Tag: arrogance

The Ways of Wisdom (Proverbs 30:18-33)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand:

an eagle flying in the sky,
a snake moving on a rock,
a ship finding its way over the sea,
and a man and a woman falling in love.

This is how an unfaithful wife acts: she commits adultery, takes a bath, and says, “But I haven’t done anything wrong!”

There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:

a slave who becomes a king,
a fool who has all he wants to eat,
a hateful woman who gets married,
and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.

 There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:

Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.
Rock badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.
Locusts: they have no king, but they move in formation.
Lizards: you can hold one in your hand, but you can find them in palaces.

There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk:

lions, strongest of all animals and afraid of none;
goats, strutting roosters,
and kings in front of their people.

If you have been foolish enough to be arrogant and plan evil, stop and think! If you churn milk, you get butter. If you hit someone’s nose, it bleeds. If you stir up anger, you get into trouble. (Good News Translation)

If there is an overall theme in the wise sayings from this chapter in the Book of Proverbs, it is that we ought to renounce arrogant greed; while at the same time, we should uphold and embrace a humble life of contentment.

The four lists of wisdom address four observations of creaturely ways on this earth: mysterious ways, antisocial ways, instinctive ways, and impressive ways. We are meant to observe that each of these four numbered lists contain wisdom that is available to all of us, that is, if we will but apply the observational understanding to our own lived situations.

Mysterious Ways

The first list observes four invisible ways; the way of the eagle, snake, ship, and man, all leave no trace of where they have been and what they are up to. Thus, their ways are mysterious, causing us to wonder what is really going on with them.

Why is the eagle flying, the snake moving over the rock, the ship navigating the water, and the man interacting with the woman?

We are to apply wisdom to our circumstances, and discern that a single act of one being is, in reality, up for interpretation. We simply do not know why each is doing what they’re doing.

As wise persons, we understand that intentions and motivations vary from person to person, and from one observer to another.

The eagle may be enjoying the spread of his wings and the feel of the wind; or he might be the predator surveying the land to attack an unsuspecting fish or squirrel.

The snake may be seeking to warm himself in the sun, or he could be slithering with malevolent intent.

The ship may be hauling needed goods to bring into port; or it might be moving to pirate others and steal.

And the man may be intending to love a fair maiden; or he might be attempting to seduce her for his own advantage.

The point is that we must be wise and discerning, not always having a singular interpretation or belief about what we are seeing and observing. What at first glance may appear innocuous, may in fact come from a place in the heart of covetous greed, and vice versa.

Antisocial Ways

The second list, dealing with general societal roles, cites four instances of role reversal which turns the social order into antisocial ways that cause trouble in society.

A slave who becomes king may believe that he knows better than the ruler. He probably talked about how he could do a better job. Yet, when given such a responsible position, such a person is way out of their expertise and depth. Statecraft is a real thing; and if one hasn’t been duly trained in it, and had some experience in it, things will go south quickly.

A fool who has all he wants to eat is like the person without any self-control. He goes out to eat at an all-you-can-eat buffet; and it will not end well, especially if it’s done a regular basis.

A hateful woman who gets married is a train wreck waiting to happen. I’m not sure I need to comment on this, because likely you are already covering your eyes, imagining what will happen in such a relationship.

And a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress has perhaps had a fantasy about how easy it is to be in charge and simply tell others what to do. Little does she know how stressful it truly is to be in charge and be the administrator of an entire household. Like the slave becoming a king, she will soon learn that the role she coveted is not all it’s cracked up to be.

All four of these persons do not (yet) have the wisdom to fulfill a role; they need training, experience, and a proper character to do the job. Their limited perspectives, and their foolish character, will lead to disaster.

Instinctive Ways

The third list, dealing with natural instincts, cites four creatures who model survival because of their instincts and wisdom, not their strength.

An ant may be small, and not carry near as much as a bigger creature, yet they have sense enough to diligently work and have everything they need when it is needed.

Rock badgers compensate for any lack of strength by making their home a fortress where a much stronger creature cannot penetrate. They have sense enough to know how to live in safety.

Locusts are many. Even though they have no leader, and are small creatures, they know enough to move together and work together in order to accomplish thriving and flourishing on this earth.

