The first chapter or so of the book of Wisdom. I think it is the perfect representation or definition of the world and the just, and the philosophy of the devil, the flesh and the world, and an example of how things will be for the just living in that world.

Or, you might say, how things SHOULD be... eg, If we're comfy and have lots of friends, and everybody loves us, and we've got no problems with the world around us... that something is terribly wrong with ourselves and the way we are living our lives. Because there it is... the Bible says right there in Wisdom that THAT is how things are going to be for those who are following God. Human nature doesn't change, and the devil and his objectives do not change. So if we are following God as we should be, the world around us should be treating us like "the wicked" in the book of wisdom treated "the just" ... with hatred, with persecution... like oil and water, the two CANNOT mix. So if we're mixing... there is obviously a problem.

I think it is an excellent reminder of what we ought to be doing, and what the chief sign is that we ARE doing it, and doing it right... that is, the world will hate the very sight of us, and do everything it can to shut us up and get rid of us. If not, we may surely suspect that we are more like the wicked than the just.

If the Church had a fifth mark, it'd be persecution. The universal cross of the "just". If we haven't got it, something is very wrong in our lives.