Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "affluence"
Affluenza and Penuritis – Part 1
Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God [Proverbs 30:8-9].
In growing up today young people are faced with a situation never before faced by American youth. The medical term for it is affluenza. It runs rampant through a goodly percentage of the population.
And then there are those young people with the opposite medical condition, viz., penuritis. This condition also permeates a goodly percentage of the population. It is much less appreciated by those infected than is affluenza to those with its condition. Though it doesn’t usually result in death, it does universally result in dearth.
It wasn’t long ago that growing up meant finishing high school and, for some folks, going to college and beyond. The goal in either case was to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force and become a productive citizen of society. Which position in the work force a person sets his sights on determined what education was required.
Until just recently the predominance of young people knew what they would become after the educational years were concluded. Some knew they would work at a local factory, others at an office as clerical or administrative staff, and still others became brain surgeons or mad scientists!
It doesn’t work that way much anymore, not since the affluenza infestation. The CDC has yet to get a handle on this plague. Affluenza is characterized by a superfluity of options and the concomitant choices to be made in life. It is so overwhelming that it leaves our young folks’ heads spinning. The end result is that they become insensitive to decision-making, wallowing their lives away in indecision.
In the case of penuritis the infected youths also become insensitized to decision-making, but for very different reasons. These young folks don’t face the problem of having too many options to choose from. They have too few!
The young people infected with penuritis reconcile themselves to the fact they will never have the opportunity to better themselves. Such choices are not available to them. The bottom rung of the ladder is their lot in life. Whether they are relegated to this because of society or because of their own mental prison, it is still their lot in life.
The writer of Proverbs 30 employed Biblical Hebrew parallelism to express these two extremes. He recognized the dangers involved in both maladies and prayed to be delivered from each.
The term parallelism has to do with poetry. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines to form poetry. The Hebrews back in the day rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. We will diagram the two verses in our next study. But for now we must take our leave and spend some time alone with the Lord Jesus. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In growing up today young people are faced with a situation never before faced by American youth. The medical term for it is affluenza. It runs rampant through a goodly percentage of the population.
And then there are those young people with the opposite medical condition, viz., penuritis. This condition also permeates a goodly percentage of the population. It is much less appreciated by those infected than is affluenza to those with its condition. Though it doesn’t usually result in death, it does universally result in dearth.
It wasn’t long ago that growing up meant finishing high school and, for some folks, going to college and beyond. The goal in either case was to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force and become a productive citizen of society. Which position in the work force a person sets his sights on determined what education was required.
Until just recently the predominance of young people knew what they would become after the educational years were concluded. Some knew they would work at a local factory, others at an office as clerical or administrative staff, and still others became brain surgeons or mad scientists!
It doesn’t work that way much anymore, not since the affluenza infestation. The CDC has yet to get a handle on this plague. Affluenza is characterized by a superfluity of options and the concomitant choices to be made in life. It is so overwhelming that it leaves our young folks’ heads spinning. The end result is that they become insensitive to decision-making, wallowing their lives away in indecision.
In the case of penuritis the infected youths also become insensitized to decision-making, but for very different reasons. These young folks don’t face the problem of having too many options to choose from. They have too few!
The young people infected with penuritis reconcile themselves to the fact they will never have the opportunity to better themselves. Such choices are not available to them. The bottom rung of the ladder is their lot in life. Whether they are relegated to this because of society or because of their own mental prison, it is still their lot in life.
The writer of Proverbs 30 employed Biblical Hebrew parallelism to express these two extremes. He recognized the dangers involved in both maladies and prayed to be delivered from each.
The term parallelism has to do with poetry. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines to form poetry. The Hebrews back in the day rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. We will diagram the two verses in our next study. But for now we must take our leave and spend some time alone with the Lord Jesus. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Affluenza and Penuritis – Part 2
Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God [Proverbs 30:8-9].
Yesterday we noted the concept of parallelism in Proverbs 30:8-9. Let’s diagram the two verses now and see what this means.
