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| Apostle Fredrick KC & Dr Betty Price |
Proverbs 18
New King James Version (NKJV)
1 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment.
He rages against all wise judgment.
2 A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.
But in expressing his own heart.
3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
And with dishonor comes reproach.
And with dishonor comes reproach.
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calls for blows.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,[a]
And they go down into the inmost body.
And his mouth calls for blows.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,[a]
And they go down into the inmost body.
9 He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe.
11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own esteem.
The righteous run to it and are safe.
11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own esteem.
12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.
And before honor is humility.
13 He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him.
It is folly and shame to him.
14 The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness,
But who can bear a broken spirit?
But who can bear a broken spirit?
15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men.
And brings him before great men.
17 The first one to plead his cause seems right,
Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
18 Casting lots causes contentions to cease,
And keeps the mighty apart.
And keeps the mighty apart.
19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth;
From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the Lord.
And obtains favor from the Lord.
23 The poor man uses entreaties,
But the rich answers roughly.
But the rich answers roughly.
24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly,[b]
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Footnotes:
- Proverbs 18:8 A Jewish tradition reads wounds.
- Proverbs 18:24 Following Greek manuscripts, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads may come to ruin.
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Tao Te Ching (The Way)
by Lao-Tzu
translated by: J. Legge
11
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty
space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is
fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that
their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls)
to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its
use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for
profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.
space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is
fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that
their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls)
to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its
use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for
profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.
~~~~~
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| Pir Zia Inayat-Khan |
There are ten principal Sufi thoughts, which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life is concerned.
I
There is One God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none exists save He.
The God of the Sufi is the God of every creed, and the God of all. Names make no difference to him. Allah, God, Gott, Dieu, Brahma, or Bhagwan, all these names and more are the names of his God; and yet to him God is beyond the limitation of name. He sees his God in the sun, in the fire, in the idol which diverse sects worship; and he recognizes Him in all the forms of the universe, yet knowing Him to be beyond all form: God in all, and all in God, He being the Seen and the Unseen, the Only Being. God to the Sufi is not only a religious belief, but also the highest ideal the human mind can conceive.
The Sufi, forgetting the self and aiming at the attainment of the divine ideal, walks constantly all through life in the path of love and light. In God the Sufi sees the perfection of all that is in the reach of man's perception and yet he knows Him to be above human reach. He looks to Him as the lover to his beloved. and takes all things in life as coming from Him, with perfect resignation. The sacred name of God is to him as medicine to the patient. The divine thought is the compass by which he steers the ship to the shores of immortality. The God-ideal is to a Sufi as a lift by which he raises himself to the eternal goal, the attainment of which is the only purpose of his life.
Printed with permission of the Sufi Order International.
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Father, thank You for being the light of our lives. We choose our words carefully in order to craft our world that is pleasing to You in Jesus name, amen.
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