hidden Purpose

Solomon next describes the deceptive person as “signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.” The picture is of someone communicating on two different levels. The spoken words create one impression while gestures quietly communicate something entirely different to those who understand the hidden message.

The issue is obviously not that winking, moving one’s feet, or making hand gestures is inherently sinful. Solomon is describing secret communication being used for deceptive purposes. Someone is deliberately being excluded from understanding what is really taking place. There is an outward conversation for everyone to hear and an inward message intended only for selected people.

Our methods of communication have changed dramatically since Proverbs was written, but human nature has not. A private text message sent during a conversation, a knowing glance across the room, a whispered comment afterward, or a carefully worded message sent only to selected people can accomplish essentially the same thing. Technology merely gives human beings new ways of practicing very old behaviors.

The important question is therefore not simply how we communicate, but why. Is our communication intended to clarify truth, encourage someone, solve a problem, or promote reconciliation? Or are we attempting to manipulate, embarrass, deceive, exclude, or divide? The motive behind our communication reveals much about the condition of our hearts.

The Real Problem Is the Heart

Solomon moves from outward behavior to its true source when he writes, “Their perverted hearts plot evil.” The lies, secret signals, manipulation, and troublemaking are symptoms of something deeper. The real problem is found within the heart.

Jesus taught the same principle centuries later. Luke 6:45 (NLT) says, “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Eventually, what lives within us finds a way to express itself. Bitterness affects the way we speak about people. Jealousy changes the way we respond to their success. Pride affects how we receive correction. A desire for control begins influencing the way we manage relationships. What begins internally eventually becomes visible externally.

This is precisely why Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) warns, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” We often concentrate upon correcting outward behavior while God is concerned with transforming the heart producing that behavior. Lasting spiritual change does not merely teach the mouth to say better things; it allows God to change the heart from which those words originate.

Trouble Does Not Just Happen

Perhaps the most revealing statement in the passage is that these people “constantly stir up trouble.” There is an important difference between occasionally finding ourselves in conflict and habitually manufacturing conflict. The person Solomon describes does not simply encounter disagreements along the way. This individual actively creates the conditions in which disagreement flourishes.

The methods may be subtle. One person is told what another supposedly said. Someone’s motives are questioned without evidence. Suspicion is encouraged. Old offenses are revived long after they should have been resolved. Private matters are repeated to people who have no legitimate reason to know about them. Eventually, people who previously had no difficulty with one another begin viewing each other suspiciously. The person who started the process may then step away and watch the resulting conflict unfold.

Scripture takes this behavior extremely seriously. Immediately following this passage, Proverbs 6:16–19 identifies seven things the Lord hates, and among them is “a person who sows discord in a family.” God values unity among His people, which means deliberately creating division places a person in opposition to something God desires.

This warning has tremendous significance for churches, families, friendships, workplaces, and ministries. A congregation can survive disagreements because disagreements can be discussed. It can overcome misunderstandings because misunderstandings can be clarified. It can even recover from serious mistakes when there is humility, forgiveness, and repentance. Persistent and deliberate division, however, can destroy relationships that took years to build.

Do Not Become Someone Else’s Messenger

There is another lesson in this passage that should not be overlooked. We may not be the person who originally creates the trouble, but we can become the means through which someone else’s trouble spreads. Someone tells us something, we repeat it to another person, and that person tells someone else. Before long, something that should have stopped with us has traveled through an entire family, congregation, workplace, or circle of friends.

Wisdom sometimes requires simply refusing to carry the message any farther. Before repeating something, we should consider whether we actually know it is true, whether the person receiving the information has any legitimate need to know it, and whether sharing it will contribute to solving the problem. Perhaps one of the most revealing questions is whether we would say exactly the same thing if the person being discussed were standing beside us.