And even though lizards are common, and not all that difficult to catch and possess, nevertheless they can be found in high places. They are taken care of by bigger and greater creatures than themselves.

When any creature lives into their true self, and doesn’t try to be something they are not, their needs are cared for. Humanity could take a big lesson from such small creatures about how to get along in life.

Impressive Ways

The fourth list, dealing with displays of majesty, cites four creatures who are stately in their appearance because of their position, design, and context.

Lions are majestic creatures. Their very appearance and the sound of the male’s roar elicits awe and fear in others. This is an important part of how the lion pride gets around in this world and is able to meet their own needs.

Goats and roosters strut around like the own the place. Their sense of presence and confidence is palpable. If you’re ever around them, you’ll need to match or exceed their level of acting in charge.

Which is precisely what a king does within his realm. Each of these four are an example of taking charge and acting the part that you ought to be playing.

Whereas the earlier list had examples of people who were trying to act a role they weren’t ready for, this list of examples are creatures who are living into the role they need to exhibit, no matter whether they feel brave or competent, or not.

Concluding Ways

The wise person takes the time to observe, listen, and learn from a variety of sources, including all of creation. Everything and everyone can teach us, that is, if we will but put ourselves in a position to learn from them.

The first two lists describe people who covet for more, and are discontent with their situation. The last two lists observe creatures who know their limits and weaknesses, yet nevertheless, have found resilient ways to meet their needs – ways that are consistent with who God created them to be.

So, which way will you go?

Almighty God, I humbly ask that You fill me with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You. Open the eyes of my heart to see Truth more clearly. Sharpen my spiritual discernment to distinguish good from evil, good from bad, better from best.

Help me not lean merely on my own finite understanding, but trust wholeheartedly in Your infinite wisdom given to me in creation. May divine wisdom from above flow through me each day in thought, word, and action. Amen.

Get Low Enough To See (John 7:25-36)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” (New International Version)

Once in a while, I pray something like this: “Lord, if I’m not seeing you when I ought to, or am not getting something you’re trying to show me, please use your divine baseball bat and whomp me upside the head!”

That’s because, far more often than I would like to admit, I miss seeing the Divine whenever God shows up. That’s true for all of us, as well. We tend to mistake experiencing God when the Lord comes and stands in front of us.

In the New Testament Gospels, some who followed Jesus ended up turning around and going back to their old life. Either the situations with Jesus got too dicey, or Christ’s teaching seemed too confusing. When that happens, it’s too easy to forget Jesus altogether, and never pay attention to him.

There are others who treated Jesus with contempt, simply because they didn’t recognize who he really is. One cannot have faith if they don’t know or acknowledge the object of faith. You cannot believe Jesus if you don’t believe he is from God.

And, of course, there are those who see Christ for who he is. Yet, some of them see Jesus as a threat and want to be rid of him. Others see him as a great healer and teacher, and follow Jesus in order to gain something from him.

However, there are others who see through spiritual eyes and gain the faith to believe and follow him.

All of us, in some way or another in our lives, have misread Jesus and mistaken him for the gardener or some other person.

Many of the Jews in Christ’s own lifetime rejected him because they believed him to be a common nondescript Jew. They knew his parents, and his family. Jesus was too familiar to be special, let alone the Son of God. Besides, everyone knows nothing good comes from the Hicksville that’s Nazareth, right?

The thing is: People miss seeing Jesus for who he is (sometimes including you and me) because we have particular expectations and requirements of our personal Jesus. In other words, it is awfully easy to make Jesus Christ into our own image of how he should be.

Having worked with college students for many years, I continually got a kick out of some of them who had precise requirements for a spouse, and certain expectations of how their potential kids were going to be someday.

It went well beyond having the same core cardinal values. Handsome and beautiful, smart but not too smart, assertive but not sassy, subservient but not a washrag, a 3-point Calvinist but not 5-point, willing to eat anything on the table except weird food that would embarrass, willing to live on a shoestring budget, funny but not quirky…. Actually, I could keep going; there’s a lot more. But you get the idea.

