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The title was taken from Ecclesiastes, and implies the reputational consequences of ill-discerned comment in a world loaded with opinion and division.
A sense of caution had come to me yesterday after I had posted my concerns for the catastrophic events in the Middle East, followed by my daily read which so happened to begin with Ecclesiastes 10:1.
"Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour."
(Ecclesiastes 10:1‬ â€KJV‬‬).
The entire chapter offers caution for anyone quick to speak, which I tend to be.
Again, all this was on the heels of social media comments offered prior, out of true pain and concern for the plight of both Isreal and Palestine, as well as the implications for our own country.
My post: "Saddened by all that is occurring in Isreal and Gaza, yet extracting the cancer of Hamas would now seem necessary.
Once again, religious fanaticism is being stoked by uncaring and brutal power mongers, which always results in suffering for innocent citizens, whom the power seekers then pretend to care for, as is currently occuring!
Those willing to stand against evil are then criticized harshly by protesters, some of whom may not understand the price even for their freedom to protest.
They too, become pawns of the demented power mongers, as they pander to the protesters by way of social media!
We should take a lesson in all this ourselves, lest we eventually lose our own republic to those individuals among us requiring civil restraint in this divided political season, some more hungry for positions of power than peace, even masking themselves as moral."
For one thing, I hold a lifelong and well-engrained respect given Isreal's heritage as the Biblical chosen. On the the other hand, an equal respect for the innocent Palestinians now suffering. My spirit is truly loaded with unanswered questions of both sides. I have growing concerns even as to how I was taught regarding God's stance toward Isreal versus the seed of Abraham.
Throw on top of that my current struggle with the bizarre nature of our nation's political leadership, and the consequences all that madness holds for my grandkids! Yes, I am troubled!
I feel like Hagar, the mother of Ishmael as she sat with her son in a parched desert. Oh, and we need not forget the angel's promise to her, one similar to that of Abraham: "for I will make him a great nation!" (Gen. 21:18).
We all may be missing something somewhere in all this?
I did hear the caution from the Preacher, and I may have just commited folly. If so, it is done out of my compassion for the innocent and my disgust for Hamas!
In such a divisive moment, communicating love for those suffering, the only true spiritual practicality, is more critical to me than political correctness.
Someone like me can be easily misunderstood, yet if I am to leave any spiritual legacy, any generational wisdom in this blizzard of hate, greed and power brokering, my soul must be open to the Spirit and fearless of others.
That's where the balance of wisdom comes into play.
That my friend is why I read, pray and write almost every day. I awake each morning, hoping that something fresh from the Being we call God, as manifest in the Christ will leak love through me.
Having journeyed this long, with blessings untold, though blunters many, my desire for this last quarter of my life is for wisdom to prevail, yet be layered with a transparent love toward all people!
May it be said of me: â€â€"The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth."