self esteem

May 3, 2016

Humility (Sir 10:28-10:31)

“My child!

Honor yourself with humility!

Give yourself the esteem

That you deserve!

Who will acquit

Those who condemn themselves?

Who will honor

Those who dishonor themselves?

The poor are honored

For their knowledge.

The rich are honored

For their wealth.

One honored in poverty,

How much more in wealth!

One dishonored in wealth,

How much more in poverty!”

Sirach has a strange sort of humility. You should be honored with your humility. You should have a good self esteem because you deserve it. Do not condemn or dishonor yourself. Poor people are honored with knowledge, but the rich are honored with wealth. The best would be a poor person with knowledge and wealth. The worst would be a wealthy person who becomes poor. This strange kind of humility relies on knowledge and wealth as a determining factor.

February 15, 2016

The righteous (Prov 28:11-28:13)

“The rich are wise in self-esteem.

But an intelligent poor person

Sees through the pose.

When the righteous triumph,

There is great glory.

But when the wicked prevail,

People go into hiding.

No one who conceals his transgressions

Will prosper.

Whoever confesses them,

Whoever forsakes them,

Will obtain mercy.”

The rich people pretend to be wise in their own eyes with great self-esteem. However, the smart poor people can see through this. Whenever the righteous triumph, there is great glory. On the other hand, when the wicked prevail, everyone goes into hiding. You will not prosper if you hide your transgressions. However, if you confess your transgressions and give them up, you will obtain mercy.

February 13, 2016

The lazy man (Prov 26:13-26:16)

“The lazy person says.

‘There is a lion in the road!

There is a lion in the streets!’

As a door turns on its hinges,

So does a lazy person in bed.

The lazy person buries a hand in the dish.

He is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.

The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem

Than seven who can answer discreetly.”

In this short section about the lazy people, there is almost a direct repeat of what appeared in chapters 19 and 22 about the lazy man with the lion in the street and the lazy man with his hand in the dish. Both are striking examples of laziness. Afraid to go outside because of some supposed lion and being too tired to put his hand to his mouth to feed himself. This lazy person is only able to turn like hinge on a door, as he turns in his bed. Finally the lazy person is full of self esteem because he thinks that he is better than 7 other discreet people.