I. Whoever Would Love Life
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it."
This passage, as the diction may have indicated to you, is from the Bible. This blows my mind. Rarely do I think of the Bible as giving explicit instruction on how to love life, yet there it is, right at the top. It encourages me that this passage exists, and I love these words. But perhaps more interesting is where this passage exists. If you click on that link, you'll see that it is from First Peter 3, (1) a chapter known for its controversial "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands" passage (2). More important to this reading for me is the fact that "Whoever would love life, etc.," a passage I have never heard of or heard discussed before, is nestled in the shadow of this other, controversial and thus popular passage.
This is one of my favorite things about the Bible: Not only is it polyglot and heterogeneous on a grand scale, it also manages such diversity on a micro level, as evidenced here. I recently found myself drawn to another passage in a similar situation...
II. Beautiful In Its Time
"I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God." (3)
This passage is, coincidentally, (4) also located in the third chapter of its book (Ecclesiastes). It follows immediately after the famous "To everything there is a season" passage, and again, it's not one I have ever heard discussed, yet it rings very true with me.
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it."
This passage, as the diction may have indicated to you, is from the Bible. This blows my mind. Rarely do I think of the Bible as giving explicit instruction on how to love life, yet there it is, right at the top. It encourages me that this passage exists, and I love these words. But perhaps more interesting is where this passage exists. If you click on that link, you'll see that it is from First Peter 3, (1) a chapter known for its controversial "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands" passage (2). More important to this reading for me is the fact that "Whoever would love life, etc.," a passage I have never heard of or heard discussed before, is nestled in the shadow of this other, controversial and thus popular passage.
This is one of my favorite things about the Bible: Not only is it polyglot and heterogeneous on a grand scale, it also manages such diversity on a micro level, as evidenced here. I recently found myself drawn to another passage in a similar situation...
II. Beautiful In Its Time
"I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God." (3)
This passage is, coincidentally, (4) also located in the third chapter of its book (Ecclesiastes). It follows immediately after the famous "To everything there is a season" passage, and again, it's not one I have ever heard discussed, yet it rings very true with me.
III. ?
I feel like there should be some sort of wrapup here, but I don't know what to say. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
---
(1) Paraphrasing the psalms.
(2) As someone who identifies as a feminist on some level, that passage always troubles me. But that is, for this post, beside the point.
(3) In the interests of gender awareness and equality, I always feel compelled to write "[sic]" after "men" in passages like that. But I cannot use "[sic]" in any context without feeling like a pretentious ass, so I abstain, while mentioning it here.
(4) Or, if you're into numerology, not coincidentally at all.
---
Life Update:
I am going swing dancing tonight. I just finished reading Jane Eyre. I heartily recommend both.
2 comments:
Greg! Can you go to the Lindustrial Revolution with some Swing Club people (Swingers? Swing Clubbers?) this September?
How much does it cost?
Post a Comment