![]() ![]() Naaman was commander of the army of Syria-a great general-and we read: “Naaman came with his horses and chariots”-came with his entire entourage and in all his glory, seeking to impress… “and halted at the door of Elisha’s house.” Elisha sent a messenger to him who simply said, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” Yet in desperation he goes to the prophet Elisha in hope that the God of the Jews might heal him. ![]() Naaman was not an Israelite, or even a Jew he was a foreigner who had even fought against the Israelites-a pagan, and worse yet a leper. A favorite Biblical example is that of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Pride is often the killer of morality, kindness and reason. Teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser Reprove a wise man, and he will love you. He who corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,Īnd he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.ĭo not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you The same person can even be playing both sides, depending on if they are at that moment the offender or the offended. ![]() That very odd, too: on one hand you have screechers, and on the other you have those who complain about “micro-aggressions” in which any turn of phrase-even though taken out of intended context-is considered to be “violence” upon their persons. Sadly, such seems to be the trend in many venues worldwide-the replacement of reasoned discussion with screeching and uncompromising/unhearing/illogical rhetoric. “Naked shall I return.”Ī pith little snippet of wisdom is in the new Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series on Amazon Prime, in which a character quips: “What’s the good of livin’ if we’re not livin’ good?”, not meaning living in luxury, but rather in doing what is moral, charitable and right.Īnother thing we encounter is if you peruse accounts of your interests on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, presenters often commenting about “haters” who post nasty comments. Rather, should we not heed Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Even the non-believer can see the wisdom of this, for who does not want to be well thought of at their death? Said no one ever: “What a great guy … so greedy and arrogant and caring little for others!” … much like the fact that nobody ever dies wishing they had worked even longer and harder, neglecting important things even more, to acquire more stuff. Do we not know that simple phrase is true? As they say, there’s no trailer on a hearse. As Job said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). But we must realize that, in the end, it’s all just fool’s gold-very pretty on the outside, but of little real and lasting worth. Yes, we do love our pride and to be admired. We certainly see this in the motivation for crime: embezzlement, extortion, etc., people risking years or decades in prison simply to have slightly better boxes to drive, boxes to live in, extravagant travels, etc. ![]() Having counseled more than a few couples, this often leads to the end of relationships as one spouse drains the savings, even spiraling them into hopeless debt-all for “stuff”, ostentation and bragging rights. This touches on how many people seem to set their value on their net worth, and why many are never happy with what they have but are always grasping for more. They seem to be a type of one-upmanship-“See, I can buy what’s new can you?” (Apparently a new “fashion” for young women are jeans which look like a lion’s discarded scratching post. The concept of seasonal fashions has always perplexed many of us. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |