It is actually Sunday!!

So I am still in the Proverbs, and now the Collection of the Proverbs of Solomon has begun. These chapters seem to be filled with several different ways of saying "good is good, evil is evil", but here are some of the more interesting ones:

"It is the Lord's blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it."

"The hope of the just brings them joy, but the expectation of the wicked comes to naught."

"When pride comes, disgrace comes; but with the humble is wisdom."

"For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors."

"A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself."

The first one of course is a good reminder that all good things come from God, from his love for us and nothing else. Why do I ever convince myself that I accomplished something by myself? God is always right there with me, like Footprints in the Sand :)

The second one goes back to the falsity of that mindset: that sin is debt and good works earn us grace. My hope for God's grace is a humble hope because I know that all the power is His. If I slip into thinking, expecting, that God owes me anything, then I have lost sight of the bigger picture.

The next two sort of remind me of something I have been feeling for a while, but haven't done anything about. I feel like I don't ask for enough advice from people in my life. I have so much pride that I want to figure out everything by myself and I don't trust anyone else's conclusions. Either that, or I am just plain scared to ask for advice.. I think I need practice.

Okay, and finally, the last one was a pleasant surprise. It sort of affirms that Oprah wisdom that I believe in - that until I love myself, I cannot truly love other people. And that if I cannot forgive myself, I cannot forgive others. Forgiveness is so important and such a huge headline virtue when I think of the nature of God. And yet I give up on it so easily.

Also, that last one reminded me of something I read recently - the three stages of female moral maturity according to someone called Gilligan:

1. Good = what feels good, getting things for yourself.
2. Good = Giving to others, self-sacrifice. The greater the personal sacrifice the better the deed.
3. Good = Treating all humanity with compassion and respect. Recognizing that "I" am a human being deserving of the same respect due to others.

Somethin' to think about..

I have been goood. Made more banana bread today, did laundry, other homey-ish things. I am ALMOST done with The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. Maybe I will write about that at some point.

At my job, several new interns have arrived. Most are cool, but a couple of them are *painfully* arrogant, and believe it or not they are seriously challenging my compassion. We will see how it goes.