What with Laurie being underfoot being home and confined to downstairs for now, I kinda struggle with having that "me" time to do nothing but study, listen to music, and other such all night. Not to mention I myself have been a bit "off balance" of late, and I let the cache of WBS posts dwindle to the one that just went out and this one here. Ignorantly, I thought last night, "Well, let me just knock it out, as I know where we're going"- to the blessings of Wisdom list in Proverbs 3 that I jumped over last week. But as I wrestled with it, the lack of preparation found me out, and I slammed into a question, that if I asked, maybe you would too. So I asked for understanding, and got crickets. Mainly because of my own unpreparedness, but also because the answer was RIGHT THERE.
So I reviewed the listing of blessings you receive when you value Wisdom and understanding. I found two sets of four, and each one in the four tied into the corresponding member of the second four. But as I started to analyse the list, one got me stuck right away. Let's see if you can guess which one it was.
Pro 3:13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding. Pro 3:14 For its profit is better than the gain from silver, and its increase more than fine gold; Pro 3:15 she is more precious than rubies, and all the things you can desire are not to be compared with her. Pro 3:16 Length of days is in her right hand, riches and honor in her left hand. Pro 3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace. Pro 3:18 She is a tree of life to the ones who lay hold on her, and happy are the ones holding her fast.
So we start on what I'll call the 'first flight', and notice that the first blessing is PROFIT. Interestingly, the KJV translates this as 'merchandise', but while 'profit' does translate to 'merchandise', 'gain'- which the KJV also renders as 'merchandise'- is actually two words that get you something like, 'what you get from the market'- or in other words, your profit from it. So your first blessing will be a profit gained from Wisdom.
Then, the next step in that same verse is 'INCREASE'. This word comes out to mean 'produce'- i.e. the fruit of it. If we want to stay in the precious metals end of the analogy, maybe 'interest earned.' The 'fine gold' part has to do with the act of the gold being dug up. So digging for Wisdom will make you richer than digging for gold.
The third step is the word 'precious', which denotes VALUE. Curiously, it gets translated as 'rubies' or 'precious stones' in most places, but the description- 'to be turned, round'- is more like a pearl- which K&D noted has a similarity to Jesus' 'pearl of great price.'
And last on the first step is the harder one to compare it to something physical, but easiest to see what it matches up to, because both it and its partner are described starting with the word ALL. On this step, it is all things that desire can point out cannot be 'levelled' to what SHE can give.
Note- this is why I capitalize Wisdom. The pronouns she and her are constantly used for Wisdom. To me, I believe this is a person, then- and thus, the Holy Spirit.
The second flight begins with the part that stuck me. And that phrase is 'length of days.' No magic way of translating this; it means what it says. And I suppose to a certain extent, "small w" wisdom can help you lead a longer life. But is that what we are doing here? I can- and I know you can, too- come up with a billion ways that some wise people- even wise in the way of God- live short lives. Just like I know that there are children who honor their mother and father and get snuffed out too soon. So what was this about? I kicked at it, kicked at it, prayed about it, gave up and went to sleep.
And in the morning, it stood revealed with more prayer. This isn't life on earth. Think on it, stubborn Chris: We're talking about something more profitable than silver, more valued than gold (which is close to $1,500 an ounce as I type), of COURSE this isn't earthly!! How was it I could easily see that we were talking heavenly profit, heavenly value, heavenly produce- but when it came to long life, I had to adjust it to THIS world?
Well, let's look down the list of 'Peter principles' from a few weeks back. I hadn't brought it to Jesus in prayer first AND FOREMOST. I failed to 'shut up and listen'. I switched from God's agenda to mine. I blew the whole humility thing, and took my eyes off the purpose, which is sharing a blessing and not writing a post.
As I said, this all links to the Parable about the pearl of great price:
Matt 13 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
See, my mistake was, in main, I was paying more attention to the goods I had to sell than the pearl I needed to buy. Hopefully, next time when I get to that 'second flight', I'll be a bit better prepared.
So today, I thought I would try rousing myself to humor by going to the VERY LAST stories on the front pages of my usual victims, and see what comedy news might lie there. I was encouraged in this by the first one, at least....
