NOTES for Pro 29:1-27
One of the main themes of today's reading is the principles of a rightly ordered state. The question of what qualities a person in authority should possess demands an answer from us too often for us to pass over the issue. Yes, there are no ideal people, but how can we determine whether the direction of movement is right, what a particular compromise will mean for us, what will come of agreeing to follow particular people or becoming captivated by particular political ideas? The Book of Proverbs offers us two basic criteria: just judgment and the absence of falsehood in government. Moreover, the person governing the country must neither lie nor allow others to lie to him. In this simple and unambiguous way, Holy Scripture brings us back to the truth that falsehood and unjust judgment cannot be means that justify even the most beautiful ends.