Better to be poor and honest than a rich person no one can trust.
Young people, listen to that one.
Ignorant zeal is worthless;
haste makes waste.
This brings to mind some religious types who have plenty of zeal it seems, but also without much knowledge, it seems. ("Balance" keeps coming to mind when I think of "spirit vs truth", as in "spirit AND truth".) (Of course, I think "my side" could use a little more zeal....)
People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,
so why does Yhwh always get blamed?
Ag! That rings a bell. (I'm just recently learning to "credit" God rather than "blame" him, because even when I mess up because of my own stupidity, vs 21 kicks in:)
We humans keep brainstorming options and plans,
but Yhwh's purpose prevails.
Where I am right now, is because that's where God has purposed me to be. Which means I can rejoice even in tragedy, or poverty, or disease, because I'm fulfilling the purpose of the Creator of the Universe.
When you're down on your luck, even your family avoids you—
yes, even your best friends wish you'd get lost.
If they see you coming, they look the other way—
out of sight, out of mind.
I am so guilty of this. How many technical details about Christianity must I get right to make up for an unhelping attitude? Oh, getting all the details right doesn't quite do the job? Bummer.
House and land are handed down from parents,
but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.
Being single, I just found that one interesting. I've always thought a good spouse was a gift of God. I want to conclude, that by not granting me that spouse, God must be using me in some other way to fulfill his purposes, but when I'm honest with myself, I find I really wonder if God just doesn't care enough about me to grant me that gift of completion. So I try to walk by faith and not by sight, yet find I'm pretty lousy at this, being so incredibly self-focused. Wow, I need the grace of God to cover my faults.
Keep the rules and keep your life;
careless living kills.
This is one that needs to be taught to young people.
Mercy to the needy is a loan to Yhwh,
and Yhwh pays back those loans in full.
I'm continually amazed at how much of God's concern is toward helping the needy. Yet that's very little of the focus of Christian teaching (at least in my experience). And most of the church budget is spent on "Other" than the needy. I can't help but suspect we're doing things wrong.
It's only human to want to make a buck,
but it's better to be poor than a liar.
No comment.
If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own,
you'll soon be out of your depth.
No comment.
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