A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives. – Proverbs 20:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 3, 2016): Proverbs 20

Alexander Shchetinin was found dead in his home last week in Kiev, Ukraine. All indications point to the fact that Shchetinin took his own life by shooting himself in the head. Yet there are questions, and one of the major concerns is that Shchetinin, a journalist, was an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And that, all by itself, seems to have raised doubt on the cause of death. The question that everyone seems to be thinking, but absolutely no one is asking, is whether or not the Russian supporters of Putin could have had anything to do with the demise of Shchetinin. This, even though Shchetinin was found with the gun that killed him at his side and inside a locked room. The truth is that if Shchetinin were murdered, this would seem to be a case worthy of the English detective Sherlock Holmes.

In many parts of the world, we no longer live in fear of the whims of the king. We regularly criticize those in power, admittedly sometimes unfairly, without the fear that someone might kill us because of that criticism. I seldom experience fear from the things that I write. I am not a fan of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. I don’t believe that they are what the American people need, and I experience no fear in saying that. The closest I come to fear is when I publish something negative about the Islamic State. But don’t get me wrong, it is not the average Muslim that strikes fear in me, it is the radical fundamentalist of any group or religion that causes me concern.

It hasn’t always been that way – and in some parts of the world, it is still not that way. Personally, I believe that when the investigation is finished, it will be found that Alexander Shchetinin committed suicide. But I do know of people living in the city in which I live who are on the run from the wrath of the King. They are here trying to stay out of his reach until he is deposed or dies. I have never experienced that kind of fear.

So when I read this Proverb, I feel a certain amount of emotional distance. This is not my life, and part of me questions the purpose of having this proverb included with the rest of the idioms for life. Was the author’s purpose just a warning to not invite the wrath of political power, or was there something else.

I think there might have been something else. It is not just a king who we need to fear. It is The King. God rules over this planet. His wrath we should fear. And he comes in righteousness and justice, which is bad news for me who has often struggled with doing right. Yet he also comes in mercy, which is the only way that I can survive. But even though what we feel is his grace in our lives, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that he is the almighty king – and our lives are forfeit to his whims. Every breath that I take is only because The King has allowed me to breathe. But because of his mercy and his grace, I am very comfortable with that thought.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 21