Fox News: I just wanna know why she was directing traffic
Headline: Chilean mayor sprints to avoid reporters, says she was surprised by her ‘aerobic capacity’
64 year old Evelyn Matthei, the mayor of Providencia in Santiago, was discovered by reporters in a yellow safety vest directing traffic in her neighborhood. She did take a few questions; but tired of being a lightning rod for critiquing both the government's handling of recent protests, as well as the violence of the protesters, she took off jogging. The reporters followed, as she would slow down to let them gain, and then tale off again, leading one journalist to say that despite being an athlete (he practices karate), it was hard to keep up with the major. “It was funny, I did not get what was happening,” he said. “She ran at least two blocks… she had great acceleration.”
Afterwards, she took to Twitter to congratulate some of the more creative meme-makers from the incident...
BBC: Because it gives a great new market for night-vision goggles
Headline: Why Hatton's Win 'was great for British and European golf'
Tyrrell Hatton is the golfer in question, a 28 year old who just claimed his first win on the Euro tour in two years in the Turkish Open. The best part of the story, he won a six-man, four round playoff under floodlights set up on the 18th, some seven hours after play started that day.
More by accident than design, the tour may have stumbled across something for the future. The images of golf under the lights - with the players repeatedly taking on the 18th - created a real sense of occasion and spectacle as Hatton emerged last man standing.
Yeah, we saw that with Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas last March. And yet, "stadium golf" still seems to be a ways off. Not to mention, not sure I really want to be out after dark in Belek, Turkey right now...
Moscow Times: What, no Starbucks?
Headline: Our Top 10 Cafes Around Patriarch's Ponds
So what is Patriarch's Ponds? Well, it is in the rich section of Moscow, and there is just ONE pond, although sometime between being a swamp and a chic place to go, there were three ponds...
Apparently it got remodeled down to one after Napoleon torched the city in 1812. The top ten list has a lot of nice looking candidates (although I was disappointed that the one named "Nude" referred to the 'industrial' decor and not the waitresses), but I would have to say the one I would be most likely to patronize would be the #10. It's named, "I Love Cake."
Japan Times: Maybe you should try a wall
Headline: Trade war frontlines are friendlier than you think
This is a story about a Japanese (unless you are South Korean, in which case it's a South Korean) island right smack dab between the two nations, called Tsushima. Now, if you're Russian, you might recall Tsushima as the place where the Russian Baltic Sea fleet sailed 18,000 nautical miles in 1905 only to be sunk by the Japanese Navy. Today, it is a cross-cultural meeting place- at least it was until Japanese PM Abe decided that he wasn't going to apologize to the Koreans over their use of Korean girls as "comfort ladies" during WWII, and since he was insulted by the request, cut off a lot of crucial trade on the grounds that "it might be used by the military." On the ground, where people try to ignore the governments (something we oughtta try), everybody gets along. The Russian Navy gives it a wide berth, though.
Xinhua: I hope that didn't translate to "Bubbles"
Headline: Chinese movies to be screened on 41st Cairo International Film Festival
So if you're a movie buff and think that Cannes is a bit too safe, check out the festival in Cairo, where Chinese films will be headlined by "So Long, My Son", which as far as I can figure involves a couple whose son, nicknamed Xingxing, gets pushed into a reservoir and drowns. They then move, and adopt another boy, whom they also start calling Xingxing- and he runs away. They get over it, get rich, then the now-grown boy who pushed Xingxing #1 in the water comes to visit and apologize. Apparently, what happened to Xingxing #2 and if the other kid apologized because he was sad or because they were rich is left for the sequel, "My Yuan, My Yuan".
Deutsche Welle: Well, they're Turks, so...
Headline: EU targets Turkey's oil drilling off Cyprus coast
For those who don't know their Cyprus history: Back in the 70's the Greek majority on Cyprus elected an Orthodox Archbishop to run the country (Makarios, which I learned at church means "happy"). Turkey feared that Archbishop Happy would happily turn the whole island over to Greece. So they did as they usually do- they invaded, "conquering" the Turkish-majority side of the island and naming it an independent nation (which nobody but themselves recognizes). They somehow, in the same deluded logic that brought you "the Armenian genocide that never happened", the Turks claim that the waters off the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" are THEIR territorial waters, and thus they can drill for oil.
Still waiting for that "Turkish Republic of Northern Syria" so they can drill there, too.
There's a commercial on Bott Radio that always annoys me. Because of its focus on the core message, it kinda misses the way it presents its case. If you look at the ad the way the creators saw it, it goes like this:
Voiceover lady sets the stage of explaining the stages of a couple's life by starting with "popping the question".
