Reference Passage:
Proverbs 17:10 (NIV)
A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
King Solomon, son of David, and the third king of Israel, is believed to have largely authored the book of Proverbs. Solomon was reputedly the wisest man of his day and this unique book is testimony to the same. His father, David, had a treasury of his own – in the book of Psalms.
However, for those who are familiar with history, Solomon's end was not the kind befitting the glories of a wise man, that he himself wrote about. The seeds of Israel's latter breakup into two kingdoms, were sown during his reign and came to fruition at the time of Rehoboam, his son. Probably he little knew that his words, “The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted” (Proverbs 10:24) would eventually turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. One of the men he hated and hunted, Jeroboam, came to power after his death, and tore away the kingdom from the grip of his family.
Lets move into an examination of this gem of wisdom, keeping in mind that even Solomon's own medicine could not keep him in good spiritual health – how much more careful ought we be in our endeavours!
The first observation that surfaces is this: wise men are easily corrected. You are not likely to find one of these attempting to conjure lame excuses or reasons, over a mistake. This guy knows that he is just another human being and his attitude paves the way forward, for himself and for others around him. Better yet, he is willing to accept that there exists someone more knowledgeable than himself, whom he must rely upon as a point of reference.
Our second observation takes us to the other dressing-room: the one belonging to fools. Even a sound thrashing at the hands of the opposition, would still barely spark the realisation that something's wrong somewhere. These guys believe in the mantra “You win some, you lose some” a little too seriously that they focus more on the second part, just to live up to the saying! If you ever happen to meet one of these 'dudes' at work or in class, you'll find that his attitude is a major obstacle to his own progress and that of others around him. Since he doesn't trust anybody's advise, he believes he needs no one's help to live life. Hence, he's stuck at the same square one, even after a hundred lashes.
Let me apply these thoughts to the greater question of man's morality. In the midst of the “Does God exist?” chorus, I find it relevant to raise another question: “Can man live without God?” History has only proved to us time and again that the human race urgently needs objective moral values that transcend the barriers of time and space. Our attempts to define life on our own terms have left us without any reference to help us know where we're headed. Its not surprising that our “notions” have led us to embrace the very issues we once despised. Judging by the way things are going in certain parts of the world, its difficult to rule out the possibility of an Orwellian future[1] where might alone is right. As one thinker put it, maybe we'll one day come to sympathising with the criminal, rather than the victim, merely because our definitions suggest that the criminal is right.
One of the recent headline-makers comes to mind: Tiger Woods. Being the face of golf worldwide, he was someone that a lot of people around the world would look upto for inspiration, particularly children. However, in spite of this unique responsibility, he let himself into the arms of strange women, even at the time that his wife struggled with the anguishes of childbirth. Now that these women have squealed for money and the reader realises what they were really made up of, the question remains as to what Tiger saw in them all along. What really bothers me is the fact that several commentators, in response to the scandal, said that Tiger was just another human being and all that mattered was his ability to play golf. In that case, it must have been Elin, his wife, who was less than human, to have expected honest support from her husband. Besides, if we ultimately decide that talent is everything, what value does character carry? Have we gone so far as to diminish the value of a human being to the currency of "doing", rather than "being"? It must then be alarming news to people who cannot "do" as well as Tiger, that what they "are" is of no significance.
These are merely the early symptoms of cancerous thinking, that draw inspiration from a 'God-less' understanding of life. I doubt that the sleaze would end with Tiger's emotional confession; I believe we, or our children, are bound to grapple with the same tough questions someday. In other words, in seeking to distance ourselves from God, I wonder if even after a hundred lashes, we are still asking for more.
However, for those who are familiar with history, Solomon's end was not the kind befitting the glories of a wise man, that he himself wrote about. The seeds of Israel's latter breakup into two kingdoms, were sown during his reign and came to fruition at the time of Rehoboam, his son. Probably he little knew that his words, “The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted” (Proverbs 10:24) would eventually turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. One of the men he hated and hunted, Jeroboam, came to power after his death, and tore away the kingdom from the grip of his family.
Lets move into an examination of this gem of wisdom, keeping in mind that even Solomon's own medicine could not keep him in good spiritual health – how much more careful ought we be in our endeavours!
The first observation that surfaces is this: wise men are easily corrected. You are not likely to find one of these attempting to conjure lame excuses or reasons, over a mistake. This guy knows that he is just another human being and his attitude paves the way forward, for himself and for others around him. Better yet, he is willing to accept that there exists someone more knowledgeable than himself, whom he must rely upon as a point of reference.
Our second observation takes us to the other dressing-room: the one belonging to fools. Even a sound thrashing at the hands of the opposition, would still barely spark the realisation that something's wrong somewhere. These guys believe in the mantra “You win some, you lose some” a little too seriously that they focus more on the second part, just to live up to the saying! If you ever happen to meet one of these 'dudes' at work or in class, you'll find that his attitude is a major obstacle to his own progress and that of others around him. Since he doesn't trust anybody's advise, he believes he needs no one's help to live life. Hence, he's stuck at the same square one, even after a hundred lashes.
Let me apply these thoughts to the greater question of man's morality. In the midst of the “Does God exist?” chorus, I find it relevant to raise another question: “Can man live without God?” History has only proved to us time and again that the human race urgently needs objective moral values that transcend the barriers of time and space. Our attempts to define life on our own terms have left us without any reference to help us know where we're headed. Its not surprising that our “notions” have led us to embrace the very issues we once despised. Judging by the way things are going in certain parts of the world, its difficult to rule out the possibility of an Orwellian future[1] where might alone is right. As one thinker put it, maybe we'll one day come to sympathising with the criminal, rather than the victim, merely because our definitions suggest that the criminal is right.
One of the recent headline-makers comes to mind: Tiger Woods. Being the face of golf worldwide, he was someone that a lot of people around the world would look upto for inspiration, particularly children. However, in spite of this unique responsibility, he let himself into the arms of strange women, even at the time that his wife struggled with the anguishes of childbirth. Now that these women have squealed for money and the reader realises what they were really made up of, the question remains as to what Tiger saw in them all along. What really bothers me is the fact that several commentators, in response to the scandal, said that Tiger was just another human being and all that mattered was his ability to play golf. In that case, it must have been Elin, his wife, who was less than human, to have expected honest support from her husband. Besides, if we ultimately decide that talent is everything, what value does character carry? Have we gone so far as to diminish the value of a human being to the currency of "doing", rather than "being"? It must then be alarming news to people who cannot "do" as well as Tiger, that what they "are" is of no significance.
These are merely the early symptoms of cancerous thinking, that draw inspiration from a 'God-less' understanding of life. I doubt that the sleaze would end with Tiger's emotional confession; I believe we, or our children, are bound to grapple with the same tough questions someday. In other words, in seeking to distance ourselves from God, I wonder if even after a hundred lashes, we are still asking for more.
(To be continued...)
Foot Notes:
1. George Orwell, in his novel '1984', envisioned a society where life in the Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, public mind control, and the voiding of citizens' rights.
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