A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart. – Proverbs 21:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 14, 2013): Proverbs 21

I received an email the other day concerning the billions of dollars that were given out in the memorable buyouts in the economic crash of the last decade. The intent of the email was to try to give a graphic representation of exactly what a billion is. So, as the email went, one billion seconds ago it was 1959 (actually it was 1961 – but it was probably an old email.) One billion minutes ago Jesus was alive (actually, no, but close. The last of the Apostles of Jesus – John – had probably just died.) And one billion hours ago it was the Stone Age (the email got this one right, although the Stone Age lasted for roughly three and a half million years and one billion hours ago there was still 100,000 years left in the Stone Age.) So the conclusion of the email is that the next time a politician uses the word “billion,” we need to understand what a billion is.

Again, the purpose behind the email was to question the economic buyouts of the last decade – and some future ones looming. And there is no doubt that the email was attempting to draw a moral conclusion on what was right. I am continually surprised at how quickly we give moral reasons for our actions and the actions of others. This is maybe most radically seen is in the arena of politics and economics. We seem to believe that those who share our own political thoughts are righteous, and those that oppose our way of thinking are evil. It seems that every political decision that is made is placed on a scale of morality – the decision is either good, or it is evil – and therefore the people are either good or evil.

And so we come to this Proverb. It seems that we come to the conclusion in interpreting this writing that we might think that our answer to a problem is right (bailout of the banks and the auto industry being a case in point) while God knows that it is obviously wrong (because God always agrees with me.) But that is not really what this passage is saying. The problem is that our “right (meaning correct) driven” contemporary culture does not want to hear the message of the Proverb. What Solomon is saying is that whether or not a decision is right is actually not God’s concern. God does not care about the reasons behind the buyout of the last decade. What God cares about is the motive behind the action. Because, in reality it is the motive that makes any action (and person) morally right. A right action undertaken for a wrong motive is just as evil as a wrong action with a wrong motive. And a wrong action undertaken with a right motive is much more desirable than a right action undertaken with a wrong motive – although often we do not understand that.

What really matters is the reason why you do something. No matter what the issue is, whether or not it is evil lies only in the reason hiding behind the action. Everything we do is right in our own eyes – why would we bother doing what is wrong. But a right motive, while it does not guarantee a right action, will lead us more often into right action than a wrong one. And when we are attributing evil to someone, it is only the intention of the person that we really need to understand.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 22