Be careful

May 6, 2016

Be careful (Sir 13:1-13:2)

“Whoever touches pitch

Gets dirty.

Whoever associates

With a proud person

Becomes like him.

Do not lift a weight

Too heavy for you.

Do not associate

With one mightier than you.

Do not associate

With one richer than you.

How can the clay pot associate

With the iron kettle?

The pot will strike against it.

The clay pot will be smashed.”

Be careful in your life. Do not touch the black pitch or you will get dirty. If you associate with proud people, you will become proud like them. Do not lift things that are too heavy for you. Do not associate with someone richer than you are. Otherwise you will be like the poor clay pot that gets smashed by the rich iron kettle, which is reminiscent of one of Aesop’s fables.

February 6, 2016

Be careful (Prov 22:5-22:8)

“Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse.

The cautious will keep far from them.

Train children in the right way.

Then when they are old,

They will not stray.

The rich rule over the poor.

The borrower is the slave of the lender.

Whoever sows injustice

Will reap calamity,

The rod of anger will fail.”

The way of the perverse is full of thorns and snares, so keep away from them. If you train children correctly, they will not stray when they are old. The rich will rule over the poor. The borrower becomes the slave of the lender. If you sow injustice, you will harvest calamity. Beatings in anger will fail.