Proverbs 18 3 says when the wicked cometh then cometh also contempt and with ignominy reproach As I read this proverb, I see two applications. First, the wicked exudes contempt for all that is righteous and true. And then secondly, the wicked is held in contempt by those who stand for what is righteous and true. So I wondered if other Bible teachers saw this double application as well, and I'm happy to report that some do. Matthew Henry says, quote, this may include a double sense, end quote. And he then lays out the same two applications that I presented only in his own words. When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt. So in the first sense, the wicked exudes contempt for all that is righteous and true. And examples of this take place most of the times these days. When I try to talk to someone about Jesus or the gospel or salvation, with each passing year, it gets more difficult to even have a decent conversation with lost people about these things. These days, when you approach someone with a gospel tract and try to strike up a conversation, they immediately show contempt for the tract and for the whole discussion. Some will just give a rude or condescending response like, I'm okay. Or they'll just say, no thanks. And they'll refuse to take the tract or talk about the subject. And that's fine. It's a free country. No one has to talk about anything if they don't want to. But we're not discussing personal rights here. Our discussion isn't about whether someone has the right to show contempt for God's Word and the Savior. The discussion is about simply the fact that such contempt comes from the wicked. That may sound obvious, and it is, but it's also a profound truth that doesn't seem to have sunk in to most Christians I've ever known. The reason our nation is going to hell and swiftly turning into a third world hellhole is because our nation is filled with a growing number and percentage of wicked people. And as those numbers and percentages of wicked people increase, the contempt for Christ and Christianity and Christians will also increase. and that will result in greater levels of persecution of Christians. And that is closely related to the second sense of our proverb when it says, when the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt. The wicked is held in contempt by those who stand for what is righteous and true. And as America goes dark and becomes more sodomite and satanic, more Christians will suffer and will recognize the source of such suffering. That's why the darker things get, the more we desire to be raptured out of here and go home. We can only avoid the company of the wicked to some extent while we remain in this wicked world. And there are times when trying to talk sense to these wicked people and people involved in this woke cult and social justice and leftism and liberalism It's just casting pearls before swine. And at that point, the child of God just wants to get away from the pigs, get away from the swine. That's not something we say openly in front of the swine, but it's just how we feel. You know, J. Verna McGee put it, I think very well when he said, quote, another modern proverb is, some persons cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go, end quote. Get that? Some persons cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go. And he goes on to say, I think that is a good one and would apply to the crowd mentioned in this verse. If you feel that way at times, don't feel guilty. Even Jesus limited the amount of time he spent mingling with the wicked. And there's much more to be said about the wisdom in limiting our time among such contemptible people, even as we take opportunities when they're presented to preach the gospel to the wicked and to try to show concern and compassion for lost souls. We love people, and we love them enough to tell them the truth. And we do make the effort, but we have to limit that time that we spend around them. because they are full of and deserving of such content.