Proverbs 6:12-19 "A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech, winking the eyes..."

"A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech, winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers, with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord; on such a one calamity will descend suddenly; in a moment, damage beyond repair. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family" (Proverbs 6:12-19 NRSV).

Question:

I am concerned about the outrageous lies being told by certain political figures. The "death panel" assertions are the worst! It seems to me these people—many claiming to be Christians—do nothing BUT sow discord among brethren. How can we debate the USA's health-care reform when there are so many scoundrels stirring up dissension?

Comment:

If this powerful passage were as simple as it first seems, it would be very dualistic—and that cannot be. We must start with the awareness that God—whether God as Divine Mind or God as the Christ that is the true identity of each of us—never blames, never accuses. What the Lord—the Christ within us—does is to make us constantly aware that choices have consequences. Those who act out of negative, fear-based energies will bring onto themselves the very things they fear. The useful list of “abominations” indicates that we cannot express the Christ, cannot call upon it for our own guidance and advancement, if we react to others out of negative energies that continue to live in our consciousness.   In terms of the health care debate, and in terms of all challenges and choices we face in the course of our human experiences, we are called to hold the High Watch. We cannot be the Christ by embracing duality and trying to do battle against those whose energy is fear-based. We recognize that the anger they arouse in us is simply a reflection of the fact that those very same attitudes exist in our consciousness as well. We lovingly refuse to engage in messy battles—while we also lovingly stand firmly in our spiritual consciousness. It isn't easy, of course. I share your sadness at the tone of blame and victimization that seems so prevalent in our country just now. I choose to remember and affirm that “the brighter the light, the darker the shadows.” We are moving forward in spiritual consciousness and bringing more of our unconditional love into expression in this human experience. The result is—as Jesus warned us it would be—that energies of fear that have been “calling the shots” for a long time are threatened, fearful and striking out. The process will be bumpy. But fear will not prevail.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed