So Many are Inheriting the Wind

Scripture:
Those who trouble their households will inherit wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
Proverbs 11:29

Observation: As the writer of proverbs continues in warning about what is foolish behavior - in this case, troubling one's own household - he states that such fools will "inherit wind". That is to say, they receive as their reward something that can never be possessed, for wind cannot be held or captured in any way, but simply is energy that rushes past us. Yes, it is real and we can feel it, but it cannot be owned.

Application: This phrase was used in a provocative way in the 1960s, as the title of a play and movie "Inherit the Wind". It was about the historical trial that analyzed the teaching of creationism vs. evolution. I have never seen nor read it, and I am troubled by the very idea that as some level our society continues to believe there is a mutually exclusive nature about this topic, and by extension about the existence of God.

Whether or not the title was intended this way or not, this entire historical event and the related debates is the very definition of a fool troubling their household. Fools have created a false equation - either creationism or evolution must be true and thus the other must be false - and then used that equation to attack faith itself. Over time, the erosion of faith has negatively impacted every aspect of society, from values and morals, to quality of family life, to mental stability of individuals.

And to be clear, the result is that fools have become servants. Those who struggle with all kinds of elements in their lives - and do so while adamantly denying the Lord's word and even his very existence, using 'scientific' arguments as the foundation of their denial - now live as slaves. While the enemy who deceives them may not be 'wise' as the author of Proverbs used the word, he is formidably intelligent, crafty, cunning, and deceptive.

Those who trouble their households - who take up flawed arguments based on such deceptions, which then cause real problems within their own homes, families, communities, people, nations, and society - will in fact inherit wind. They will feel the results, but they actually receive nothing.

Prayer: Lord, I say it again today, we are in need of revival. I fear for all aspects of our world. I know I am personally helpless to do anything, yet I know you are all-powerful and can do all. May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.