Guy in ad: "Will you marry me?'
The ad then goes to the second stage, where the couple got married in the background. A baby coos, voiceover lady says, "And the moment when the two become three."
Third stage is the point- that the state of Indiana has a plan to help growing families. A doorbell rings, voiceover lady goes into her spiel.
But what actually is heard goes more like this- and if you notice, I don't change the order at all from above:
Voiceover lady sets the stage.
Guy says, "Will you marry me?" Baby coos, sounding an awful lot like it's saying "yes" to the guy.
Voiceover lady says, "And the moment when the two become three", door bell rings as if someone just showed up to join the guy and the baby whom he's marrying. By this point, the spiel is lost on me.
Point being, focus can be everything. I encountered that this week as I prayed on the way to work. I have a FB friend who is a lot like family- technically, he would be the son of my former sister-in-law. A few years back, he sent us a friend request kinda out of the blue- you see, he's a young man now, and I prolly hadn't seen him since he was 3 years old. As usual, I thought nothing of it and accepted, keeping in mind that I knew through my son (who actually is family to both of us, lol) that he was gay. Not a big deal, I'm good at scrolling past things that don't interest me.
But there was a moment in the last year that he made a mention of the affection he held ME in. Which amazed me, because "3 years old", and it really shook me the ripples that we make in life, and how some of them are so much bigger when viewed through other eyes.
So back to this week, and I am praying about how to handle this relationship, however electronically tenuous it may be. I know my place is not to barge in wagging a finger. I also know that doing nothing is not an option if I live my faith. I asked God what the way to look at this was.
He replied with what I took as, "You sure you wanna know? This is a lot more involved than you think it is." With that "Uh-oh", look on my soul, I said, "Okay..."
What followed had nothing to do with sexual orientation, or conversation around it. It was bit-and-pieced in from several different sources, that seemed to coalesce around something I heard from David Jeremiah. He was quoting a friend, whom I paraphrase here: "I used to think I could reach my colleagues for Christ intellectually. That if I connected the dots for them, and they saw how it connected, they would believe. But it didn't work out that way. Then I realized why. You know why it didn't work? Because GOD HAS TO TOUCH THEM FIRST."
Combined with the other bits and pieces, I began to see where my focus was wrong, not just about this young man, but in all the social media battles I fight, all my political thoughts and opinions, all the ways I treat people. And it ties into a concept we looked at in the Wednesday Proverbs messages.
Outside of those who seek Godly Wisdom and understanding through fear of the Lord, we saw four kinds of people. The simple, who go along with anything, are the first. They go around seeking "honey" from every source, ignoring the Proverbs admonition that too much "honey" will make you sick, and the physical truth that if all you intake is "honey" and no meat and potatoes (AKA believing everything and never seeking real truth), you end up diabetic and in lousy health. The second is the scoffer, who seeks his own wisdom and leans on his own understanding, making fun of everything that isn't his or her opinion. Third is the fool, who says in his heart, "There is no God," but still is more easily turned than the scoffer, because instead of having to battle tooth and nail over EVERY opinion, you just have to change their mind on that one. And finally, the hopelessly wicked.
And these people are like this because they have not received the gift OF God FROM God. I may grow in wisdom, but if I don't recognize that they haven't, that many times they can't (as their worlds are currently structured), I do them no good. I can't look at them as being stupid, hateful, spiteful, misguided, or perverted FIRST; First, I have to recognize that they are coming from a point where they lack something I have, that was given to me.
I have to realize that they need to see Jesus- ALL the rest is secondary.
One of the greatest gifts that God gave me has been my greatest weakness. I never once in my life doubted that there was a God, that there was a Jesus. My knowledge was imperfect, to be sure- when I was four or five, I wondered how many Gods we had, what with God, Jesus, Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ, the Lord, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and so on, lol! But for me, Divinity was established fact- it made the world make sense. So I have a really hard time initially, conceiving those who can say there is no God, or don't care if there is one. And that means by extension, I have a really hard time dealing with Joe Bigmouth who thinks I am trying to "impose my Christian views on the culture", or Jim Catholic who believes I have strayed from "the true church" by seeking Christ.
And sadly, I struggle at seeing the sinner beyond the sin. God was right; there was more involved in the question than I thought.
