Everyday life in our everyday world.
Take heart! There is hope!
There are Plato and the Cave abstracts, and all the wonders of philosophy that may catapult our minds and our imaginations into veritable towers of Babel -- if we are not very balanced and very careful in assimilating their associations and their analogies and setting them in proper proportions. Do not ponder the imponderables for too long or stare into the abyss, lest the imponderables turn your thoughts into beginnings with no ends, and the abyss, as Nietzsche said, may very well stare back at you.
On the other end of the spectrum and perhaps in retaliation to it, there is the glorification of all things dimwitted and venal -- in this age of scattalogical humor, in glorification of all things bourne of lust instead of love, in gratuitous acts -- as if this generation were the first to discover why Adam and Eve needed the fig leaves in the first place. Overwhelming our everyday lives are our commercials, our sitcoms and today's movie fare -- mindless escapes from the meaninglessness that has become the empty center of so many lonely lives. NO! People, God made us for more than this!!! We are better than this!!!
Philippians 4:8 For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence andis honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
Instead of getting lost in abstract theories or taking the opposite route and eschewing thought at all, find the place where practical lives: You got it! That would be the Bible! God's word will tame the wanderings of the mind and bring them into focused insight. It will separate the wheat from the chaff and cast out the demons that jade the spiritual truth of love and intimacy and turn them into so much mindless dross. Our world was meant to mean more. Our lives and relationships were meant to have joyful and good content. Proverbs is a great start when we are looking for solid ground to stand upon, good thoughts to pillow our minds upon, and practical paths to follow that will lead us safely home.
Proverbs 10 The Message (MSG)
1 Wise son, glad father;
stupid son, sad mother.
2 Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;
an honest life is immortal.
3 God won’t starve an honest soul,
but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.
4 Sloth makes you poor;
diligence brings wealth.
5 Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.
6 Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
7 A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;
a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.
8 A wise heart takes orders;
an empty head will come unglued.
9 Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed.
10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.
11 The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
12 Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
13 You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,
but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
14 The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.
The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life
15 The wealth of the rich is their bastion;
the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
16 The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
17 The road to life is a disciplined life;
ignore correction and you’re lost for good.
18 Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19 The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20 The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21 The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
stupid son, sad mother.
2 Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;
an honest life is immortal.
3 God won’t starve an honest soul,
but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.
4 Sloth makes you poor;
diligence brings wealth.
5 Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.
6 Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
7 A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;
a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.
8 A wise heart takes orders;
an empty head will come unglued.
9 Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed.
10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.
11 The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
12 Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
13 You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,
but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
14 The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.
The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life
15 The wealth of the rich is their bastion;
the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
16 The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
17 The road to life is a disciplined life;
ignore correction and you’re lost for good.
18 Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19 The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20 The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21 The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
http://blog.maplestreetchurch.com/everyday-life-in-our-everyday-world/
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