Theological Commentary: Click Here
It’s time to
take a break from the persistent righteous and folly debate, although it
certainly continues to run through this chapter as well. This chapter has a couple of proverbs that
will allow this pause in our focus.
Each heart
knows its own bitterness. There are
incredible amounts of truth in this saying.
I’ve always been cautious about saying the words, “I know how you feel.” Yes, I do say them fairly often. But the truth is that I can’t really know how
someone else feels. I might know how I
would feel in their place. I might be able
to relate what I think they are feeling to a feeling that seems similar to
me. But I cannot possibly know how someone
else is feeling. I can’t know another’s
pain, loneliness, or sorrow.
Interestingly
enough, I can’t know another’s joy, either.
Again, I can know how I would feel if I were in someone else’s
place. I can know the height of my own
pleasure. Even so, I still can’t truly
know how someone else is being pleased or made happy. I can relate, but I can’t truly know.
As long as
the focus is on one’s feelings, I also love the proverb that says that even in
laughter the heart may ache or rejoicing may end in grief. It’s amazing how much pain a smile can truly
hide. It’s amazing how good human beings
are at putting on a façade. Some days I
feel like I am a master of my façade, wondering if anyone really knows what
lies beneath.
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