The location of the verse break between v.8 and v.9 is unfortunate. The first parallel ideas are marked off by the semicolon and read, Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Here’s the diagram:
A. deception
B. lies
B. poverty
A. riches
Note the letters “A” and “B” before each of those four words. The two “A’s” go together, as do the two “B’s”. The parallelism is between the “A’s” and the “B’s”. It is not a comparison but a contrast, making this antonymous parallelism. On the one hand is affluenza, on the other penuritis. They are opposites.
The remainder of vv.8-9 define how the two “A’s” and the two “B’s” fit together. Following our diagram “riches” are “deceptive” to the writer, while “poverty” leads to “lies”. Let’s consult the remaining words of the verses and see just what the writer’s was alluding to.
The phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both ideas expressed in the remainder of verses 8-9. The phrase is the writer’s prayer to the Lord that He give him only his daily bread, no more and no less. The phrase “the food that is my portion” refers to what he requires for each day, one day at a time. Now let’s diagram the remaining two concepts.
A. I am full
B. I am in want
A. I deny my need for the Lord
B. I steal and so profane the Lord’s name
Remember, the phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both of these ideas.
If the Lord allowed the writer to experience affluenza, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be full. In this case he would have no need, which leads sinful man to depend on himself, thus denying his need for the Lord. That is how the two “A’s” of v.8 fit together with verse 9. His riches deceive him, you see.
Contrariwise, if the Lord, allowed the writer to experience penuritis, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be tempted to steal and thereby blaspheme the name of the Lord upon him. This is how the two “B’s” in v.8 fit together with verse 9. His hunger and other needs would be a temptation to him to take matters into his own hands and fill his needs by hook or by crook.
Moses broached these selfsame concepts in Deuteronomy 8:16-18. I suggest you turn there in your Bibles and read it. This is an ongoing concern with sinful man, bringing with it the infestation of either affluenza or penuritis. I doubt any of us would consciously volunteer as Guinea pigs for medical research into the two diseases.
I have a wonderful idea. Let’s make use of the writers own words and invoke them as our prayer to the Lord right now. How about it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Yesterday we noted the concept of parallelism in Proverbs 30:8-9. Let’s diagram the two verses now and see what this means.
The location of the verse break between v.8 and v.9 is unfortunate. The first parallel ideas are marked off by the semicolon and read, Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Here’s the diagram:
A. deception
B. lies
B. poverty
A. riches
Note the letters “A” and “B” before each of those four words. The two “A’s” go together, as do the two “B’s”. The parallelism is between the “A’s” and the “B’s”. It is not a comparison but a contrast, making this antonymous parallelism. On the one hand is affluenza, on the other penuritis. They are opposites.
The remainder of vv.8-9 define how the two “A’s” and the two “B’s” fit together. Following our diagram “riches” are “deceptive” to the writer, while “poverty” leads to “lies”. Let’s consult the remaining words of the verses and see just what the writer’s was alluding to.
The phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both ideas expressed in the remainder of verses 8-9. The phrase is the writer’s prayer to the Lord that He give him only his daily bread, no more and no less. The phrase “the food that is my portion” refers to what he requires for each day, one day at a time. Now let’s diagram the remaining two concepts.
A. I am full
B. I am in want
A. I deny my need for the Lord
B. I steal and so profane the Lord’s name
Remember, the phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both of these ideas.
If the Lord allowed the writer to experience affluenza, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be full. In this case he would have no need, which leads sinful man to depend on himself, thus denying his need for the Lord. That is how the two “A’s” of v.8 fit together with verse 9. His riches deceive him, you see.
Contrariwise, if the Lord, allowed the writer to experience penuritis, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be tempted to steal and thereby blaspheme the name of the Lord upon him. This is how the two “B’s” in v.8 fit together with verse 9. His hunger and other needs would be a temptation to him to take matters into his own hands and fill his needs by hook or by crook.
Moses broached these selfsame concepts in Deuteronomy 8:16-18. I suggest you turn there in your Bibles and read it. This is an ongoing concern with sinful man, bringing with it the infestation of either affluenza or penuritis. I doubt any of us would consciously volunteer as Guinea pigs for medical research into the two diseases.
