God Knows the Un-redacted Version

Daily Reading: Genesis 42, Psalm 42, Mark 14, Proverbs 11

The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. 

Proverbs 11:1

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

Proverbs 11:3

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 11:4

The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.

Proverbs 11:5

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

Proverbs 11:6

The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

Proverbs 11:20

Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

Proverbs 11:21

Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Proverbs 11:28

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.

Proverbs 11:30

Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

Proverbs 11:11

For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.

Proverbs 11:14

Read back through these verses again, but slow down and take the time for God’s word to truly sink in after every verse. Take your time and don’t rush through it.

With so much going on in the world right now, Proverbs 11 seemed especially relevant today as I was doing my daily reading.

We live in a world that seems to have collectively decided to shrug our shoulders at the level of corruption and depravity being practiced by the most powerful people in countries across the globe. This is not a problem with America or one that exists in simply a few isolated countries. It is not a problem of the far right, the far left, or any individual political party. 

It is a problem of power. It is a problem of identity.

There are so many Christians from every single country that have aligned their identity with a political party or political leader, and defend indefensible actions based on the following logic:

“Well, everyone does it.”

“It is the lesser of two evils.”

“At least they aren’t as bad as…”

And the list goes on.

It is also easy to fall into the trap of worrying too much about our own financial livelihood, at the expense of all else. We rationalize supporting leaders that have committed terrible crimes because they might be “good for the economy” or “maybe this will positively impact my tax bracket” or “perhaps this will bring down the cost of groceries, healthcare, etc.”

I am not saying that these are not important things to consider.

However, if we care more about the stock market than the integrity of our leaders, then we are worshipping a false idol. 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Matthew 6:24

It is so important that we have a longer view than simply the next election cycle.

Our year to year financial security is temporary, eternity lasts forever.

Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

As Christians, we need to be the voice of reason in a broken and fallen world.

When we see powerful people from across the political spectrum caught in webs of corruption, accepting blatant bribes, or being mixed up in things like the Epstein files, it shouldn’t matter if we have supported them in the past.

We need to prioritize character and integrity.

Regardless of party, the following statements should not be controversial about politicians:

Caught using their insider knowledge to profit in the stock market, they have to go.

Accepting bribes from other countries, they have to go.

Credibly accused of rape, they have to go.

This should all be common sense.

This is not just politics. It is entertainment, business, schools, churches, and the list goes on.

We need to stop blindly following strong personalities in all of these walks of life, and turn back to God. Turn back to his word.

We have been told in Proverbs today:

Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.

Regardless of whether “the wicked are destroyed” while here on earth, or if their destruction is eternal in nature up, they never prosper in the end. However, when we cast our lot with them we damage our own testimony. We sacrifice our ability to reach the lost with the good new of Jesus, when they hear us preaching one thing, and then supporting people who do the opposite. It is now our integrity in question.

Two days ago in Mark 12:28-31 we read:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Love God. Love our neighbors.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.

As followers of Jesus, let’s be a collective tree of life this year. Let’s save lives.

Anything that pulls our hearts and minds away from the harvest are mere idols that need to be cast away.

Daily Reflection & Dialogue

What political party, political leader, media personality, entertainer, business leader, influencer, etc. have I put too much of my faith in? Are there people that I would naturally find myself defending if it came out that they had been involved in some pretty terrible things, and prefer to simply ignore and hope that it is not true?

Give it over to God today. He is faithful.