Proverbs: A General Thought

I don't know about you, but if you're anything like me, sometimes, the various proverbs found in Proverbs can be a little hard to relate to. The writer paints everything in only black and white, but how many of us know that life always seems to be more shades of gray. The writer says the wicked will [something negative that seems really appalling] and that the good/just will [something really positive that we all tentatively want].

I say "tentatively" because I think that many of us find it hard to categorize ourselves as "good/just" and so, though we like the promise, we're sort of scared to claim it for ourselves. At the same time, I have a hard time thinking of myself as "wicked" and so I don't categorize myself there either.

Result: "Oooh, smart guy, that Solomon, but doesn't really apply to me. NEXT."

Maybe as an exercise that's less violent to our self-image, let's try and not be so dismissive and think about the ways in which we SOMETIMES experience the honor when we are humble of spirit and the ways in which we SOMETIMES experience humiliation from our pride. We're all trying to find our way. We're not all there yet, but we're also not NOT all there yet either =P.