I have a wonderful idea. Let’s make use of the writers own words and invoke them as our prayer to the Lord right now. How about it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
How, and how not, to build character
The Apostle Paul wrote, We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope [Romans 5:3-4].
I live a life of affluence in an affluent society. I have all I need or want and give my kids all they want. I have so many worldly toys to play with, I am like a little child in a toy store. I cannot make adult choices and commitments in life because I am impossibly distracted by so many opportunities. It's more fun to go with the flow and not have to commit. I eat free lunches rather than earn my keep.
Trouble is, there is no such critter as "free lunch". Someone paid for the lunch, even if I ate for free. So my free lunch meant I loafed on the back of someone else's labor. This is the way of today's society in the good ol' USA.
How can I expect my kids to develop character, unless they experience the sufferings which can lead to real character. Am I really doing my kids right when I make their life so easy? Fact is, I am harming them by stunting their growth spiritually, emotionally, and in all ways.
As a Christian I need to do much better than the world. I need to be salt and light to the world by means of the Gospel, not mimic the world in affluent living. We cannot serve two masters. Either we serve the Lord or we serve affluence. Country club church is not the Gospel.
I live a life of affluence in an affluent society. I have all I need or want and give my kids all they want. I have so many worldly toys to play with, I am like a little child in a toy store. I cannot make adult choices and commitments in life because I am impossibly distracted by so many opportunities. It's more fun to go with the flow and not have to commit. I eat free lunches rather than earn my keep.
Trouble is, there is no such critter as "free lunch". Someone paid for the lunch, even if I ate for free. So my free lunch meant I loafed on the back of someone else's labor. This is the way of today's society in the good ol' USA.
How can I expect my kids to develop character, unless they experience the sufferings which can lead to real character. Am I really doing my kids right when I make their life so easy? Fact is, I am harming them by stunting their growth spiritually, emotionally, and in all ways.
As a Christian I need to do much better than the world. I need to be salt and light to the world by means of the Gospel, not mimic the world in affluent living. We cannot serve two masters. Either we serve the Lord or we serve affluence. Country club church is not the Gospel.
Affluenza and Penuritis – Part 1
Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God [Proverbs 30:8-9].
In growing up today young people are faced with a situation never before faced by American youth. The medical term for it is affluenza. It runs rampant through a goodly percentage of the population.
And then there are those young people with the opposite medical condition, viz., penuritis. This condition also permeates a goodly percentage of the population. It is much less appreciated by those infected than is affluenza to those with its condition. Though it doesn’t usually result in death, it does universally result in dearth.
It wasn’t long ago that growing up meant finishing high school and, for some folks, going to college and beyond. The goal in either case was to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force and become a productive citizen of society. Which position in the work force a person sets his sights on determined what education was required.
Until just recently the predominance of young people knew what they would become after the educational years were concluded. Some knew they would work at a local factory, others at an office as clerical or administrative staff, and still others became brain surgeons or mad scientists!
It doesn’t work that way much anymore, not since the affluenza infestation. The CDC has yet to get a handle on this plague. Affluenza is characterized by a superfluity of options and the concomitant choices to be made in life. It is so overwhelming that it leaves our young folks’ heads spinning. The end result is that they become insensitive to decision-making, wallowing their lives away in indecision.
In the case of penuritis the infected youths also become insensitive to decision-making, but for very different reasons. These young folks don’t face the problem of having too many options to choose from. They have too few!
The young people infected with penuritis reconcile themselves to the fact they will never have the opportunity to better themselves. Such choices are not available to them. The bottom rung of the ladder is their lot in life. Whether they are relegated to this because of society or because of their own mental prison, it is still their lot in life.
The writer of Proverbs 30 employed Biblical Hebrew parallelism to express these two extremes. He recognized the dangers involved in both maladies and prayed to be delivered from each.
The term parallelism has to do with poetry. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines to form poetry. The Hebrews back in the day rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. We will diagram the two verses in our next study. But for now we must take our leave and spend some time alone with the Lord Jesus. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
In growing up today young people are faced with a situation never before faced by American youth. The medical term for it is affluenza. It runs rampant through a goodly percentage of the population.
And then there are those young people with the opposite medical condition, viz., penuritis. This condition also permeates a goodly percentage of the population. It is much less appreciated by those infected than is affluenza to those with its condition. Though it doesn’t usually result in death, it does universally result in dearth.
It wasn’t long ago that growing up meant finishing high school and, for some folks, going to college and beyond. The goal in either case was to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force and become a productive citizen of society. Which position in the work force a person sets his sights on determined what education was required.
Until just recently the predominance of young people knew what they would become after the educational years were concluded. Some knew they would work at a local factory, others at an office as clerical or administrative staff, and still others became brain surgeons or mad scientists!
It doesn’t work that way much anymore, not since the affluenza infestation. The CDC has yet to get a handle on this plague. Affluenza is characterized by a superfluity of options and the concomitant choices to be made in life. It is so overwhelming that it leaves our young folks’ heads spinning. The end result is that they become insensitive to decision-making, wallowing their lives away in indecision.
In the case of penuritis the infected youths also become insensitive to decision-making, but for very different reasons. These young folks don’t face the problem of having too many options to choose from. They have too few!
The young people infected with penuritis reconcile themselves to the fact they will never have the opportunity to better themselves. Such choices are not available to them. The bottom rung of the ladder is their lot in life. Whether they are relegated to this because of society or because of their own mental prison, it is still their lot in life.
The writer of Proverbs 30 employed Biblical Hebrew parallelism to express these two extremes. He recognized the dangers involved in both maladies and prayed to be delivered from each.
The term parallelism has to do with poetry. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines to form poetry. The Hebrews back in the day rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. We will diagram the two verses in our next study. But for now we must take our leave and spend some time alone with the Lord Jesus. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Affluenza and Penuritis – Part 2
Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God [Proverbs 30:8-9].
Yesterday we noted the concept of parallelism in Proverbs 30:8-9. Let’s diagram the two verses now and see what this means.
The location of the verse break between v.8 and v.9 is unfortunate. The first parallel ideas are marked off by the semicolon and read, Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Here’s the diagram:
A. deception
B. lies
B. poverty
A. riches
Note the letters “A” and “B” before each of those four words. The two “A’s” go together, as do the two “B’s”. The parallelism is between the “A’s” and the “B’s”. It is not a comparison but a contrast, making this antonymous parallelism. On the one hand is affluenza, on the other penuritis. They are opposites.
The remainder of vv.8-9 define how the two “A’s” and the two “B’s” fit together. Following our diagram “riches” are “deceptive” to the writer, while “poverty” leads to “lies”. Let’s consult the remaining words of the verses and see just what the writer’s was alluding to.
The phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both ideas expressed in the remainder of verses 8-9. The phrase is the writer’s prayer to the Lord that He give him only his daily bread, no more and no less. The phrase “the food that is my portion” refers to what he requires for each day, one day at a time. Now let’s diagram the remaining two concepts.
A. I am full
B. I am in want
A. I deny my need for the Lord
B. I steal and so profane the Lord’s name
Remember, the phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both of these ideas.
If the Lord allowed the writer to experience affluenza, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be full. In this case he would have no need, which leads sinful man to depend on himself, thus denying his need for the Lord. That is how the two “A’s” of v.8 fit together with verse 9. His riches deceive him, you see.
Contrariwise, if the Lord, allowed the writer to experience penuritis, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be tempted to steal and thereby blaspheme the name of the Lord upon him. This is how the two “B’s” in v.8 fit together with verse 9. His hunger and other needs would be a temptation to him to take matters into his own hands and fill his needs by hook or by crook.
Moses broached these selfsame concepts in Deuteronomy 8:16-18. I suggest you turn there in your Bibles and read it. This is an ongoing concern with sinful man, bringing with it the infestation of either affluenza or penuritis. I doubt any of us would consciously volunteer as Guinea pigs for medical research into the two diseases.
I have a wonderful idea. Let’s make use of the writers own words and invoke them as our prayer to the Lord right now. How about it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Yesterday we noted the concept of parallelism in Proverbs 30:8-9. Let’s diagram the two verses now and see what this means.
The location of the verse break between v.8 and v.9 is unfortunate. The first parallel ideas are marked off by the semicolon and read, Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Here’s the diagram:
A. deception
B. lies
B. poverty
A. riches
Note the letters “A” and “B” before each of those four words. The two “A’s” go together, as do the two “B’s”. The parallelism is between the “A’s” and the “B’s”. It is not a comparison but a contrast, making this antonymous parallelism. On the one hand is affluenza, on the other penuritis. They are opposites.
The remainder of vv.8-9 define how the two “A’s” and the two “B’s” fit together. Following our diagram “riches” are “deceptive” to the writer, while “poverty” leads to “lies”. Let’s consult the remaining words of the verses and see just what the writer’s was alluding to.
The phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both ideas expressed in the remainder of verses 8-9. The phrase is the writer’s prayer to the Lord that He give him only his daily bread, no more and no less. The phrase “the food that is my portion” refers to what he requires for each day, one day at a time. Now let’s diagram the remaining two concepts.
A. I am full
B. I am in want
A. I deny my need for the Lord
B. I steal and so profane the Lord’s name
Remember, the phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both of these ideas.
If the Lord allowed the writer to experience affluenza, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be full. In this case he would have no need, which leads sinful man to depend on himself, thus denying his need for the Lord. That is how the two “A’s” of v.8 fit together with verse 9. His riches deceive him, you see.
Contrariwise, if the Lord, allowed the writer to experience penuritis, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be tempted to steal and thereby blaspheme the name of the Lord upon him. This is how the two “B’s” in v.8 fit together with verse 9. His hunger and other needs would be a temptation to him to take matters into his own hands and fill his needs by hook or by crook.
Moses broached these selfsame concepts in Deuteronomy 8:16-18. I suggest you turn there in your Bibles and read it. This is an ongoing concern with sinful man, bringing with it the infestation of either affluenza or penuritis. I doubt any of us would consciously volunteer as Guinea pigs for medical research into the two diseases.
I have a wonderful idea. Let’s make use of the writers own words and invoke them as our prayer to the Lord right now. How about it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
How, and how not, to build character
The Apostle Paul wrote, We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope [Romans 5:3-4].
I live a life of affluence in an affluent society. I have all I need or want and give my kids all they want. I have so many worldly toys to play with, I am like a little child in a toy store. I cannot make adult choices and commitments in life because I am impossibly distracted by so many opportunities. It's more fun to go with the flow and not have to commit. I eat free lunches rather than earn my keep.
Trouble is, there is no such critter as "free lunch". Someone paid for the lunch, even if I ate for free. So my free lunch meant I loafed on the back of someone else's labor. This is the way of today's society in the good ol' USA.
How can I expect my kids to develop character, unless they experience the sufferings which can lead to real character. Am I really doing my kids right when I make their life so easy? Fact is, I am harming them by stunting their growth spiritually, emotionally, and in all ways.
As a Christian I need to do much better than the world. I need to be salt and light to the world by means of the Gospel, not mimic the world in affluent living. We cannot serve two masters. Either we serve the Lord or we serve affluence. Country club church is not the Gospel.
I live a life of affluence in an affluent society. I have all I need or want and give my kids all they want. I have so many worldly toys to play with, I am like a little child in a toy store. I cannot make adult choices and commitments in life because I am impossibly distracted by so many opportunities. It's more fun to go with the flow and not have to commit. I eat free lunches rather than earn my keep.
Trouble is, there is no such critter as "free lunch". Someone paid for the lunch, even if I ate for free. So my free lunch meant I loafed on the back of someone else's labor. This is the way of today's society in the good ol' USA.
How can I expect my kids to develop character, unless they experience the sufferings which can lead to real character. Am I really doing my kids right when I make their life so easy? Fact is, I am harming them by stunting their growth spiritually, emotionally, and in all ways.
As a Christian I need to do much better than the world. I need to be salt and light to the world by means of the Gospel, not mimic the world in affluent living. We cannot serve two masters. Either we serve the Lord or we serve affluence. Country club church is not the Gospel.
Affluenza and Penuritis – Part 1
Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God [Proverbs 30:8-9].
