Proverbs are the considered reflections of individuals who have been around for a while and know a thing or two about how things go in the world. This wise observer sees that resentment and envy have a negative effect on persons in whom they are nurtured.  Harsh and un...

The truth of this proverb is well known but little heeded. In developed society we are bombarded with a thousand messages a day, that our life would be so much better if we had a better house, a more modern car, if we owned a motor home, if we had designer clothes, if...

This is Nehemiah’s interpretation of events that unfolded in the court of the Persian king. Events which led to his return to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem. It is a statement of faith. That is to say the events were open to another interpretation. They might hav...

Do men and women have access to any spiritual resources outside of themselves?  When a man must make a choice between a value, the sole beneficiary of which is himself, and an alternative good with the potential to bless hundreds, does the universe give a damn?   If th...

A sad commentary on the spiritual health of Israel during a long period of religious compromise!  It is easy to read the story of Israel with a holier-than-thou mindset; tut-tutting about their obtuse and stiff-necked ways. But this Scripture should disturb us too. It...

We humans have a remarkable propensity to put ourselves at the disposal of a perceived ultimate value. This explains persons who tie themselves to trees in the forest to prevent logging, those who spend all their means and energy on their motor car, others who give the...

It sounds similar to the folk wisdom, 'The harder I worked, the luckier I got.'  Yes, but this says more. It observes that deep satisfactions come to those who apply use mind and body to create, to achieve something; those who take responsibility seriously. On the othe...

We usually associate righteousness with the conduct of relationships between persons within society.  By making our treatment of animals part of the content of good human behaviour, the Bible takes the idea of righteousness and of morality to unexpected heights. Our an...

My mother used to say: 'What goes around comes around." She said this in order to discourage me from rash acts of reprisal against ill-manners or unfairness. She believed that meanness had a way of coming back on the heads of the mean.  I think there's some truth in wh...

People of faith ought not hold their opinions too strongly. At best, their knowledge is partial. Their apprehension of reality and of God himself is sketchy.  There is an element of 'not knowing' in faith, and it need not be despised. It enables Christians to take thei...