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Vision

             Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:11 NIV)

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is one who keeps the Law. (Proverbs 29:18 NASB)

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18 ESV)

I’ve shared multiple translations of this verse because it’s one of my favorite verses and the differences help in understanding it. But I’m going to expand it in its principle. Where there are no guiding principles, there is chaos, but happy is the person who has and follows guiding principles. And the closer those guiding principles are to reality, the more your life will “work.”

After my rant two days ago about Scripture twisting, I’m feeling a little sensitive. I am not trying to make this proverb say other than what it says. I’m simply stating that it is true whether we’re talking about big visions or little, about The Law or what might be termed common sense, or about the personal or the societal. It’s not only true about religious vision and law. It’s simply true.

Two points need to be added. The farther your law is from reality, the less it will produce happiness. The more the law is imposed from the outside, the less happiness it will produce.

In the first paragraph, I said this verse is one of my favorites. It is. It’s also a verse that I’ve tended to hate, partly because of the idea of vision. I’m afraid of ideas that involve me stepping out in pursuit of them. Sadly, I tend to believe that the best way to have a vision fail is to tell God about it. Wanting something is an invitation for a “No.” That is because my visions tend to not be tied to reality and I don’t tend to be willing to follow the associated laws.

This time around, I’m asking God for vision, in whatever form He chooses for it to take because a “vision” is really a direction, so I’m back to WDA (wisdom, direction, and attitude.) I’m not being grandiose. Over the past several years, I’ve been developing a garden, writing books, reading a lot, crafting, and basically building a life that I don’t hate. It involves figuring out how to live in reality, which means it involves building a stronger relationship with God, myself, and others.

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