In growing up today young people are faced with a situation never before faced by American youth. The medical term for it is affluenza. It runs rampant through a goodly percentage of the population.
And then there are those young people with the opposite medical condition, viz., penuritis. This condition also permeates a goodly percentage of the population. It is much less appreciated by those infected than is affluenza to those with its condition. Though it doesn’t usually result in death, it does universally result in dearth.
It wasn’t long ago that growing up meant finishing high school and, for some folks, going to college and beyond. The goal in either case was to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force and become a productive citizen of society. Which position in the work force a person sets his sights on determined what education was required.
Until just recently the predominance of young people knew what they would become after the educational years were concluded. Some knew they would work at a local factory, others at an office as clerical or administrative staff, and still others became brain surgeons or mad scientists!
It doesn’t work that way much anymore, not since the affluenza infestation. The CDC has yet to get a handle on this plague. Affluenza is characterized by a superfluity of options and the concomitant choices to be made in life. It is so overwhelming that it leaves our young folks’ heads spinning. The end result is that they become insensitive to decision-making, wallowing their lives away in indecision.
In the case of penuritis the infected youths also become insensitive to decision-making, but for very different reasons. These young folks don’t face the problem of having too many options to choose from. They have too few!
The young people infected with penuritis reconcile themselves to the fact they will never have the opportunity to better themselves. Such choices are not available to them. The bottom rung of the ladder is their lot in life. Whether they are relegated to this because of society or because of their own mental prison, it is still their lot in life.
The writer of Proverbs 30 employed Biblical Hebrew parallelism to express these two extremes. He recognized the dangers involved in both maladies and prayed to be delivered from each.
The term parallelism has to do with poetry. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines to form poetry. The Hebrews back in the day rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. We will diagram the two verses in our next study. But for now we must take our leave and spend some time alone with the Lord Jesus. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
In growing up today young people are faced with a situation never before faced by American youth. The medical term for it is affluenza. It runs rampant through a goodly percentage of the population.
And then there are those young people with the opposite medical condition, viz., penuritis. This condition also permeates a goodly percentage of the population. It is much less appreciated by those infected than is affluenza to those with its condition. Though it doesn’t usually result in death, it does universally result in dearth.
It wasn’t long ago that growing up meant finishing high school and, for some folks, going to college and beyond. The goal in either case was to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force and become a productive citizen of society. Which position in the work force a person sets his sights on determined what education was required.
Until just recently the predominance of young people knew what they would become after the educational years were concluded. Some knew they would work at a local factory, others at an office as clerical or administrative staff, and still others became brain surgeons or mad scientists!
It doesn’t work that way much anymore, not since the affluenza infestation. The CDC has yet to get a handle on this plague. Affluenza is characterized by a superfluity of options and the concomitant choices to be made in life. It is so overwhelming that it leaves our young folks’ heads spinning. The end result is that they become insensitive to decision-making, wallowing their lives away in indecision.
In the case of penuritis the infected youths also become insensitive to decision-making, but for very different reasons. These young folks don’t face the problem of having too many options to choose from. They have too few!
The young people infected with penuritis reconcile themselves to the fact they will never have the opportunity to better themselves. Such choices are not available to them. The bottom rung of the ladder is their lot in life. Whether they are relegated to this because of society or because of their own mental prison, it is still their lot in life.
The writer of Proverbs 30 employed Biblical Hebrew parallelism to express these two extremes. He recognized the dangers involved in both maladies and prayed to be delivered from each.
The term parallelism has to do with poetry. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines to form poetry. The Hebrews back in the day rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. We will diagram the two verses in our next study. But for now we must take our leave and spend some time alone with the Lord Jesus. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Affluenza and Penuritis – Part 2
Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God [Proverbs 30:8-9].
Yesterday we noted the concept of parallelism in Proverbs 30:8-9. Let’s diagram the two verses now and see what this means.
The location of the verse break between v.8 and v.9 is unfortunate. The first parallel ideas are marked off by the semicolon and read, Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Here’s the diagram:
A. deception
B. lies
B. poverty
A. riches
Note the letters “A” and “B” before each of those four words. The two “A’s” go together, as do the two “B’s”. The parallelism is between the “A’s” and the “B’s”. It is not a comparison but a contrast, making this antonymous parallelism. On the one hand is affluenza, on the other penuritis. They are opposites.
