The Noontimes

Proverbs 22 to 24: Infinity is Us

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Once I begin to read these verses, I cannot stop.  They ring as true today as when they were written so long ago.  They are proof that human nature, like water, swirls to the lowest level if left unchecked; but if effort is spent, water can be managed into refreshing spray, into nurturing irrigation channels.  Water can both destroy and mend.  So too, can humans.

The shrewd man perceives evil and hides, while simpletons continue on and suffer the penalty . . . Be not friendly with a hot-headed man, nor the companion of a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways, and get yourself into a snare . . . Look not on the wine when it is read, when it sparkles in the glass.  It goes down smoothly, but in the end it bites like a serpent, or like a poisonous adder.  Your eyes behold strange sites, and your heart utters disordered thoughts . . .

Some things never change.

If you remain indifferent in time of adversity, your strength will depart from you . . . Lie not in wait  against the home of a just man, ravage not his dwelling place; for the just man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble to ruin . . . Be not provoked with evildoers, nor envious of the wicked; for the evil man has no future, the lamp of the wicked will be put out. 

Some people never change.

He who plots evil – men call him an intriguer.  Beyond intrigue and folly and sin, it is arrogance that men find abominable.

Proverbs are a fountain of strength because we can find sayings that suit all people and occasions.  As I read, the images of many people flood my mind.  Images of myself also come to me – both from good times and from bad.

These are universal sentiments for all people for all times.  On a hot summer evening we do well to pause . . . read . . . listen, watch and pray.

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Written on June 12, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite.

Image from: http://f06.middlebury.edu/FYSE1176A/Escher.htm