So today it is November 8th, 1970, and we're at Tulane Stadium in N'awlins for the matchup between the 5-2 Detroit Lions and the 1-5-1 Saints. Detroit was getting as good as it gave from the woebegone Saints, but had just taken a lead on a field goal with 11 seconds left, 17-16. Somehow or other, the Saints managed to get the ball down to the 37 yard line in 9 seconds, and club-footed kicker Tom Dempsey lined up for what would be a game winning FG 7 yards farther than anyone had ever kicked one. This 63-yard game clincher has been tied 5 times since then, but only beaten once- ironically by Detroit's current kicker, Matt Prater.....
Upshot of the story- it was the last game that would not be a loss for the Saints that year; the Lions would go to the playoffs- and lose a 5-0 snoozer to the Cowboys, their last time to the playoffs for a dozen years.
Welcome to this week's Time Machine, where we have the Beatles, a real 6D, two new M10 debuts, and how many times Elvis recorded Beatle covers- and which ones! 30 minutes of commercial free music starts NOW!
Sir, I just received a call from a Mr Hanson at NFL Red Zone....
SERIOUSLY? Good grief...
Let's kick things off with our first debut! At #8, from the lp to drop in February, Slow Rush, here's Tame Impala...
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Gentlemen, welcome back!
Paul: I think we might be needing to discuss increasing the stipend for all these guest shots...
You could be right. Not only is this your third win in the last five, but you have now won an amazing 10 times- never with the same song!
Ringo: Well, we have had 20 #1s in America- you're halfway through, mate!
So this week, we have a 26 contestant, 78-station list. Are you ready?
John: I'd like to have Yoko do some of these...
Absolutely not!
J: Oh? And why might that be?
Because, I've never heard her talk, I don't WANT to hear her sing, so I can't do a good bit with her!
P: Seems reasonable to me, Johnny... J: Well... I guess as long as you keep Linda out, as well... George: My Sweet Lord, here we go...
No, no, I promise Linda won't appear in any of the Beatles posts. Wings is another story, but no Beatles.
J: Then Yoko can come on when the Plastic Ono Band wins... P: Good luck on that... R: Thank God we got that settled, Last thing I want is Maureen to be on me about this, as well...
Let's get to the list, guys?
J: Right-o, let me have the one vote lot. First is the Buoys with Timothy, which doesn't even chart until next year... bit of trouble with the Tardis, mate?
No, just the band's hometown getting in early...
J: Then we have... say, can I just read the English part here?
Sure, especially since I never wrote down the Swahili part...
J: Right, then the Temptations with Unite The World at #50... Bread- that's a band right? They are at #7 with It Don't Matter To Me... Then it is Liz Damon's Orient Express with 1900 Yesterday at... well, she's not due until next year, either. Paul? P: Thank you kindly, John. I have the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band with Express Yourself at #31... The Guess Who... R: I dunno, who? P: No, the band, you twit, with Share The Land at #40... Then another time traveler, Jackie Moore's Precious Precious peaking next February, as well as the Mike Curb Congregation with Burning Bridges. George, you've been quite quiet, how 'bout you have a go? G: Sorry, I've been meditating while you went on... so I have ... oh, Chris, could you pop out? You have no chart position for this one...
This AGAIN? God, even my notes need proofread...
G: While you're out, I have the Carpenters with (They Long To Be) Close To You, which peaked 4 bloody months ago... 100 Proof Aged In Soul with Somebody's Been Sleeping at #8... ah, thank you- Neil Young and Only Love Can Break A Heart at #57... And finally, Brian Hyland and Gypsy Woman at #19. Richard? R: Merci, Georges! I have Blood Sweat And Tears with Lucretia McEvil at #17... the 5th Die- mension with One Less Bell To Answer at #59... a hit from Holland, the Les Humphries Singers with To My Father's House... and, our mates the Who and See Me Feel Me at #16. Back to you, John! J: And we aren't even through the bloody one-voters yet! One last one- Bobby Bloom's Montego Bay at #27. Then we start on the votes but not enough lot with R Dean Taylor's Indiana Wants Me at #3. Where in bloody hell is Indiana, anyway?
You're floating three seconds out of sync with it right now...
J: Ah. Terribly sorry, mate. Also, we have CCR with Looking Out My Back Door, a song that dropped off last week. Those had two votes. And I have one here with 3 votes- the Four Tops with Still Water (Love) at #29. Paul? P: Not a lot left to do now! The last of the others is James Taylor with Fire And Rain at #4. Now gather around, lads, we'll each do a finalist. George? G: I have, I'll Be There by the Jackson 5 at #2... R: Right, I have the Pheasant Family... J: I believe that says 'Partidge'... R: Well, so it does! The PARTRIDGE Family with I Think I Love You at #5... J: I have Smoky Robinson and the Miracles with Tears Of A Clown at #12... P: And I have the Carpenters and We've Only Just Begun at #1! There you have it!
