Proverbs 24:12 "If you say 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?"
What is "this" that we "knew nothing about?" According to the previous verse, it is people being led away to death- people in danger.
Ignorance is bliss, or so we are told. What we don't know can't hurt us, goes the famous proverb. But this Proverb tells a somewhat different story. Verse 12 tells us that ignorance is not bliss, it is destruction. What we don't know can hurt us and others in the process. It is easy sometimes to turn a blind eye to some of the tragedy in the world. It's also really easy to indulge in the tragedy of the world by picking up a paper (or surfing a news website). Both are harmful. When we ignore the tragedy of the world, we give our silent consent to it. When we fill ourselves up on the media-soaked tragedy of the world, it numbs and de-sensitizes us to it. Again, both are scary prospects. What God calls us to is to have open ears to the cries of the world. Not just the cries of our friends, but also those who live on the margins of our society. God gives the gift of compassion to His people so that we have the capacity to listen to these cries and then to respond. My prayer is that when my heart is weighed, it is found to be one that has listened to the cries of the hurting and responded with a compassion only found in Christ.
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