The remainder of vv.8-9 define how the two “A’s” and the two “B’s” fit together. Following our diagram “riches” are “deceptive” to the writer, while “poverty” leads to “lies”. Let’s consult the remaining words of the verses and see just what the writer’s was alluding to.
The phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both ideas expressed in the remainder of verses 8-9. The phrase is the writer’s prayer to the Lord that He give him only his daily bread, no more and no less. The phrase “the food that is my portion” refers to what he requires for each day, one day at a time. Now let’s diagram the remaining two concepts.
A. I am full
B. I am in want
A. I deny my need for the Lord
B. I steal and so profane the Lord’s name
Remember, the phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both of these ideas.
If the Lord allowed the writer to experience affluenza, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be full. In this case he would have no need, which leads sinful man to depend on himself, thus denying his need for the Lord. That is how the two “A’s” of v.8 fit together with verse 9. His riches deceive him, you see.
Contrariwise, if the Lord, allowed the writer to experience penuritis, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be tempted to steal and thereby blaspheme the name of the Lord upon him. This is how the two “B’s” in v.8 fit together with verse 9. His hunger and other needs would be a temptation to him to take matters into his own hands and fill his needs by hook or by crook.
Moses broached these selfsame concepts in Deuteronomy 8:16-18. I suggest you turn there in your Bibles and read it. This is an ongoing concern with sinful man, bringing with it the infestation of either affluenza or penuritis. I doubt any of us would consciously volunteer as Guinea pigs for medical research into the two diseases.
I have a wonderful idea. Let’s make use of the writers own words and invoke them as our prayer to the Lord right now. How about it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Yesterday we noted the concept of parallelism in Proverbs 30:8-9. Let’s diagram the two verses now and see what this means.
The location of the verse break between v.8 and v.9 is unfortunate. The first parallel ideas are marked off by the semicolon and read, Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Here’s the diagram:
A. deception
B. lies
B. poverty
A. riches
Note the letters “A” and “B” before each of those four words. The two “A’s” go together, as do the two “B’s”. The parallelism is between the “A’s” and the “B’s”. It is not a comparison but a contrast, making this antonymous parallelism. On the one hand is affluenza, on the other penuritis. They are opposites.
The remainder of vv.8-9 define how the two “A’s” and the two “B’s” fit together. Following our diagram “riches” are “deceptive” to the writer, while “poverty” leads to “lies”. Let’s consult the remaining words of the verses and see just what the writer’s was alluding to.
The phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both ideas expressed in the remainder of verses 8-9. The phrase is the writer’s prayer to the Lord that He give him only his daily bread, no more and no less. The phrase “the food that is my portion” refers to what he requires for each day, one day at a time. Now let’s diagram the remaining two concepts.
A. I am full
B. I am in want
A. I deny my need for the Lord
B. I steal and so profane the Lord’s name
Remember, the phrase “feed me with the food that is my portion” goes with both of these ideas.
If the Lord allowed the writer to experience affluenza, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be full. In this case he would have no need, which leads sinful man to depend on himself, thus denying his need for the Lord. That is how the two “A’s” of v.8 fit together with verse 9. His riches deceive him, you see.
Contrariwise, if the Lord, allowed the writer to experience penuritis, instead of giving him just the amount he needed (i.e., “my portion”), then he would be tempted to steal and thereby blaspheme the name of the Lord upon him. This is how the two “B’s” in v.8 fit together with verse 9. His hunger and other needs would be a temptation to him to take matters into his own hands and fill his needs by hook or by crook.
Moses broached these selfsame concepts in Deuteronomy 8:16-18. I suggest you turn there in your Bibles and read it. This is an ongoing concern with sinful man, bringing with it the infestation of either affluenza or penuritis. I doubt any of us would consciously volunteer as Guinea pigs for medical research into the two diseases.
I have a wonderful idea. Let’s make use of the writers own words and invoke them as our prayer to the Lord right now. How about it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
