- Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,
nor in your bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter. -
If you understood the interpretation of verse 19, you should be able to see a similar pattern already emerging in verse 20.
The first thing we should notice is the contrast between verse 16 and today’s passage. What did it say?
It said woe to the land when your child is a king! What does that mean? Is it only appropriate to curse the curse the king when he is a child?
Well, not quite. To better understand the meaning, let’s continue with the verse. We see quickly that we are not to curse the king or the rich.
Why would wisdom dictate to us not to curse the king or the rich man? We could say that perhaps the most moral thing is to not curse anyone.
That gets a bit difficult when we think about someone doing something truly heinous. Should we not curse someone who butchers children? Are not kings capable of those atrocities?
Let‘s slow down for a moment. The text is very careful. It says not to curse the king or the rich. What does this mean?
This is an imposition not to curse our king or the rich people in our orbit. It is wisdom provided in the guise of self-preservation, not an unbreakable law.
We are being told something practical here, not necessarily moral. We are being told to save our own skin by teaching our minds not to curse our betters.
How do we know this? The verse go on to say that some winged bird will go on to spread what it is that we are pondering.
In short, if we make a habit of cursing the king in our mind, those thoughts will make it to them eventually in a way that seems to us untraceable.
A rumor gets away from you. Don’t tell so-and-so because I’m only telling you can spread to everyone you know. Be vigilant not to spread gossip.
How can you do so? By not even speaking ill of others in your own mind. You will extinguish the fires before they even have a chance to be lit.
Now, this is a strange verse in our day. We can curse the “king” (rather president) all day long without fear. We can call him old, weak, or stupid and no one does anything except argue back.
How are we then as modern Americans supposed to treat this verse?
First, we need to see this verse is good advice more than it is a moral teaching. In fact, we can find excellent parallels in our own life.
Perhaps the most obvious aphorism is the customer is always right. The customer is your company’s profit. You want to curse them? It’s like preparing and drinking your own poison.
Second, we can see that there are more productive ways in our life to deal with people we dislike than talking bad about them.
Instead of complaining about politicians, why not get involved? Why not go door to door campaigning for local reps instead of watching tv and yelling at talking heads?
It’s important to remember that some of that “news” is merely entertainment. If you only engage with it as a show, are you truly taking it seriously?
Work before you complain. Meet before you judge.
Converse before you condemn prematurely.
Ecclesiastes 10:20