Tag: fools

• Psalm 49: Self-Rescue

  
  

  Psalm 49: Self-Rescue

  Sunday, September 3, 2023

  Yesterday we heard from Peter about sloppy living; today we hear the psalmist’ words on the foolishness of trusting in wealth. Today we pray Psalm 49 using THE MESSAGE translation and we open ourselves to the understanding that God alone saves, God alone transforms, God alone gives us the gift of eternal life.

  The psalmist prepares us to hear words that save.

  Listen, everyone, listen—
      earth-dwellers, don’t miss this.
  All you haves
      and have-nots,
  All together now: listen.

  The psalmist delivers words that calm.

  So why should I fear in bad times,
      hemmed in by enemy malice,
  Shoved around by bullies,
      demeaned by the arrogant rich?

  The psalmist sings verses that reveal.

  Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue,
      pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
  The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
      and even then it doesn’t guarantee
  Life forever, or insurance
      against the Black Hole.

  The psalmist speaks verses that ring true.

  Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
      wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
  They leave all their prowess behind,
      move into their new home, The Coffin,
  The cemetery their permanent address.
      And to think they named counties after themselves!

  The psalmist declares truths that are evident.

  So don’t be impressed with those who get rich
      and pile up fame and fortune.
  They can’t take it with them;
      fame and fortune all get left behind.
  Just when they think they’ve arrived
      and folks praise them because they’ve made good,
  They enter the family burial plot
      where they’ll never see sunshine again.

  The psalmist proclaims words we will want to sing out together as we give thanks for God’s gifts of assurance, redemption, and rescue.

  Listen, everyone, listen—
      earth-dwellers, don’t miss this.
  All you haves
      and have-nots,
  All together now: listen.

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  Compare this translation with others to better understand the psalmist’s message.

  Image from: http://www.alittleperspective.com/psalm-49-chiastic-structure/

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  September 3, 2023

  bullies, fame, fools, listen and learn, rely on God, wealth

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• Ecclesiastes 2:12-17: Madness and Folly

  
  

  Ecclesiastes 2:12-17: Madness and Folly

  March 12, 2022

  Wisdom has the advantage over folly as much as light has the advantage over darkness.

  When we listen to a podcast interview with Suki Kim, author of WITHOUT YOU, THERE IS NO US, we have the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be wise and what it means to be foolish. No matter our social or political views, this interview gives us a glimpse into a world of extremes.

  http://www.npr.org/2014/10/22/357632699/among-the-young-and-privileged-in-north-korea

  Ecclesiastes opens a discussion of the value purpose and worth of human life. When we listen to this podcast we might also reflect on how and when we hope to control others. And, perhaps most importantly, we have the opportunity to reflect on when and why we choose darkness and a lack of information over the light and her gift of knowledge.

  The wise have eyes in their head, but the fool walks in darkness.

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  Read the NEW YORK TIMES review of Kim’s work at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/books/review/suki-kims-without-you-there-is-no-us.html?_r=0

  Image of fool from: http://www.wfuv.org/blog/question-day-april-fools

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  March 12, 2022

  darkness versus light, fools, wisdom

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• Proverbs 27: Perceiving Evil

  
  

  Proverbs 27: Perceiving Evil

  Saturday, November 16, 2019

  Woven among the threads of practical advice in these proverbs are many other strands that alert us to the presence of evil in our lives.  The alarms are not strident and can be easily missed – just as evil itself can approach us disguised as goodness.  Evil is seen as being present everywhere: in nature as well as humans.

  Friendship is feigned in order to gain some end, intimacies are betrayed, decency is imitated.  Only the crucible of life can test the value of the silver and gold we see before us; and only the passion of living life honestly will save us from the fire of life’s furnace.  Fools are portrayed as both perpetrators and receivers of evil.

  Where do we turn in a place where so much evil abounds?  What do we do about evil that knows no limits or boundaries?

  Good stewardship is praised and seen as a worthy foil for evil’s assault on the faithful.  Striving for unity rather than putting up with division is another antidote.  Honesty is encouraged, as is the nurturing of relationships.

  But perhaps the most telling piece of advice that speaks to the power of evil is this: The shrewd man perceives evil and hides; simpletons continue on and suffer the penalty.  And we are reminded that: As one face differs from another, so does one human heart from another . . .Though you should pound the fool to bits [with the pestle, amid the grits in the mortar], his folly would not go out of him.

  Fools and evil keep ready company.  So do the faithful and their God.  As we near the end of this Book of Common Sense, we might return to earlier chapters where Wisdom is praised for her instruction; power of God is seen as the only vaccination against evil – and these are tools which only work as well as we able to implement them.  This is why it is essential to spend time with God each day – because evil is everywhere.  It is why it is imperative that we seek God’s counsel in all we do – because only God can deal with the kind of evil that imitates goodness in order to take over the soul.

  Evil is described as being omniscient – and even hiding in the most intimate and most cherished places: families, neighborhoods, the closest of relationships.  The only surety we have against being invaded by this silent intruder is the defense we are offered by our God.  We do well to remember this and to take the proffered gift gladly.

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  Image from: http://www.kenlauher.com/daily-wisdom/

  For more on this Book of  Common Sense, go to the Proverbs – Courage page on this blog at: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/the-old-testament/wisdom/proverbs-courage/

  Written on October 18, 2009 and posted today as a Favorite.

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  November 16, 2019

  evil, fools, God, intimacy, wisdom

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