You may be curious as to my counsel to them. I typically said something along the lines of “I guess you’ll never get married, because marriage has nothing to do with any of that stuff. If you’re willing to have your eyes open and see a good person when they come along, and if you’re patient enough to develop a solid relationship built on grace, truth, and love, then you’ll likely find yourself a spouse you can be with for a lifetime.”

I remember one day on a college campus talking with a student after he asked me why he should ever be a Christian. I don’t think he expected my answer. I had already assessed that the guy was looking for a philosophical debate, so I went in a different direction. I said something like:

“I don’t think you should be a Christian. Jesus had people misunderstand him all the time. He was ridiculed and persecuted, tortured and killed. And he had the chutzpah to tell his followers that suffering would be a big part of being his disciple. Many of them followed him anyway. If you’re interested in why they did, we can talk. But if you just want to try and feel good by talking about Jesus, and avoid facing life’s pain and suffering, then I’m not wasting my time. So, what do you want to do?”

We will miss Jesus altogether if we are looking for a particular person. Whenever we get married to specific outcomes, then we’ll miss him for sure.

I wonder how many times Jesus showed up in your life this week, and you didn’t recognize him. In truth, Jesus is with us, by means of the Spirit, all the time. If you don’t see him, it’s not God’s fault, or anybody else’s.

Humility accesses spiritual sight. The religious leaders of Christ’s day were flummoxed and fuming all the time because of their arrogance, and their settled theological and biblical dogma. And so, they could not see who Jesus is, even though he was smack in front of them.

Yet, even though we may be spiritually blind and deaf, and finally see a glimpse and catch a sound of Jesus, that graciously means he is still there, beside you, never having given up on you.

Even a blurry and faint awareness realizes Jesus coming in the people we meet each day who encourage and bless us. Christ even comes and speaks through those we would not expect to hear a word from God.

Whenever we may wonder where Jesus is in our suffering and pain, he is there, sometimes even holding us and carrying us, despite our lack of awareness.

In reality, Jesus is in front of us, beside us, and holding us, all of the time. It’s just a matter of whether we know it, or not. Christ is in everything we experience. He is in both our sadness and joy, the noise and the silence, our work as well as worship, business and leisure, at night when we fall asleep and in the morning when we open our eyes.

So, if we are looking and longing for Christ, he has already come. Jesus came in the most humble forms possible. So, in order to see and experience him, we need to get low enough to see and hear him.

My Lord and my God, help me to see You in all of the ways You come to me today. Teach me not to despise any of the forms in which You come to me as being too common, humble, or ordinary. 

Wake me with Your presence in the morning and tuck me into bed when I sleep. Labor with me in my work today, and cause my leisure to lead to thanksgiving. 

Speak to me through the people You have ordained for me to meet today, and speak even through me, in spite of myself. 

For good and for ill, better and worse, in sickness and health, and in richness and poverty, reveal Yourself to me that I may receive whatever blessing You have chosen for me this day; through Jesus Christ Your Son, my Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit are One God, now and forever. Amen.

Have Enough Sense to Learn Some Life Lessons (Proverbs 19:24-29)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.

Arrogance should be punished, so that people who don’t know any better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected.

Only a shameful, disgraceful person would mistreat his father or turn his mother away from his home.

My child, when you stop learning, you will soon neglect what you already know.

There is no justice where a witness is determined to hurt someone. Wicked people love the taste of evil.

A conceited fool is sure to get a beating. (Good News Translation)

I believe one good practice is to ponder the biblical proverbs and write them in our own words. So, here is today’s Proverbs lesson in my own colloquial words, with a brief bit of commentary:

There are folks who have gotten so used to laziness that they don’t even use their hands to feed themselves.

It’s important not to enable such persons to be this way by bringing them food and feeding them. It reinforces bad behavior, and will only frustrate you if you give-in to the rationalizations from the lazy person.

Arrogant fools need sense enough to see that foolish stupidity leads to punishable consequences; but a person with good sense learns the humility of being corrected without having to be harshly punished.

Part of what makes a person foolish and arrogant is that they honestly believe they’re an exception to the rules, that they can do what they want and not suffer the consequences. Conversely, the wise person doesn’t always need to learn the hard way. They listen to correction and accept it, thus avoiding adverse consequences from continuing in a particular way.