Thanks, guys! Tune in later to see who won. In the meantime...
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As I told Laurie, I don't go out of my way to listen to new stuff by a band currently in the M10- I usually wait until their first song has had a good run. But I had to go and listen to this- and it was too good to let go! In fact, I think it is the best song put out in one full lp and 3 songs by Jeff Lynne's ELO- and I debuted it at #7:
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Hey, are... THEY... gone yet?
Yes they are, but I thought I would have a little fun and see how many times YOU recorded Beatles' songs!
C'mon, man... this ain't right...
Oh, please! Now, Elvis here recorded-at least in part- 5 Beatles tunes. Think about it for a bit, and I'll tell you about the five. But first...
Robert Walser is an American "musicologist"- an expert in music, knowledgeable enough that he gets used in copyright cases! He claims the first song built around power chords is the Kinks' You Really Got Me. Among the interesting stories I read about this hit was that Dave Davies played those chords on a speaker he had cut up with a razor in frustration just moments before! This is a many-times covered song itself (the most famous being Van Halen's very first single), and one of those times was on Robert Palmer's debut lp, Double Fun. That lp was launched by the hit Every Kinda People- still my favorite by Robert- which was one of two big hits written by bassist Andy Fraser. The other? Well, if I tell you he played for and helped found Free, you'll know the 6D victim this week is All Right Now, at #6 without a Panel vote.
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Stat Pack time!
One thing I've been wanting to try on and off is saluting the, in my opinion, unusual singer/cover matchups I've seen on our recent trips. For example, this week I saw Johnny Mathis covering Santana's Evil Ways (#123), Dorothy Morrison (who sang lead for the Edwin Hawkins Singers on Oh Happy Day) doing Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky (#101), Shirley Bassey covering the Beatles on Something (87), and Dionne Warwick covering the Walker Brothers on Make It Easy On Yourself (26).
The big mover was a mere 13 for Gypsy Woman, 32 to 19.
Debuting this week were Van Morrison's Domino (91), Santana's Black Magic Woman (85), and Chicago's Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is (64).
And my #1 for the week? We've Only Just Begun, no question.
Oh, and the UK was topped by Ian Matthews' Southern Comfort with their version of Woodstock.
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So which songs did Elvis cover the Beatles on? Well, two were incomplete, and put on records without permission: Lady Madonna (on the Walk A Mile In My Shoes box set) and Hey Jude (on 1972's Elvis Now). The other three songs were all recorded live: Something (live on the Aloha From Hawaii lp), Yesterday (from 1970's On Stage), and a concert favorite mash-up of Get Back with Little Sister, recorded on the 1980 set Elvis Aaron Presley.
White Reaper spends its 9th and last week at #10 with 1 F.
Jilted by the new single, Jeff Lynne's ELO and Time Of Our Lives sits at #9 a second week.
John Schneider, Quiet Hollers, and Saint Asonia all move up a spot: John to 6 with Stained Glass, QH to 5 with Loup (Hide It Away) and SA to 4 with Beast.
And the top 3 hold- Silversun Pickups' Neon Wound at 3, Brooke Annibale's Collided at #2, and for a second week at the top:
...The Japanese House and Something Has To Change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And your Panel finalists?
Smoky only scored 5.1%...
The Carpenters, sadly, did little better at 10.3%...
Nor the J5, at 15.4%...
But the winners, with 30.76%....
...the Pheasa..., er, the Partridge Family with I Think I Love You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which, in addition to getting Susan Dey (YES!) , Shirley Jones, and Suzanne Crough on the Beauty Contest list, means I might have to arrange extra seating next week when we go to 1971!
This week, I move into Proverbs 3, and there I found a chapter divided into 4 main parts, and today, in my typical backwards fashion, am led to talk about the fourth section- a string of "Do nots" that run from vv 21 to 32. It actually kicks off with a couple of transitional verses, which lead from the earlier part- a listing of the blessings of Wisdom- to the section in question:
Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; Pro 3:20 by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.
