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Personal and Social Wisdom (and Hope) From Proverbs 29

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by Rev. Gregory "Doc" Lowrey

I thought about Proverbs 29:2 today while writing to my Congresspeople and the White House regarding new attempts to abuse the God given (and hence off limits to government interference) Unalienable Rights recognised and guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

This verse is commonly rendered "When the wicked rule, the people mourn".

However there are many other passages which I feel are absolutely pertinent today.

The proverbs were kept because they taught enduring truth and were relied on as a guide for behavior and expectation.

In today's political climate, there is good advice and hope in these verses.

I hope we can all draw guidance, hope and inspiration from them.

Feel free to forward this to your legislators and other civil servants.

Don't be surprised if you need to extrapolate the meaning for them.

I suggest that where the scripture says "righteous" you not ascribe any particular religious persuasion or dogma to the statement, but instead consider it to mean, just, equal and ethical application of the plain meaning and intent of the law that our "leaders" are charged to protect and uphold.

This applies to Church and Government equally.

Those who would attempt to circumvent or broadly interpret our laws to obtain unequal advantage by obfuscating or otherwise altering the plain meaning are nothing more or less than enemies of God and Man.

Proverbs 29 King James Version (KJV)

1He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
 2When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
 7The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
 10The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
 11A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
 12If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
 14The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
 16When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
 18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
 19A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
 20Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
 27An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
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