July 5
Scripture focus: Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live; acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. "Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will watch over you. "The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding. "Prize her, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. "She will place on your head a garland of grace; she will present you with a crown of beauty." Hear, my son, and accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble. Take hold of instruction; do not let go guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; and they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil. Proverbs 4
One of the books I read in my class was Song of Solomon. I cannot decide if the Song of Solomon corroborates or contradicts these themes of wisdom and restraint. The book certainly addresses the intoxicating nature of love and its affects. Thus, scripture acknowledges the power of these emotions and keeping them under control would, by connection, prove no easy task.
I’m appreciative that this evocative text was in my syllabus. If not, maybe I would have confused wisdom with stuffing my emotions. Clearly, this is not God’s intent. Here’s what I’m thinking:
* Emotions are powerful and sometimes even addicting.
* Self-control is not easy.
* Powerful emotions are not bad things nor should they be ignored.
* Our emotions are a gift.
* Our emotions must be handled with care.
* I can’t guarantee that my emotions will not rule me, so I need help. swm
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4 comments:
* Emotions are powerful and sometimes even addicting.
* Self-control is not easy.
* Powerful emotions are not bad things nor should they be ignored.
* Our emotions are a gift.
* Our emotions must be handled with care.
* I can’t guarantee that my emotions will not rule me, so I need help. swm...Me Too!
I am not sure if I have ever had an evocative text as part of a syllabus. I know I feel the text and hear steps in my head as I read it.
Scott, Would this methodology resemble the Nouthetic method?
I see where this would benefit a craddle Christian but not so much a non. I also see where with time in the Christian belief this is beneficial and for my own life good material. Also curious if this is a real life situation or a term paper using a senerio?
Sempre Fi.
Well, I don't know much about the Nouthetic method other than what I just read on wikipedia. As a Christian, I find it part of my duty to align myself with scripture as much as I can. That is a personal conviction of mine. Wikipedia basically said the Nouthetic method had to do with a preacher telling people to conform their lives to look like Christ. It's a fine distinction- but that sounds to me like "works righteousness" or faith based on works, or something of that nature. I am under no illusion that I or any other human will live a life resembling Christ, but ethics certainly play a role in Christian life, plain and simple. It's quite a process, and it is never perfect, but I'm trying to do the best I can with what I've got. God has given us scripture so that we know how he relates to us and how we can relate to him and I have a deep desire to improve in that area on a daily basis, which is why I undertook this project for my paper. This is absolutely a real life situation, one far more complex than that description could show. It brought up a lot of issues for me concerning my own lust and the nature of fidelity, and I could sit back and say, "Hey, I'm saved, f*** it." Or, as this situation caused a lot of pain, I chose to examine scripture to see how I could help myself in the future. Does that help?
Another side note: As a simple Bible-believing Christian, if I see a discrepancy between myself and scripture, I assume I'm the one that is in the wrong...and try to fix it...there's a lot of discrepancies, so it's slow going...we deal as they arise.
Also, I didn't address the non-Christians comment. I'm studying to be a pastor, working in the context of the church, and I hope that the way I present myself is warm and inviting for non-Christians. The higher power that we acknowledge at NorthStar is the God we find in the Bible. There is certainly room for others with different beliefs, and I encourage dialogue. But ultimately, this is where I am going to be looking for help. There are plenty of psychologically-based, non-spiritual resources available, and if someone has a particular need in that area, I suspect/hope/trust someone in the ministry would be happy to find a direction in which to point them.
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