The List the Leads to Inner Peace

Readings: Proverbs 6:16-19

We all read magazines, books, newspaper articles, and websites that are composed of lists. I kind of like those articles--they are easy to read and comprehend with no excess of words to make the content murky. As in the reading from Proverbs today, the writers of these books of wisdom--from time to time--supply us with lists much like this particular one.

"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes
a lying tongue
hands that shed innocent blood
a heart that devises wicked schemes
feet that are quick to rush into evil
a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers"

These verses offer us excellent guidelines still today on our journey to be people of peace.

--haughty eyes show a proud heart: humility is our goal to live lives of true inner peace;

--a lying tongue, a heart that devises wicked schemes, a false witness who pours out lies: a heart that is hardened to peace will always be searching to make others feel/act like him. Just as dogs go from docile to vicious when packed together by an aggressive leader, so will humans when led by a person with a hardened heart. The hardened heart will stop at nothing to destroy those with inner peace...lies, false witness, scheming...Once these elements of hate disappear, the heart and soul once again gains inner peace and the torture ends;

--hands that shed innocent blood: a commandment for all time. Inner peace cannot be achieved when innocent blood is on one's hands;

--feet that are quick to rush into evil: beware the one with the lying tongue, the false witness...if our feet fall into the pathway of those who live to hurt others to gain an advantage, we too will find our hearts and souls getting farther and farther away from inner peace;

--and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers--this can be somewhat confusing when speaking of inner peace. Should we always go with the flow? This is not what we're being guided to do. We must always look to the right and the true. If we're following God's path, our hearts will continue to have inner peace and our souls will feel free. To assure us that we can follow that path, we follow Christ, our eternal guide.

During this time of Lent, we follow the footsteps of Christ and look inward to find our eternal inner peace of heart and soul. Following this list that is provided will aid us in finding a smoother path to this wondrous gift.

Peace be with you.