"A wicked man displays a bold face, but as for the upright, he makes his way sure"
wicked
This is the Hebrew word resa which again means that a person is completely ignoring God's moral boundaries and does whatever they want to get whatever they desire. The person who lives beyond the Ten Commandments is the wicked person.
displays a bold
This is the Hebrew word azaz which means to be strong or to make firm or to display boldness or might. Clearly in this instance Solomon is saying that the person who is wicked tries to look intimidating to get what they want. They put up a great facade to impress people. But the reality behind the facade is not the same.
The great danger is that young people fall for the facade and do not see that the wicked person on drugs doing the party scene is putting on a one-man show with an empty set behind the scenes and in their soul.
upright
The Hebrew word is yashar which means straight, right, upright. The idea is that the upright person does not bluff others. They are what they are; they are not hiding a weakness with a proud manner.
The righteous person is about being real in their relationships. They do not bluff that they have money when they only have debt. They don't pretend to have a great marriage in public while they fight behind the scenes. They don't make their kids look like they are all a great family. The upright person wants the relationships to be right. They want to really have a great relationship with God. They really want a great marriage. They really want a great family. So they put the work into these relationships to make sure that things are really good and strong.
We have, unfortunately, become a culture full of pretenders who put on a show for everyone else while the core of our lives and our souls is empty or rotten. Don't get like that. Make sure that your relationships have real substance and real connectedness. Realize that relationships and reality take work.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz