Beholding the Beauty

So often, I assume that you (Yes, "you", my dear reader -- I'm not vaguebooking about any particular someone here; I'm talking to YOU, whoever you may be)... But that's a lot of explanation, and I digress. Start again. So often, I assume that you have an agenda. And worse, I assume I know what that agenda is. What makes this so horrible is that sometimes (only sometimes!) I'm actually right. So then I think I'm right the rest of the time, too, when I am more often than not horribly, horribly wrong. As part of "growing up", we have to both learn to set boundaries where they are needed, and also to tear them down where they don't belong. Both tasks have the potential to make quite a mess of things. Too often, I set my boundaries by filtering my horribly flawed, judgmental, and blind assumptions about your character, person, and agenda through the matrix of my broken, limited, and chaotic passions and desires, coupled with my illogical thought p

Introduction Recently, I got into a discussion of this topic on a Facebook thread, and I brought up Deut. 14:26. The Discussion One of the participants replied that it was almost a dare by God, to keep them from drinking at home during the rest of the year, so they could be consistent in public with who they were at home.  This is an interpretation of the command as one fundamentally based on fear of embarrassment and judgment by their fellows. To this, I simply replied: I think the and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household is sufficient to show that there is no fear intended in the command, no judgment, but a rejoicing, a celebration. This is consistent with…the Psalm that says, You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. One of the people replied that it was an exception to the rule.  To which I rep