Refusing to participate in gossip does not mean ignoring genuine wrongdoing. Serious problems sometimes need to be reported to appropriate people, and Scripture does not require silence when someone is being harmed. But there is a profound difference between responsibly addressing wrongdoing and enjoying the circulation of damaging information.

God’s Way Is Direct Communication

Jesus gave His followers a radically different approach to conflict. Matthew 18:15 (NLT) says, “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense.” The direction Jesus gives us is remarkably simple: go to the person involved.

Biblical reconciliation does not begin by going around the person, behind the person, or to everyone except the person. It begins with direct, truthful, loving communication. This does not guarantee that every disagreement will be resolved. Some people will refuse correction, reject reconciliation, or persist in destructive behavior. Nevertheless, we remain responsible for approaching conflict in a manner that honors Christ.

The contrast with Proverbs 6 could hardly be greater. The troublemaker creates complicated triangles in which people talk about one another instead of to one another. Christ teaches His followers to create honest conversations. The troublemaker spreads suspicion; Christ calls us to pursue truth. The troublemaker divides relationships; Christ calls His people to become peacemakers.

Trouble Eventually Returns to the Troublemaker

Solomon concludes with a sobering warning: “But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.” For a time, manipulation may appear successful. The liar may be believed, the gossip may attract an audience, and the troublemaker may successfully turn people against one another. Temporary success, however, should never be confused with escaping consequences.

A life built upon deception eventually produces a harvest. Relationships collapse, trust disappears, credibility is lost, and people begin recognizing the pattern. Even when other people never discover everything that has occurred, nothing remains hidden from God. Galatians 6:7 (NLT) warns, “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”

There is an unavoidable principle contained in those words. The person who continually plants discord should not be surprised when eventually surrounded by conflict. The person who repeatedly destroys trust should not be surprised when others cease trusting them. What we sow into the lives of others eventually produces a harvest, and Solomon warns that the consequences of persistent wickedness can arrive suddenly.

Examine Your Own Heart First

It would be very easy to read Proverbs 6:12–15 and immediately think of someone else. Most of us have probably encountered someone whose behavior reminds us of Solomon’s description. Yet wisdom requires us to resist the temptation to use Scripture only as a lens through which we examine other people. God’s Word is also a mirror through which we examine ourselves.

We should therefore ask whether we have ever repeated something that should have remained confidential, presented only part of a story because it strengthened our position, assumed another person’s motives without actually knowing their heart, or quietly encouraged someone else’s resentment. We should consider whether we speak differently about people when they are absent than we would if they were sitting beside us. Most importantly, we should ask whether our involvement in difficult situations tends to move people toward reconciliation or merely adds another voice to the controversy.

These are uncomfortable questions, but they are necessary. The purpose of Scripture is not merely to give us better tools for identifying wickedness in others. God’s Word also shines its light into our own hearts so that attitudes and behaviors contrary to Christ can be confronted before they become established patterns.

Be a Peacemaker, Not a Troublemaker

There is a beautiful contrast between the person Solomon describes in Proverbs 6 and the person Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:9 (NLT) says, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” One person continually stirs up trouble while the other deliberately works for peace. One divides people while the other seeks reconciliation. One manipulates relationships while the other deals honestly with people. One uses words as weapons while the other seeks to use words for healing.

Every Christian must decide which kind of influence he or she will become. We cannot control whether other people gossip, prevent every lie from being told, or stop every attempt to create division. We can, however, determine what happens when that trouble reaches us. We can refuse to spread it, insist upon truth, encourage people to speak directly to one another, and refuse to participate in conversations whose only purpose is tearing someone down.

Proverbs 6:12–15 is therefore more than a warning about troublesome people. It is a call for God’s people to become something entirely different. In a world where division is remarkably easy to create, Christians should be known as people who pursue peace. Where lies circulate, we should speak truth. Where suspicion grows, we should seek understanding. Where relationships are being torn apart, we should work toward reconciliation. And when someone attempts to place a seed of discord into our hands, we should refuse to plant it.

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