Proverbs 11:1-12. A list of many of the benefits of righteousness and many of the consequences of wickedness. Interestingly, the first line of my reading for today is "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord." I just had a reading about Ephraim being punished for being like a trader with a false balance, it made them oppressors, they had their thumb on the scale. I likened it to our current political and media class, who very clearly have their thumb on the scale. Being as I got the same metaphor today, I am clearly being told something. I will ponder this...

Here, as usual in Proverbs, the good and the bad are juxtaposed (it's the Goofus and Gallant book of the Bible 😁). So, while a false balance is an abomination to the Lord, a just weight is his delight. Some other juxtapositions in these verses include: pride brings disgrace; humility, wisdom; integrity and righteousness make for a straight, guided path, while wickedness and treachery make a crooked path on which one stumbles and falls; the godless man would belittle and destroy his neighbor with his words, the righteous have the knowledge and understanding to remain silent.

This last one is much needed today. Remaining silent is a lost art, and we are definitely suffering for it! I blame social media for a lot of this, but it really does seem like everyone has to take a hard line opinion on absolutely everything immediately upon hearing the slightest bit of "news" or opinion. It is causing so much division and dissension. Our brains need time to process information; scientists need time to study new theories; policies need time to show their effects (which are often not the effects that were intended!): people need time and calm discussion to get to know each other. Instead, though, as soon as we hear something that in any way contradicts the "narrative" on which we are relying, we react, often spouting vitriol at the speaker, forgetting that this person is, after all, our "neighbor." And the "narratives" we are so vociferously defending have been carefully crafted and fueled by the left or right media, both social and legacy, for their own purposes. They are using and manipulating us and causing us to turn on each other!

I read some time ago that the big tech companies were hiring top psychiatrists and psychologists to help them "hook" us. They were weaponizing psychology against us. Boy did it work! The dopamine hits from "likes" and "follows" are as addictive as any drug. The "no holds barred" discussion style, like a pack of teenagers rooting on a schoolyard fight, is encouraged and rewarded. There is absolutely no room for nuanced thought and discussion of pros and cons, everyone just piles on. It is ruining us.

So let's remember that "He who belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent." Silence doesn't get you a lot of followers, or a lot of likes, but it does bring a lot of much needed peace.