...what results from it...

I skipped my entry yesterday. I got caught up with meaningless household chores on the last day of my vacation, and the time just got away from me. The purpose of this process is as a mitzvot, a task designed to bring one closer to God. By allowing "chores" to supersede the time I spent on this, I gave over to my own brand of idolatry. I would like to say I am over-reacting, but having been raised the way I was raised, I know that I am not. Making chores, things, more important than people, or relationships, corrupts the soul and leaves one isolated. My past can attest to that, and my hope is that this process could make some changes in me. Of course, if this becomes just another "task," then I will have fallen far short of the change I was hoping to make.

In the NT reading today, Christ touches on a truth about wisdom, and without being too glib about it, we see echoes of this in such culturally diverse representations as Beavis and Butthead.

Christ says that "wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it." In much the same way, He had previously given a warning about which we may know false prophets in the same way we know a tree is good or bad by the fruit it creates. To know something as "good" by the downstream effects of it creates an opportunity for interpretative license. I was brought closer to God when my marriage fell apart, does that make the divorce "good?" Was it "right" for us to get divorced, as the marriage was not a haven for me spiritually? That really begs the question of what is the more important thing. Personal salvation or an adherence to religious custom? The comic end expression of such a thought process is the Beavis and Butthead ideology of "we like things that are cool, we don't like things that suck."

The definitions, the interpretations, of things then create the opportunity for a re-interpretation, or for millions of re-interpretations, one for everyone involved in viewing it. Given the number of re-interpretations, it's no wonder that deconstructionists fail to find moral authority, or any meaning at all, in the Bible. One day, Jesus talks about bringing a sword, the next He says how humble and gentle He is. However, it is this simple truth that appears to tie it all together. At the end of the day, it is what results that counts. Consider the world response to Haiti. People are in anguish over an island that is populated by the poorest of the poor, that has no infrastructure, and is afflicted yet again by disaster. Prayers are offered up all over the world for these poor people. It is something in our hearts that is stirred when the defenseless are beaten down even more. It's the best part of us, throwing aside division and strife, and responding to those humans who simply have the greatest need. It is pity, tenderness, and love, and I believe it is the downstream effect of the teachings of Christ.

"Thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike." Jesus often speaks of the most faithful as the most like a child in faith and belief. By not honoring the powerful or the clever, Jesus creates in us a humility and a soul of a servant. In this way, when disaster strikes, we see the good results of the worldwide response to it and understand the wisdom of His words and His life given for us. Even though we may become complacent to suffering, and allow such poverty to exist, we still can react, when shocked, and become the best parts of ourselves, because it is in times like these, that we truly know how to act.

I wish I could do more. I know we all do. But I am comforted to know that my contribution is just one small contribution of many, and that the motivation of that contribution arises in a world shaped by this philosophy. I am thankful that I at least can witness it.

On a personal level, I have to seek what is "right" and hope for the best results. I can only hope that by being honest, good things will follow, for others and for myself. I used to think that wisdom was following everything back upstream until I figured out exactly what I was, but now I know that it's the results that matter, and it's whether there is goodness being shown at the end of the day that determines the validity of the process, or the wisdom of the search.