Proverbs 17:19Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.Proverbs Daily is a reader-supported publication. All posts are free, but all donations help spread the message. When you see the word "upgrade," you're simply invited to help me make the sacred positively contagious...thank you in advance for becoming a free or paid subscriber. So advertisers have figured out something new over the last decade or so, and it's pretty wild. Forever, everybody knew that sex sells. I mean, if you wanna promote something, anything, just sprinkle a little sexy on it and boom, it takes off, right?But they've discovered something that sells even better than sex, and that's outrage. That's right, rage keeps people glued to the feed. Engagement turns into dollars, and that's the business behind the scroll.We live in the economy of calamity. Rage pays. Fury keeps the lights on. Every scroll, every clapback, every viral comment war — someone’s cashing checks at the expense of our pettiness while we burn civility down.Business professor Scott Galloway points out that nearly 40% of online ad revenue is tied to keeping us glued to the social media feed.It wasn’t always built this way. Remember those early promises? “Connect the world…or Do No Evil?” Sounds noble, right? But once advertising dollars met the turbo fuel of outrage, a new model was born — one that rewards division over connection, calamity over community.It’s like a nuclear energy that as long as you don’t pay any attention to the the fallout: rising anxiety, depression, polarization, you have yourself a pretty nifty mean money making machine. Leaders know it. Executives know it. But they keep doubling down — because calamity is keeping us on these platforms! But Proverbs nails it, whoever loves a quarrel loves sin. It's not just individuals addicted to the fight. Entire kingdoms have been built on the premise of warring and striving. And who makes the money? Those who are creating the weapons, who are creating the battlefields.Now I’m not telling you this to depress you — I’m calling you to mobilize. Remember the story of Jesus when he fell asleep in the boat and this storm came about and he's asleep in the boat and the storm is raging. The disciples are panicking, they wake Jesus, and he goes to the platform of the boat. And he speaks to the wind and the waves, "Peace be still".What if we, too, could step up in the middle of the storm and speak the kind of calm that breaks the outrage loop?The great 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi gave us some useful language:“Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”So here’s the move: name the harm honestly (call it out), and refuse to feed the outrage machine. Be a peacemaker who acts — not a provocateur who profits. Rumi’s field is the place we aim for: a grounded commons where we look each other in the eye, begin again, and get to work.So let me end it like this:We see what they’re doing. Rage may pay their bills — but love fuels our call.PrayerLord, rescue me from quarrels; let love shape my words.Today’s ChallengeSpot one post baiting your anger. I’m sure it won’t be hard to find. When you see it, simply say, “We see what you’re doing”...Pause. Pray. Then choose one loving move: write a gracious reply, share a constructive resource, or simply stay silent. That small refusal is how we begin starving the economy of calamity.About the AuthorFred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch📱Experience Proverbs Daily by Subscribing!Ready to receive daily wisdom directly on your phone?Go to proverbsdaily.org for the app or just click that Subscribe button right now
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