For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it (Proverbs 2:21-22).

"Oh," said the hippy-squatter, with disappointment and disdain in his voice.  "You're an American."  It was like he was declaring me a leper, some sort of unclean person.  He even took a step backwards as his face fell.

I was surprised by his blatant anti-Americanism.  It was more potent than the typical European distaste for American foreign policy and cultural ignorance.  And it felt more out-of-place at the ADM Terrain, a massive industrial site that had been squatted by hundreds of dred-locked, earth-toned neo-hippies -- where they typically prided themselves on their open-mindedness, their acceptance of people from various lifestyles.  I wasn't sure what motivated the sudden coldness toward me and my nationality, so I didn't say anything about it.  I tried to change the subject, but the conversation died within a minute.  With nothing else to say, my friend and I said good-bye and walked away, back towards the camper-trailer that served as his home within the ADM Terrain.

Immediately once we were out of the other squatter's range of hearing, my friend turned to me and apologized for the awkwardness of the preceding conversation.  He explained that a lot of squatters had issues with Caucasian-Americans -- who they viewed as murderers of the Native American civilizations, destroyers of the more natural way of life that was so widely admired by the squatting community.  They took out their frustrations on people like me because of what I represented; it wasn't anything personal.  And honestly, I could understand the frustrations.  It's a difficult part of American history.  I cannot justify what happened, as much as I might like to do so.  It just happened, and now we're all living with the consequences.

So to tell the truth, I cringe a bit when I read Proverbs 2:21-22.  It sounds like the kind of verse that has been abused by white settlers, stretching out across the North American continent to fulfill their "Manifest Destiny."  It sounds like the kind of verse that gets all tied up in difficult discussions about the Middle East, supporting Zionism and jihad against the Zionists.  It sounds like a verse that is so black-and-white / right-and-wrong that it grossly ignores the complexities of colonialism, imperialism, war, ethnic "cleansings," genocide, and generational disputes.  If the squatters of the ADM Terrain were to hear such a verse, for instance, it would confirm all their worst suspicions about Christians and white Americans.  Or forget the squatters:  What am I supposed to think of such rhetoric from the Bible?

I honestly don't know how to interpret the meaning of Proverbs 2:21-22.  I'm afraid that this is one where I've got more questions than answers!  Maybe the "land" is supposed to be something more figurative -- a kind of indication of God's blessing and protection... Maybe the promises for protection and banishment are meant to be read as prophecy, showing how everything will shake down at the end of time, when all debts are called to account... Or maybe it's just meant to be a demonstration of the consequences of sin; maybe it's showing that none of us have any "divine right" to any piece of land on God's green earth because we're all sinners, we all slip into unfaithfulness at times, and we all fall short of God's standards for righteousness and blamelessness.  Romans chapter 3 makes this point quite clearly (and repeatedly):  "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one... There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Maybe we've got land issues -- with various people jockeying for "ownership" privileges, and pointing their fingers at all the "bad guys" on the other side of the debate -- because we've all disqualified ourselves from rightful posession of anything, apart from God's grace.

Again, I don't really know.  But these are some thoughts as I ponder Proverbs 2:21-22.  What do you think?