Living Biblically

A.J. Jacobs, in ‘The Year of Living Biblically’, describes a year in which he tries to follow all the rules and guidelines he could find in the Bible…

The famous ones, like the Ten Commandments or loving your neighbour, are straightforward. ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ and ‘Don’t shave your beard’ are more interesting. ‘Don’t wear clothes of mixed fibres’ and ‘stone adulterers’ are more challenging.

He quotes interesting proverbs: ‘Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.’(Proverbs 25:20)

I liked: ‘Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish.’ (Proverbs 31:6) I haven’t heard that one preached on in church.

Living biblically affected what A.J. did, and what he said…

Gossip: I’m not familiar with:  ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.’ (Leviticus 19:16)  

‘A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.’ (Proverbs 11:13) I’ve heard before.

‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs…’ (Ephesians 4:29). …familiar, wise, clear, but still challenging.

Grumbling: …Reading about Moses… He’s led the Jewish nation out of slavery, across the Red Sea and into the desert, without food or water. They start grumbling.

Grumbling is destructive; it doesn’t improve their situation – in fact it makes it worse. What struck me this morning was ‘God has heard your grumbling…’ was repeated four times…

Gratitude: A.J. read ‘Praise the Lord with the lyre; make music to him on the ten-stringed harp.’ (Psalm 33:2)  He discovered that he could purchase one on e-bay:

‘The Tiffany of ten-string harps is an Indiana-based shop called Jubilee Harps (Motto: ‘Home is where your harp is!’)’

Musing… Would a 10-stringed harp… cause more family mirth than my accordion playing… affect my singing to those with a heavy heart… make me more grateful to my God?