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Reality


Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense. The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. (Proverbs 10:13-14)

                Here, we’re back to basic logic. Wisdom, the practical use of the understanding of reality is found on the lips of those who look carefully and distinguish between reality and non-reality. The person who deals effectively with reality is the person who examines it and keeps it in mind. On the other hand, the fool, who has no sense, doesn’t deal with reality even unless you beat him with it, and not always even then. 
                As an example, I’ve talked about this video before. (Video Link) What the speaker has said is true. All of the statement he made had nothing to do with the people to whom he made them. His conclusion also has nothing to do with the people to whom he announced it. At no point does he ask any questions about race, but his conclusion is all about race. 
                The vast majority of the questions he asked traced back to his first question or two: Did you grow up in a household with married parents? Did you grow up with a father figure in your home? Yes, I know, there are bad marriages and bad fathers all over the place. The point is that unless you have good parents, you are disadvantaged, no matter what color your skin is. The fact is that more than forty percent of women of African descent who have children are not married. That fact is not the fault of the kids who end up disadvantaged, but it is something over which the parents have control.
                Why am I talking about this? Because this is an example of what disconnecting with reality does. Someone ends up the worse for it. Some people will say that I’m the one that isn’t dealing with reality. “The reality is that we can’t all have wonderful, perfect families” and the kids shouldn’t have to suffer for their parents’ imperfections. They’re right. We can’t all have wonderful, perfect families. In fact, none of us has a wonderful, perfect family. Kids shouldn’t have to suffer for their parents’ imperfections, but they do. But this is missing the point. The problem is not something that no one can do anything about. The problem is something that no one wants to do anything about. So instead of using discernment, they shift the blame to something that no one can do anything about – skin color and we all suffer. 

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