“Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.” (Proverbs 28:10, ESV)

It is bad enough being foolish or wicked (foolishness and evil bring their own pain), but it is especially bad to lead those who are genuinely striving after the Lord in a wrong path, or to set before them an example that may cause them to go astray from Christ.

Those who succumb to the temptation to influence the righteous to act in a manner that is in direct contradiction to the clear teaching of Scripture are warned that they are the ones who will ultimately suffer for it.

Here and elsewhere, the false shepherds and fake leaders are warned that they will experience the pain that they have inflicted upon others by falling into the very pit that they prepared for those whom they despised or hated. Those who follow God may be deceived, and often are deceived for a time, and they may even be manipulated into assisting with certain atrocities for a season, but the Spirit of Truth will always protect His own.

This is the "goodly" inheritance that the Proverbs speak of. If your heart is set on God, then rejoice! Mistakes are made, and we are all, at times, a party to things that are wrong having been mislead and deceived. But the Spirit of Truth, our "goodly inheritance" from God, will always rescue us, redeem us, and forgive us for all our stumbling paths that we take. So rejoice!

All this was purchased for us on the Cross by our great King. To Jesus be all glory and all honor. He is the true Shepherd, the One who gives His life for His sheep, and because we matter so much to Him that He was willing to die for us, we can be assured that He will always step in to guide His people, leaving the false shepherds to suffer the heartache of their own devices.

You shepherd something that God has granted to you in trust, be it your church, your Life Group, your family or your job. Shepherd it for His glory and His praise... not your own. Just as the King grants us a stewardship to be managed in good faith, He can quickly take it away. It can happen suddenly, in the blink of an eye. So praise Him, and be careful about the pits you dig...