Hoping to Avoid Thieves

Scripture:
To be a thief’s partner is to hate oneself;
he hears the curse but will not testify.
Proverbs 29:24

Observation: This section of proverbs has straightforward advice about the righteous and the wicked. However, this one proverb is a bit different, for it implies that there can be an issue for someone who is the partner of a wicked person. It is not about one's own behavior, but his associates. In addition, being associated with such a person doesn't make you wicked, but it does create ... a complicated issue. A good person who will not testify against the wicked hates oneself.

Application: This is indeed complicated ... that a good person will have stress and self-hatred if they are associated with a wicked person. The stress comes from withholding truth. The self-hatred comes from the internal festering of allowing wrong to go unpunished.

So I must ask myself, am I a thief's partner? Are there individuals around me for whom I withhold information about "wickedness" so that I may remain viably active in the world?

The obvious place to look is at work. I feel I work with good people, though I do not always understand the moral direction of the corporation. In prior jobs, I actively experienced this very problem, very much knowing that wicked people worked around me, and I kept my mouth shut about every situation. Of course, I became detestable to many of them (as predicted in v27), and more than one took actions to harm me. I remember keeping a list of people I "trusted" and having that list contain only three names out of ~500 I interacted with on a weekly basis. And my stress was palpable.

I sincerely do not know what to do on a daily basis. I don't know where to turn and where to go in order to ensure I am not a thief's partner.

Prayer: Lord, I continue to wander. Even if I am walking on your path, I don't know where it goes. I trust that is okay, for I do know you are with me. Please show me your direction, and lead me to your peace. Amen.