Saturday, April 16, 2011

Proverbs for Parents - Proverbs 1.8-19

The TNIV is a very dynamic (aka interpretive) translation which can be helpful in places like Proverbs 1:17-19.
"How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.

The wording here emphasizes two things. First, greed blinds us to it's dangers. That is an insidious side affect, because is causes us to miss the next danger. Second, it "takes away their life." What does it profit a man to gain the the whole world and loose its own soul? It slowly sucks the life out of us and can result in eternal death.

A lesson here seems to be to demonstrate caution, be extra suspicious of our motives, and seek the cousel of others when we want something too badly. So, how do I do that and how do I show my kids how to? Maybe that is part of the thinking for the advice to "sleep on it."

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