Kids without any sense at all are a disgrace to their parents; they steal from mom and dad and refuse to care for them in their need.

A parent’s greatest shame is when one of their children ignore what they’ve been taught and use the parents to get what they want. And then when mom and dad have a need, the kid has every excuse in the book to not help them. Unfortunately, there are times when a parent must take action to protect themselves from a wayward child. It isn’t healthy to let your children use you with impunity.

If you have no inclination to learn, you will eventually become as dumb as a brick.

Anyone who doesn’t take the stance of being a life-long learner will end up losing what little knowledge they have. That’s because memory is tied to actionable learning. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.

A witness who lies brings harm to both the court system and the persons involved; he is just like a criminal who commits crimes and revels in a lie as if it was a delicious meal.

Sadly, there are some people in this old fallen world who take delight in lying, cheating, and stealing. It gives them a twisted feeling of superiority and control to manipulate a person or a system. So, beware of the one who has no conscience.

The only thing an arrogant fool can expect to get in this life (and the next) is punishment.

A fool is a fool because they neither learn a lesson from observing what happens to others, nor learn from their own mistakes, misplaced words, and bad behavior. Although they shouldn’t be surprised whenever they are fired from a job, arrested by the police, or have a spouse leave them, they are; somehow they feel entitled to live as they please and have others accommodate to their life.

The biggest chunk of the Book of Proverbs (chapters 10-22) are wise sayings framed mostly in couplets. The majority of the verses are a contrast between the wise and the foolish, the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad.

The contrasts are meant to demonstrate consequences. If we make decisions and live our lives in a good and right way, then it is likely that we will be successful and have some overall happiness.

However, if we choose to go through life like the fool, then we should expect some rather adverse consequences.

For example, both parents and children need to make some responsible choices in order to live well. Parents are to put a great deal of effort into raising, training, and loving their children so that they can be successful in life. Children are to respond by accepting parental teaching and seeking to live into the wisdom taught to them.

And yet, there are parents who are uncommitted to preparing their children for adulthood. And there are adult children who want nothing to do with anything their parents tell them, believing their mom or dad to be stupid or out of touch. However, sooner or later, they will learn a hard lesson.

A happy family is a beautiful thing; a contentious bunch of relatives always walks away hurt.

Every day is an opportunity to build on a wise foundation of life. The sorts of decisions we make, and why we make them, is of upmost significance for a good, right, and just way of living. And this wisdom, ideally, is to be passed on by both words and actions.

No matter who we are – whether parents or children, community leaders or citizens, managers or employees, neighbors or nations, we are all to grow in maturity by learning to make wise choices in life which bless others, and thus, bless yourself.

We are neither to live arrogantly and selfishly, nor are we to allow bad attitudes and behaviors to exist within our families, communities, and workplaces.

The beginning of wisdom in living a good life is to know God and be a life-long learner of sacred wisdom literature. This is the first and most important choice of all.

All-wise and all-powerful God of the universe, you have given dominion over this earth, in order that we may steward good and right living which allows all life to thrive and flourish. Give us wisdom to use all that you have given, so that no one may suffer from our foolish stupidity, and that the generations yet to come may know that there is a good God in heaven who blesses those who do right and forsake evil. Amen.

There Is a Larger Perspective (Psalm 73:1-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Psalm 73, by Keli Hogsett. The artist states, “This piece is made entirely of wood ‘ends.’ The wood colored ends represent nearness to God, where the darker pieces represent the opposite. The darker ends can attract and manipulate the wooden ends, but the darker they get, they turn downward and are swallowed by the wooden ends.“

God is indeed good to Israel,
    to those who have pure hearts.
But I had nearly lost confidence;
    my faith was almost gone
because I was jealous of the proud
    when I saw that things go well for the wicked.

They do not suffer pain;
    they are strong and healthy.
They do not suffer as other people do;
    they do not have the troubles that others have.
And so they wear pride like a necklace
    and violence like a robe;
their hearts pour out evil,
    and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.
They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;
    they are proud and make plans to oppress others.
They speak evil of God in heaven
    and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,
so that even God’s people turn to them
    and eagerly believe whatever they say.
They say, “God will not know;
    the Most High will not find out.”
That is what the wicked are like.
    They have plenty and are always getting more.

Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure
    and have not committed sin?
O God, you have made me suffer all day long;
    every morning you have punished me.

If I had said such things,
    I would not be acting as one of your people.
I tried to think this problem through,
    but it was too difficult for me
    until I went into your Temple.
Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.

You will put them in slippery places
    and make them fall to destruction!
They are instantly destroyed;
    they go down to a horrible end.
They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;
    when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear. (Good News Translation)

The psalmist Asaph communicated his own experience, which is really the experience of all Israel, and of all who genuinely seek to follow God.

Everyone who is truly pure in heart will struggle, at times, to make sense of all the impurity and injustice in the world. Even a cursory observation of this old world clearly sees that it is a broken messed up place.

Those observations challenge the faithful with questions such as, “Is God really good?” and “Is maintaining my purity and faithfulness worth it?”

Most often, the response to those questions is “Yes, but…”

Arrogant people prosper. They get away with being jerks. And it isn’t fair. Good people continually face adversity and hardship. Nothing comes easy. And it doesn’t make sense.

Contemplating this reality for too long can lead to a spiritual crisis of faith. It can produce doubt. It is likely to either morph into anger and bitterness, or a passive “meh” to most things in life.

However, observational appearances can be deceiving. There is much more to seeing than with our two physical eyes. There is the kind of sight which God has:

“I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

In truth, the real and actual power of arrogantly wicked people is their ability to create envy and jealousy in the righteous persons.

We need a different way of seeing, a reorientation of our limited understanding of life. Look at the world, containing both the wicked and the righteous, from an angle you haven’t seen before.

For Asaph, this breakthrough perspective happened in the sanctuary of his God. The psalmist began to see that the seeming wealth, health, and invincibility of the arrogant is merely a façade. Their true future is anything but prosperous.

Asaph also had a reorientation of himself. He began to understand and accept that his own heart had the shadows of bitterness and ignorance. He himself had too much vice hiding in his heart.

With the spiritual eyes of the heart, we can focus in on the presence of God. The Lord’s guidance is constant, even when it doesn’t seem like it. God’s handle on the future is secure.

The arrogant and the wicked will not last. There is a day coming when they will not rule over anything. Their end is a sure thing.

The wise heart discerns that not everything I see today will be the same tomorrow. Therefore, I can plan wisely for the future, and be patient that the goodness of God will ultimately prevail over it all. This orientation to life brings confidence and hope.

Wisdom also directs us to discern that our hope and confidence can wax and wane. Just because we may be full of faith, hope, and love today, does not mean that from here-on-out we will never have to struggle with these feelings of jealousy, envy, disappointment, and anger.

Far too often we think emotions can be easily replaced, the negative ones for the positive, envy for happiness, or jealousy for satisfaction.

However, we are more complex creatures than that, having the capacity to hold multiple emotions at the same time. Sometimes, the best thing is to recognize that I can be happy, even though I am sad, without ignoring or stuffing the sadness.

Consider this: At the same time, all the time, God is both terribly sad, as well as quite exuberant. The Lord both grieves and celebrates continually. That’s because God sees it all.

And if I were to see the entire scope of your life, I am sure there are aspects of that life which are joyous, and elements which are despondent, with great longing for change.

Asaph got a much fuller picture of how things actually are in this world. And with that more expansive perspective he discovered a sense of settled hope, despite the fact that nothing in his world had changed at all.

Indeed, I myself am to be the change that I long for in this world. And it starts with gaining a perspective of wisdom, and seeing the angle of immateriality.

Arrogant pride, hoarding of wealth, and injustice will not last forever. They are temporary. But there are permanent things in this universe, and none of them have to do with money or stuff.

When all is said and done, Love survives and thrives. God hasn’t gone anywhere. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Spirit is still alongside us.

And the wicked are no more.

So, may righteousness, justice, and peace surround you today and everyday like a warm security blanket of hope. And may you know that you are seen and loved by a God who cares. Amen.