The Second Edge

(Pro 1:11 KJV)  If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

The final phrase of this verse is a double edged sword.  Unfortunately the translations only seem to bring out one edge, the question of whether the person attacked deserved it or not.  That in itself is significant.  It is one reason we are told in the Sermon on the Mount to turn the other cheek.  We are not to rush into things like retaliation.  

But there is another aspect to this.  The closest translation I could find in my software to my point was the International Standard Version,

(Pro 1:11 ISV) If they say, "Come with us! Let's lie in wait for blood; let's ambush some innocent person for no reason at all.

The element missing is doing things without thinking through the goal you have in life.  Thus when we have a slick salesman who gets us to buy something we often don’t seriously ask ourselves, “Do I really need this?”  Often we buy things we have no real use for or that we would admit we will never use if we were honest.  Think of all the unused items in your garage and closets, or things you only used once.

So?  In addition to being kind to strangers this is also a call to stewardship.  Both are common problems in life.