Doug Van Pelt

The Lips of the Righteous

Proverbs 10 brings it straight. Slander, being lazy, and taking pleasure in evil conduct are all big wastes of time that bring bad results.

"As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so is a sluggard to those who send him."

It would be great to learn these kind of life lessons from a book; but experience sometimes drives home points we would not otherwise get. And if we get complacent or take our blessings for granted, sometimes having to put up with disappointment makes us stronger and more diligent to pursue the things that are right. It's not a perfect world, nor are we who live in it perfect -- not a one.

"He who gathers crops in Summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."

There are times (like deadline, for instance) where chipping in and working hard for extended time periods is a necessary and important thing. There are other times where recreation is important and even necessary. There is balance, I believe, in being content with whatever time we're in.

Hey, I got a new car! It was so cool to find one (I thank my wife for that...again!) that was in such good shape for such a low price. It's unbelievable, in fact. I never would have dreamed that hail damage to a car could bring a new car (less than 50 miles on it) down to a used car price. And to top that off, Volkswagon has a $500 discount to people who own other VWs (kind of a loyalty discount). So even in a situation where it was easy to be disappointed or depressed, good things happened. I'm so thankful. I went to see Denison Witmer and Copeland last night. Very cool show.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at June 8, 2005 08:30 AM