When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13) What sort of men were the disciples? In Acts 4, the Pharisees and Sadducees considered the “ordinary.” By ordinary they probably meant poor, educated to the lowest level considered acceptable (what we’d call “high school.”) We know four were fishermen. One was a tax collector. The rest, we can only guess. The religious officials looked down on them as nobodies. And they were – that was the point. But as we face life today, there are folks who think like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Anyone who isn’t “educated” is considered a nobody. Interestingly enough, this is the opinion stated by groups that used to be known for wanting inclusivity. The same folks who used to want to fight for the rights of the marginalized now reject ...
Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. (Proverbs 31:3) Some time ago, I wrote about the more famous section of Proverbs 31, and pointed out that while it was advice given a son who happened to be king, it could easily be advice of a father or mother to a daughter. It is advice from a Father who is King, to sons and daughters who are princes and princesses. Also some time ago, I wrote about the idea of vampires, those people, places, and things that suck the life out of you. They may make promises, but they bleed you dry. Translated, then, the verse may be read “Do not spend your strength on men/women, your vigor on those/that who/which ruin princes/princesses. My first thought was that right now, there are no men on whom I feel tempted to spend my strength or vigor. In fact, it seems to me that one of my challenges is a fear of spending strength or vigor in, with, on, or for an...