So after a layer of the blessings of wisdom, we are reminded that it and understanding are the cornerstones on which God built everything; and that to access these blessings, we have to keep in mind how to LIVE them. And since it it relatively easy for we humans to not notice we're doing something wrong unless it gets pointed out to us, God gives us a list of fairly common "Urkels"- in other words, "Did I do that?"
First one has a very close tie to those transitional verses:
Pro 3:21 My son, do not lose sight of these-- keep sound wisdom and discretion, Pro 3:22 and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Pro 3:23 Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. Pro 3:24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
"Do not lose sight"- Literally, don't turn your eyes away from these. As I looked into "sound wisdom" and "discretion", I thought it seemed similar to the "wisdom and understanding" of the previous verses. BUT, as I discovered digging in, there is a big difference. When God applies wisdom and understanding, that's what it means, wisdom and understanding. In contrast, "sound wisdom" is more looking to God to substantiate HIS wisdom; "Discretion" involves having a plan , purposefully discerning what God considers right and wrong. To put it another way, these characteristics are natural to God; WE, however, have to WORK at them.
Second set:
Pro 3:25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,
Pro 3:26 for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
In a very real way, this boils down to, "don't be startled by that which goes 'bump' in the night". If you are keeping your eyes on God's attributes, you shouldn't let yourself be shaken by sudden occurrences- or by what happens to "the other guy." Because, hey, God's got it! We're going through one of these ourselves lately, and it is reassuring to know that with all the things God has gotten us through of late, we can be sure He's got this one, too.
Third and fourth sets:
Pro 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Pro 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it"--when you have it with you.
I put these together because they have to do with two sides of giving- and by giving, the easy application is charity, but it goes deeper than that. Romans 13 is a rather lengthy dissertation on this, from which I have cut to the chase:
Rom 13:7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Rom 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Because here's the thing: Of everything we have, including our ability to work and live in society, we are just stewards- we OWE good to those around us according to our ability to give. And these two verses in Proverbs remind us that we are not to discriminate by the person owed to, nor be negligent of doing it WHEN necessary, and without 'fiddling around' about it.
If we had that understanding dialed in, God could have whittled all this down to, "DO GOOD."
Fifth set:
Pro 3:29 Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.
The word for 'plan' here had an interesting story (if you are into the semantics) but comes out like this- 'Don't DIG UP evil things about or to use against someone who trusts you do be a decent chap.' The actual word used is best translated "plough"- don't plough up evil. This applies to plotting against someone; applies to "harmless gossip", too.
Sixth set:
Pro 3:30 Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
I was going to make the joke that, being a Martin- for which arguing was the national spectator sport- that this is a toughie. But in a world where we insult people we've never met on social media and shoot at people who 'cut us off' in traffic, it is a far more wide ranging warning. It ties into Paul's warnings on anger in Ephesians 4:
Eph 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Eph 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Eph 4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Seventh and final set:
Pro 3:31 Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,
Pro 3:32 for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.
The only question I had (and have) here is the connection God makes between violence and deviousness. And the answer, to my mind, is that both are seeking power over someone else that they did not earn through righteous honor. Or control, which is a facet of the same thing. Notice God isn't warning us to not BE this kind of person; if we are doing #1, seeking His wisdom and applying it, we shouldn't BE controlling. But He is warning us that sometimes these people get their way, and we shouldn't want the prizes they get that way. God has better prizes waiting for us, and that is what that third chunk of chapter 3 is about- which, God willing, we'll get to next time.
So I was just up praying about tomorrow's election- and by praying, I mean praying whether I should vote or not. As I worked through it all with Jesus, several points came to my mind.
Essentially, the only important job on the line for us is Mayor of Fort Wayne. Our choice is between a Democratic 3-time incumbent and a Republican "businessman-outsider" a la Trump. You would think that would be an easy thing for me, but it isn't.
Our current Mayor- what's wrong with him? Let me rephrase- what is wrong with him that changing would get rid of? Essentially, not a lot. Other than differing points of view about certain policies, and his knack for spreading the largess to his immediate family, my only problem with him is he is a Democrat, and because of the policies and utter lies they've held and told on a national level, that "D" prevents me from ever voting FOR him.
The challenger- he's a man I have met and I know him to be a godly man. Despite the protests of his primary challenger who is totally butt-hurt that he got beat, and his family, I know the dude is a man of integrity. However, it has been pointed out to me that several of his talking points involve actions that are NOT within his purview, at least in the way he wants to do them. I feel like his lack of experience would get him hammered if he won. Plus, he spent half a campaign saying nothing more than "we can do better", and the other half apparently turning it over to the usual bloodthirsty media people who then turned it into another, "That other guy is bad for our city" deal.
