An Idea Borrowed

Years ago on a radio program someone shared that they read a chapter in Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters and the longest month has 31 days it allows you to read through Proverbs on a regular basis. I use it as the launch pad for my personal worship time and branch out from there. On this blog I will try to share some of the insights I have in the Word. I will try to organize them in the archive by reference.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Shiny, Shiny

(Proverbs 23:31 KJV)  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

We live in an affluent age and culture.  People in the United States who are considered to be living in poverty have “basics” that past centuries would have considered unimaginable luxuries.  Think about such a simple thing as a flush toilet.  Consider all the infrastructure that goes into such a simple devise:  Water purification and the pipes to deliver it, maintaining the pressure, the levers and valves to regulate the flow, the ceramic to make the fixture.  

The context here is the way life “giveth colour” (sparkles NASB) (5414/5869) and we are impressed with that glow.  The problem is when things are too “aright” (smoothly NASB) (4339).  We can be lulled into complacency in the face of evil.  We can be impressed by the surface when the core is evil. 

So?  Learn to see with spiritual eyes instead of just enjoying the view.  Look for principles and long term effects.  The world we live in is too superficial to continue without our input and insight. 

2 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Bread and circuses. The masses care only for bread and circuses. And most of them wouldn't even know what this statement means.

Pumice said...

That general ignorance is one of the reasons why it is so hard to communicate with so many people. Their lives are so insulated from what used to be the culture that they don't understand much.

Grace and peace.