4 By justice a king gives a country stability,     but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.5 Those who flatter their neighbors     are spreading nets for their feet.6 Evildoers are snared by their own sin,     but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.7 The righteous care about justice for the poor,     but the wicked have no such concern.8 Mockers stir up a city,     but the wise turn away anger.REFLECTIONSWritten by Mei ChanHave you felt a bit weary of reading the news this past year? What with the January bushfires and a global pandemic, there hasn’t been much good news in 2020. And beyond the natural disasters or coronavirus, it’s also the corrupt world leaders who turn a blind eye to the suffering of their people, the greed of multimillion dollar companies that seek greater profits instead of paying their workers fair wages, the suffering of our brothers and sisters in parts of the world where they are persecuted for following Jesus. We look around the world and see the wicked prosper and the righteous oppressed, and we long for and cry out for justice. But then when I read these verses from Proverbs, I am reminded that while the wicked seem to get ahead in this world, the reality is that they will eventually be snared by their own sin. Those who spin lies to charm and flatter are spreading nets for their feet. This will happen, if not in this life, then on that final Judgement Day. But the righteous! Those whom God calls his sons and daughters, the ones who care about justice for the poor, who turn anger away with their wisdom—they are the ones who can shout for joy and are glad.How good it is to be counted as righteous—and not because we deserve it, but because we have faith in Jesus, who gives us his righteousness. And as we read in verse 4 that the king who rules justly gives a country stability, so we can rejoice that we follow a King who is always just, always compassionate, always wise, always good. And he will bring true justice on that Day when he returns. ABOUT THE AUTHORMei is part of our Fairfield Morning Congregation.