Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(Proverbs 21:1-6; 10-13; Luke 8:19-21)
Mark Twain, twisting conventional wisdom, once observed, "You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time." It is true that men and women are often so impressed by fine dress and fancy talk that they are easily duped. The author of the Book of Proverbs, however, assures in the first reading that God is not gullible.
The writer states upfront that God directs hearts wherever He wills. He means that God knows the soul of every person and will move the honest ones to good fortune and the wicked ones to perdition. He gives a series of testimony: the rash who end in poverty, the wicked who draw no compassion, the fraudulent who find themselves trapped by their lies.
The Book of Proverbs may seem idealistic if not naive to us in a world that keeps chasing fame, fun, and fortune. Some people, after all, seem to have everything without caring a bit about the needy. But, again, only God really knows if they are at peace and whether in their ultimate state they will be as satisfied as they appear now.
