“There is a Generation Pure in its Own Eyes that has not been Washed . . . ”

“There are many capable women, But you—you surpass them all,” says the appreciative man to his wife. (Proverbs 31:29)

Can the same be said of proverb writers and Agur?

Just as Proverbs’ long series of one-liners nears ‘Been There – Done That’ status, the Bible book takes an abrupt turn and introduces Agur, who tops them all.

Like this one: “There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes but has not been washed from its own excrement.” (30:12) 

Whoa! “Every other man serves  up the best proverbs first and then when guests are intoxicated, the inferior. But you have saved the best till last!” said the director of the marriage feast.

Did Agur have any particular generation in mind that thought it was pure though it was steeped in its own excrement? Whatever it is, it is must be characterized by his next verse: “There is a generation whose eyes are so haughty and whose eyes look so arrogantly!” (13) Depend upon it. If you are haughty, you will be oblivious to your own excrement; it is that ugly of a quality.

Wishing to avoid this wretched fate, Agur says: “Give me neither poverty nor riches. . . . So that I do not become satisfied and deny you and say, “Who is Jehovah?” Nor let me become poor and steal and dishonor the name of my God.” (30:8-9) Plainly, one hopes to avoid poverty, for obvious reasons, but riches poses its own dangers. Namely, they are that one may become too big for one’s pants and carry on irrespective of God. From this group arises the people who deride religion as a crutch of which they have no need. They don’t?

The analogy is correct—religion is a crutch—but the premise is wrong. The premise that more aptly fits is that of the wretch dragging himself through the filth on his belly, too proud, too stupid, or too manipulated to realize that a crutch would be useful. In his day, American President Ronald Reagan was arguably the most influential person on earth. Ten years later, in the throes of Alzheimer’s, he didn’t know who he was. Will anyone maintain that they need no crutch in the face of a pathetic reality as that?

Even the phrase “human rights” is a little dubious. If they are really “rights,” ought you not be able to do something about it when they are violated? Instead, not infrequently, they are violated with impunity. Even our own bodies do not respect our human rights, crapping out on us just when we need them the most. The expression “golden rule” is preferable: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It encases all that is noble of human rights, while discarding all that is pretentious.