Readings for today: Proverbs 1-4
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” (Proverbs 4:18-19)
I couldn’t sleep again last night. Too much grief. Too much anxiety. Fears for our nation. For the utter lack of wisdom being shown by so many. Violence only begets more violence. We’re seeing that on display. Every escalation is met by more escalation. Every foolish act only increases the pain. Demonic forces are on the loose. Their only aim is mayhem. They corrupt otherwise peaceful demonstrations. They take advantage of the crowds to wreak their havoc. They sow seeds of chaos. They love the night. They love the darkness. They wear all black. They mask up so no one can know their identities. They do not care who they hurt as long as they get to destroy. And the media covers their every move.
At the same time, there is light. There is hope. The righteous do shine like the dawn. I love seeing police officers kneeling down with the protestors to pray. I love seeing peaceful demonstrators confronting those who are looting. I love seeing wise leaders emerge who take the time to walk among the people. Listening. Honoring. Loving. Diffusing tension. De-escalating conflict. Bringing calm in the crisis. They understand their words have power. Their actions communicate respect. And I’m praying their light shines brighter and brighter with each passing day.
We are reaping what we’ve sown as a nation. As a country, we’ve commercialized outrage. The loudest and most obnoxious voices get all the press. Extremists get normalized and platformed. The dumpster fire that is Twitter has now spilled onto the streets. Anyone could have seen this coming. You simply cannot pursue the politics of division without suffering the consequences. Many years ago, political operatives made it their goal to divide the nation into two warring camps. They no longer saw a need to reach out across the aisle. No longer saw a need for compromise. It was a “win at all costs” mentality that resulted in a scorched earth treatment of one’s political opponents and the hatred they fostered has now broken loose. But they aren’t the only ones to blame. We all need to look into the mirror right now. We need to ask ourselves how we have contributed to the current climate. All of us bear some responsibility for what is taking place. That’s the thing about democracy. It is government of the people, by the people, and for the people. So we need to come to grips with the hard truth that what happens in Washington DC is simply a macro-reflection of what happens in many of our local communities. And rather than blame-shift as is our wont in such circumstances, we must confess and repent and humble ourselves before the Lord and before one another.
King Solomon is quite possibly the wisest man to ever live. He specialized in solving intractable problems. Problems like the ones we face over race and power and economics. These things were not foreign to Solomon and people came from all over the world to seek his advice. How would he advise us today? In our situation? In our current cultural moment? I think he would say this, “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:2-5, 7)
Readings for tomorrow: Proverbs 5-8