I grew up Southern Baptist in a conservative military town and attended a private school, until 7th grade, where Bible was a subject. As a kid, memorization was more than fully comprehending what I was reading and what the verses meant. In the same realm as psychology and philosophy, you need life experiences and development to synthesize with the material. I recently finished the Book of Proverbs and felt an array of emotions during the reading and after I was done.
One of the recurring thoughts: How should I interpret this? Usually, when I get in my head, my first response is to type the question into Google. Get out of my head and into the game. I saw a few descriptions of The Bible that pointed me in a good direction.
“Allegorical”,” moral”, “historical”, ”literary”…
I translated my findings to handle this read how I would handle any other read, by using discernment and allowing my own interpretation. Are there book clubs for the Bible? Imagine the chats?
There are references to wisdom, discipline, honesty, conflict, greed, modesty, etc., in the Book of Proverbs. I began to ask myself where I fit into these references. During my Google search, I found a sound piece of advice. You guys know that I’m always mentioning balance and everything existing on a spectrum, and the piece of advice spoke to exactly that. The same happenings to the wise can also happen to the foolish, and so on. It’s best to read the Book of Proverbs as the shoe fitting, regardless of the message, because *one size fits all*. As we embrace the journey of evolution, these Scriptures are there to help us reflect and potentially improve. S/O to the world wide internet.
I love authors like Carl Jung and Friedrich Nietzsche, so I had no idea when I was younger that I would enjoy reading the Bible as relative instead of absolute . I can laugh, ponder, question, and learn all within the same chapter. Jung labeled the parts of us that we try to keep hidden – as we disapprove of them – as our shadows. He theorized that we all have a shadow side and instead of running, hiding, or trying to escape it, it’s best to accept it and integrate it into our lives for an authentic reality. Going back to the themes in Proverbs, the conflict, greed, and laziness that are written about affect us all, and there’s something to learn by acknowledging that less than desirable side.The themes of happiness, justice, and virtue, too, affect us all and help us serve a more meaningful life. That makes it easier for me to understand why the Bible should be left open to interpretation.
“True, whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself. The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because we cover it with the persona, the mask of the actor. But the mirror lies behind the mask and shows the true face.” – Carl Jung
So, when’s the last time you wholeheartedly looked into the mirror?
Reflection Points:
- Where or who do you run to when you need guidance? Do you have standard rituals or wing it based on a feeling?
- What helps you lead a more authentic life?