Proverbs 13: Binary World

My son Daniel is currently in his junior year at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.  One of the campus features is a long "binary" sidewalk made up of 1s and 0s.  It actually spells out a message if you know the code.  In a binary language, everything is reduced to one of two possible states: off or on, yes or no, 1 or 0, black or white.  The proverbs of Solomon reveal that he often viewed the world in such binary terms, divided between the righteous and the wicked.

Consider how many proverbs present ideas in tension.  Here's a small sample from chapter 13:

• "Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin" (vs. 3)
• "The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked goes out" (vs. 9).
• "Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous" (vs. 21)
• "The righteous have enough to satisfy their appetite, but the belly of the wicked is empty" (vs. 25).

Again and again, Solomon urges his audience to take the path of wisdom, of righteousness, of integrity.  He scorns the opposite choices of foolishness, wickedness, and corruption.  To make his point clear, he presents the mutually exclusive options as "either/or".

Some modern people may scoff at Solomon's approach and think him naive or simple for seeing the world in such black-and-white terms.  It's not uncommon to hear talk about the need to see shades of gray in a complicated world.  Some of that is certainly true.  But what Solomon neglects in the consideration of ethical ambiguity, he makes up for in a strong sense of moral clarity and conviction.  Perhaps we need more of that in our world today.

I think Solomon would have quite enjoyed the binary walkway at CWRU!