Proverbs 10 – objects of prepositional phrases
The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.Proverbs 10:15 from New Living Translation
What struck me in this verse the most is the use of the words “wealth” and “poverty” as objects of a prepositional phrases.
It’s pretty common for people to equate wealth as something that people posses, but not poverty. To present that poverty is something that one possesses would indicate that being rich and being poor has something to do with the value system, paradigm, or world view that determines if one is rich or poor.
Huh?
ok, let me try a different way.
Many people now a days view rich and poor as often a result of some magical, scratch that, outside force that the individual cannot control. They go through life not looking at wealth or poverty as something one can possess, purchase, sell, buy, etc, rather it is what you were born with, were lucky (or unlucky) to have, etc … “it’s not their fault”. Now this is not to say that 100% of the people with wealth purchased it, somebody did – at least if it was acquired though legal means – by providing either a lot of value a small number of times (to a few customers or transactions) or a lot of times (lots of customers or transactions) for a little value each time. Either way works, or somewhere in between. There is also a group who have been oppressed, and by my definition that includes living under a government that prevents opportunities, a free market, or taken advantage of by evil.
What would happen if more people took the mindset?
Well, if more people viewed wealth as possessions, that are strength in your personal financial situation, it would allow for more freedom. Less people would be virtual slaves, or modern tenant farmers and thus could pursue their true hedgehog concept, as opposed to good they could pursue greatness.
In turn more and better goods and services would be available – due to more competition.
Would everyone be a small business owner? No, my wife is working in her strength in the medical industry … she is great at what she does and a well paid employee, but part of the reason we have been able to get her to where she is is due to the good financial decisions and mindset that we have when it comes to wealth and poverty.
fortress & destruction
One of the big differences between a rich mindset and a poor one is that when issues come up, when emergencies happen, when challenges, zombies, or mobs attack – the rich have the strength to either withstand, move out of the way, or channel the situation for their benefit. The poor simply do not. It is because of the lack of debts that the rich can withstand the down times and come out stronger – because the rich see opportunities to provide more value, or get a greater return on their money they let others use.
One last note: generally I do not use the terms rich or poor, because the definitions are so irritating, but in this post, since those are the words that the verses used, if you have major issues with the specific terms, please try to look beyond them and at the meaning of the terms, that is what I did.
Part of the Proverbs Challenge series
3g iPod Shuffle – Apple’s next bomb
bomb – as in little or no sales,* not* bomb as in “a good thing”
Meet the new iPod Shuffle ->
A few years ago I purchased for my wife a second generation iPod shuffle. It was a good device. I was thrilled that I did not need to use itunes with it, since I was still purchasing CDs at the time and wanted more control over the order tracks were on the shuffle. It was a good device and we both used it until the end of 2008 when we discovered the Sansa Clip.
Recently Apple came out with a new generation of the iPod Shuffle, and here is basically how my thoughts on it changed:
First I saw it – it looked rather simple and I wanted to see more pictures. I read a blog entry and then went to see more pictures.
Then it struck me – there are no buttons on this thing, I wonder how this works. From there I watched the video that Apple released on it.
After watching the video I was a little upset:
1. can you really call a device a MP3 player if you need *special* headphones to listen to it?
2. Apple tends to be a leader, so expect to see more headphones out there with their magic control device built into them … unless Apple has a patten, then just expect the “Apple knows best” fools to continue to purchase high priced monopolistic headphones.
The headphone deal is ok if you are cool with the Apple made headphones (lots of people are not, I generally am), but that eliminates my ability to plug it into my car that has a line in with a headphone jack. I cannot even hit the play button on the thing, because there is not one.
In the end, I just cannot recommend this to anyone, the options available are too limiting & the marketing is too inaccurate.
Proverbs 11 – fist full of sand
The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.Proverbs 11:24 from The Message
Princess Leia once said “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” The same idea apply to all areas of our life, not just our personal finance, but our life in general. That’s what this verse says to me, but the opposite is also true. For the ability to receive more you have to be open & allow some of what your desire to hold on to to potentially go away.
This verse fits well with all the ones along the lines of “don’t correct a fool, or someone who does not want to be corrected” because you are not being generous with your correction, you are being stingy. I’ve struggled with being over corrective, thinking I was being generous.
The other mistake I have made is being too closed off … or stingy with the ability to get to know me.
I still protect myself, but I am much more open and attempting to be generous with what I have and produce. Posting more pictures, telling more stories, etc. I have written about philosophy and my world view at least 10 (probably over 13) years off and on. It has only been in the last few months that I shared anything as personal as this type of post for the world to read. In the past I might share with a small group of people, or even a messageboard, but never in a place that had the two elements of “me being me and everyone knows it” and “me being totally real”.
If the world focused on generosity, and I do not mean the peer pressure similar to “being green” or other past social trends, but really focusing on being willing to work within their strength(s) to do what they could to provide value to others & develop relationship …
It would be a different world. One where each person would have more connections with the people around them. Thus when issues came up in the life of one, well others would come around them and help, but also the person would not take it as much of their world coming to an end, because their world is getting ever larger, even if parts go away, die, or end.
Loosing a friend, job, or toy is much easier when you have “replacement(s)”* either already in place or on the way.
*NOTE: just to not be mistaken for too callous – not saying friendships can ever be fully replaced, or any relationship that ends, but that the pain can go away easier if you have 2,000 real true life friends easier then if you have 1.
Part of the Proverbs Challenge series
