| | I said I would finish, and I will.
By the way, my small group (long live the guild!) is going to have the best flag ever - it has the power of math behind its transference from the computer to the flag. We spent over an hour working on it and all we had to show was a penciled in grid and five dots along the edges at various points, but those became the guidelines to filling in a perfectly proportioned version of our logo. We rule.
Anyway, today was good - I'm thoroughly enjoying our discipleship meetings, then me and Whitney watched Dancing with the Stars. This is a really good season; my loyalties are spread between Shawn Johnson (She did better than the judges gave her credit for. Only Bruno showed her the 9 she deserved), Melissa, and the naked guy from Sex and the City (though his tango brought the house down tonight).
Anyway, enough of my reality shows; onto the Bible.
Finishing up Proverbs 15:
14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.
I love how much this is drilled in. It's all about your love of wisdom; your love of living a right life. The Message actually nailed this one:
14 An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth;
fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies.
There are those who study everything, retain what they see as the truth from, and constantly seek to build. Others follow whatever fad craze of the moment is for "smart" people and really have no idea what's going on behind it ("OMG DR PHIL WAS SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS THING THAT OPRAH WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE OPPOSITE A MONTH AGO"). Love the truth, don't love the excitement behind being "up to speed"
The NIV wins for verse 15:
15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched,
but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
A life of sin is never satisfied; getting success by crooked means carries with it the fear of getting caught the rest of your life. Constant scheming, planning, and fearing for the loss of everything your works have built. A cheerful heart lived with God, however, has assurance even if everything does fall apart, because they have a broader perspective.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,
Than a fatted calf with hatred.
Family first. Always.
19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,
But the way of the upright is a highway.
Self-explanatory; I just really like that one. If you're lazy, everything you do is a struggle to expend as little energy as possible; if something higher is the motivation, the path itself is not the problem.
22 Without counsel, plans go awry,
But in the multitude of counselors they are established.
Whoever was collecting Solomon's Proverbs has thought this one was worth writing down four times by now (I think it's four...not going back to check right now). This must have been an important one to their culture, and should be important to ours.
23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth,
And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!
It's good to see the power of the tongue referred to positively for once. Lots of doom and gloom is spoken over controlling your tongue, forgetting that the reason it's given such power is because of how great the right words can be. Be careful with your tongue, but use it for good instead of just not talking.
24 The way of life winds upward for the wise,
That he may turn away from hell below.
This one is very oddly worded, and I've definitely never heard it cited before. I was confused until I saw the NLT's take on it -
24 The path of life leads upward for the wise;
they leave the grave behind.
Walking with God takes you further and further away from the life you lived when you were dead in sin. A perfect sign of if your attempts to walk in Wisdom are working or not. If your way seems to be leading back towards your dead works, then it's not a good sign. I like this one; it's not used enough.
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
But the words of the pure are pleasant.
You know those people who you can just look at them, know the stupid things they're thinking about what's going on, and you get pissed without them even saying anything because you just know they're being stupid? Yeah...God doesn't like them either.
28 The heart of the righteous studies how to answer,
But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
Studying how to answer...outside of apologetics and prepping for interviews, you don't hear much about this - taking different scenarios in life, and studying how to conduct yourself in each one. Hm. Maybe we should integrate this into our culture more. I dunno.
31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life
Will abide among the wise.
Learn from your mistakes; you'll end up in good crowds.
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| | Posted 3/30/2009 11:42 PM - 6 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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