Sunday, March 04, 2007
What is wisdom exactly? Do you have to be old to be wise? If you've lived a lot and you've learned from all your many mistakes - does that automatically mean your wise?, or does it hint at your learning style?
Today's proverbial selection reflects on the power of memory and love. History - as they say - is written by the winners. So what does it mean to say that "the memory of the righteous is a blessing"? When I hear the word righteous in this verse I think more of honesty, integrity, authentic humaness seeking to walk in the sacred peace-making ways of the living God, than I do of morality related boasting, family value proclamations or battlecries for societal change. The blessing is not in the winner's history, but in the living memory of those seeking to live fully, wholly, and authentically.
The second proverb talks about hatred created strife and love doing the opposite. It's not that love is a gushy sort-of-politically-correct-tolerance-hug-a-tree passive agressive feeling, but rather an active, creative, and transformational way of living, knowning and being known. It makes me think of an article in the Tribune today about the division and hatred being generated by the increasingly over-the-top and blatantely hyper-provocative comments of Ann Coulter (and Bill Maher) who talk and scream hatred in order to keep the media attention focused upon them. Rather than loving to talk and write, they seem to talk and write because they love the spotlight.
The underlying word for me in these proverbs is why do we do what we do? - whether it's as an individual or as a community of faith?
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