"But, Chris, you voted for Trump, didn't you?"
Yep, but that's different. And, it's the same.
In the primaries, I was a Rubio guy who listened to the debates, weighed logically the responses to the questions, and time after time wondered just how it was that despite every logical assessment, Trump hammered everyone else in the after-debate polls. But once he won, he was the only choice against the clear and present evil (and I mean that sincerely) of Hillary Clinton. I was okay with that, because essentially every Presidential election since 1992 has been the same for me- not who I'm voting for, but who I'm voting against. Bob Dole's run might have been the exception there, except my car broke down and I didn't get to vote.
Then why is voting against the incumbent- and for I guy I know and like- a hard choice now? Well, I've gotten smarter on the local level, and ask, is the incumbent a clear and present evil? I have to answer- no. And what about the things the newbie would like to do? Well, he'd like to do something that we SHOULD be doing- increase patrols and police involvement in high crime neighborhoods. Thing is, can he? I doubt it; by the time he gets through fighting the local council person, the police union, and the minority leaders that deny they are the seat of the high crime and will cry targeting at the drop of a hat, he'll have to face the unwinnable battle against the city's lawyers and insurers who don't want to risk the lawsuits from those minority group the first time someone gets nabbed in the new policy. That is why nothing ever changes, and unlike Donald Trump, he doesn't have the deep pockets and support to fight such battles.
So I say to myself, there's really no point to vote FOR the challenger. So what? Did we really think that there was a point in voting FOR Trump? I almost lost a FB friend back then making exactly that point. But here's a thing- there is a point to NOT voting for the challenger- because HE deserves better.
I can't imagine why he would want to put himself through the crap-storm that will come with winning. It is so very hard for men of real integrity to be in government and retain that. I have another FB friend who's a former Congressman that could vouch for that. If I start a good man on that path, have I sinned against him?
And Jesus comes back with, "How many times did you pray for men who, like Donald Trump, aren't afraid to fight for the right thing, without the insults and prevarications he can't seem to resist. Well, here is one, and you don't want to vote for him..."
Wow.
At the end, I have to respect that the challenger weighed this out in prayer and felt led to contest this race. But, I also have to respect I'm not voting for Pastor of Fort Wayne.
What will I do? I'll know when I get to the light in front of our complex. Go straight, vote. Turn, go home. I hope Jesus let's me in on which to do when I get there.
So Wednesday comes, and my daily devotional from David Jeremiah starts with this:
Jos 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
And I foolishly said, "Lord, I love these encouragements- but they also worry me, because I know something's coming.'
The Lord listens. What happened next proved it.
Two days later, Laurie was to have her surgery. That night, going to leave work, the car would not go into gear. The module that makes it so you can't put the car into gear without stepping on the brake was broken- again. Got it towed to our service people and dropped off home, and we began to moan about how Satan really knows when to attack. But as I went to that place from which Jesus seems to speak to me the best- the shower- He reminded me of a chunk of Psalm 107 that I knew well and had used before:
Psa 107:26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
Psa 107:27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
Psa 107:29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Psa 107:30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And I remembered the progression this passage taught me before:
1- The storm comes, but He's in control of it.
2- We cry out for help...
3- He stills the storm (brings calm in it)...
4- We are glad (and THANKFUL)
5- And AFTER we are thankful, He 'brought them to their desired haven'.
And I knew it meant we had ignored being thankful for all the prayer warriors who were standing by us, the hospital support people guiding us up to the day, the people at the ER who made a dead-on diagnosis at the beginning, the people at our jobs who were supporting us, the guys who were going to fix the car, the tow driver (who did an amazing job in a tight spot on just his EIGHTH day on the job), and so many others. And we took care of that forgetfulness. The car was fixed the next day, the surgery has gone well, Laurie is home and resting. The morning after the car broke down, though, we were listing to Dr Jeremiah's lesson. He said,
"God allows the disruption in your life because he has something to tell you you won't listen to ANY OTHER WAY."
And that was true. We were so wrapped in the nerves about the surgery, we hadn't been nearly thankful enough. And being me, I said, "I don't suppose you could have said this a little sooner?"
And Jesus replied, "But I thought you didn't want the early warning?"
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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