Verse I Like:

Weekly Dose

Americans are known for their individualism.

Good in a lot of circumstances, but it can also come with an overestimation of how unaffected we are by our environment.

No man is an island.

Whether we want to believe it or not, we are pulled by our times.

It’s human nature.

In order to not have to re-learn everything previous humans already accepted as default, our brains are wired to find patterns, absorb assumptions, and move to the next constraint.

This gives us a foundation that is not entirely our own.

Much of what we think, fear, pursue, tolerate, and normalize is inherited from the people around us.

This shows the urgency and importance of surrounding ourselves with those who embody virtue and what we ought to become.

Quotes I Like:

Mane Message

An underrated ‘era’ in the ole good book is the stretch through Kings and Chronicles that outlines the kings of the ancient Israelites.

When reading it, I find myself tempted to picture myself as the good kings.

The kings that followed the Lord wholeheartedly.

The reformers and the righteous ones.

And yes, it is better to strive toward those men than toward the wicked kings that corrupted themselves and their people.

But we also have to understand the weight of culture and surroundings on them. Especially in a time that was substantially more communal and community-oriented than our own.

Again and again throughout Kings and Chronicles, we watch rulers rise and fall according to what surrounded them, what they tolerated, and who influenced them.

A good king would tear down idols, restore worship, and bring the people back toward what was good and ordered.

Then the next generation would absorb the surrounding nations, adopt their practices, compromise slowly, and drift again.

The pattern repeats constantly.

And it is uncomfortable because it reveals something about human nature:

Very few people are as independent as they think they are.

Even kings were shaped by atmosphere.

Some were strengthened by righteous influences. Others were hollowed out by corrupt courts, prideful neighbors, political convenience, comfort, or the desire to fit in with the nations around them.

It is easy to read these stories and wonder how Israel could continually fall into the same traps after seeing the consequences over and over again.

But then I look around at modern culture, incentives, politics, media, status, vice, comfort, and distraction, and it suddenly becomes much easier to understand.

The environment always presses inward.

Which means wisdom is not simply about believing the right things privately.

It is also about intentionally placing yourself among people, habits, and structures that pull you toward what is good.

Because if you do not consciously shape your environment, your environment will shape you.

And slowly, often without noticing, you will become like your surroundings.

Weekly Ponder

If I became more like the people I closely associate with, would it be for the best?

What “defaults” do we hold with absolute certainty that we’ve never seriously tried to disprove?

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