And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. – Ecclesiastes 4:4

Today's Scripture Reading (December 13, 2022): Ecclesiastes 4

Friedrich Nietzsche argued, "The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." Nietzsche condemned conformity, or what we have come to understand in our contemporary culture as "the echo chamber." And I sincerely wish that it was a practice that was limited to our children. Wouldn't it be wonderful if, when we finally matured and entered into the adult world, we understood how important diverse beliefs and experiences are to all of us? I have come to detest the echo chamber, but I know why the echo chamber exists. It has become a safe place for all of us because we have forgotten how to disagree civilly. Instead, disagreements are often accompanied by anger and frustration and the feeling that we just don't measure up because we disagree on this one thing. So, we run toward those who believe like us. We enter into "the echo chamber" because we are scared of disagreement and so that we can bully, with the support of the majority, all those who believe differently.

But that is only the start. Once we find our group, we have to work to look like them. We have to possess the things they possess, eat where they eat, and spend money like they spend money. We hold them in high esteem, and so we work hard to be able to keep appearances. To become like them, except too often, we simply become like we believe they are. The effect is even more pronounced when there are multiple people in the group with whom we aspire to be because it isn't just keeping up appearances with one person but with everyone.

Qoheleth sees this situation and reminds us that this too is meaningless; it is chasing after the wind because it does not change us or our world. It simply tries to place us in a mold, and too often, it is a mold that no one fits. It is a fantasy that we have made up in our minds.

We are all a little different. Just because we think differently, or even believe differently, doesn't mean we are wrong. Often it just means that we are different. And regardless of how different we are or what we possess or do, we are all just trying to make it through the journey without causing too much damage, to ourselves or to the people with whom we travel. Too often, the echo chamber only serves to hurt us all.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 5