When the Righteous Thrive

“When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” That’s a popular quote from what period of history? “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule the people groan.” Sounds pretty Biblical right? In fact, it is a quote from the wisest man in world history, King Solomon of Israel. Easy for him to say – after all –he was the King. This verse from the book of Proverbs long outlived King Solomon. In fact, according to historian David Barton, this passage from Proverbs 29.2 was among the most frequently quoted verses found in the writings of America’s Founders. Those folks wrote about the Bible a lot. They read Scriptures to each other on the floor of the Congress, they even took official breaks to call for times of prayer and fasting. They were not all saints. They had some of their doctrine really messed up, especially a few who held onto the evil notion of slavery. But trying to live together and govern states and a nation in full reference to Biblical truth was not foreign in early America. It was normal. My guess, is if the Founders came back today and took over Congress, they would all end up in a lawsuit with the ACLU in about – one day’s time. Obviously we are so much wiser now than back then. We have obviously outgrown the archaic notion that righteousness pays civic dividends and wickedness brings anguish and pain. Or have we just come up with more material distractions to enhance our denial?