Proverbs 1:10-19 (Amplified Bible)
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
11 If they say, Come with us; let us lie in wait [to shed] blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause [and show that his piety is in vain];
12 Let us swallow them up alive as does Sheol (the place of the dead), and whole, as those who go down into the pit [of the dead];
13 We shall find and take all kinds of precious goods [when our victims are put out of the way], we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 Throw in your lot with us [they insist] and be a sworn brother and comrade; let us all have one purse in common--
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them; restrain your foot from their path;
16 For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird!
18 But [when these men set a trap for others] they are lying in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy of gain; such [greed for plunder] takes away the lives of its possessors.
As Christians, we all know we're supposed to reject and shy away from people whom insist on dishonest gain. In the most dramatic form, we imagine mobsters, or other criminals robbing others to get rich. It seems so far off, or extreme. Then again, a quick flip through the news on any given day can reveal a CEO exiting with a golden parachute, as the company they've shepherded goes down in flames.
This hit me pretty hard tonight because of verse 19. Think about it- What is the American Dream? In our country, it's considered "normal" to accumulate education, wealth, possessions and status above all else- at the cost of everything else. We're encouraged to seek these things out from a very early age.
That's horribly mixed up.
Good Night
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