beat #41 - jasmine [proverbs, day 14] (Thursday, May 16, 2013 / 9:42 AM)
v.2
"He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him."
I like that the upright person fears the Lord, and the wayward person despises him.
It speaks great insight about the way many people look at God, faith in general and people who are of faith.
Fear and Despise, presented in contrast.
We would think that love or something of its equivalent would stand in opposition to "despising" but no, not really.
Fear. Fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom that leads to understanding, that grows and nurtures intimacy. That is what lies in contrast to the wayward person.
v.10
"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy."
v. 23
"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."
v.30
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."
I present these three in sequence because they lie very close to my current state of being.
As a person who would writes, often and necessarily, it is hard to feel connected when the primary and default state of being is not of interest to other people.
People are not interested in my words, or at least, it often seems that way.
There is a vague sense to me, that the people I love most exert some effort to look at what I write only because they also love me.
I read somewhere that "it is not enough to be loved, one must be understood."
Perhaps, going back to v.2, where fear which evolves into intimacy is used instead of the word love.
Because intimacy involves understanding. Love does not have to. Or at least, love in the way we are most likely to encounter now.
How do I achieve a heart of peace then? When my hard work yields a profit that is laced with bitterness and constantly battling envy?
The answer wasn't so clear when I started writing.
Now it seems to be quite obvious....
...fear of the Lord.
