Thursday, 19 April 2012

• Don't Waste Good Wine, and Other Biblical Advice

  [This is reposted as part of our Best-Of Revelife Week. It was originally posted on December 30, 2009.]

  Most people who have not read the Christian scriptures have certain ideas not only about what it teaches, but also about the general attitude it comports.  They get their ideas from stuffy Christians, boisterous pastors, televangelists and the Left Behind series.  This is unsurprising.  What is more surprising is that some people who are extremely familiar with the Bible (such as stuffy Christians, boisterous pastors, televangelists and the authors of the Left Behind) also have certain ideas about the overall attitude of the Bible, ideas that are hard to reconcile with the Bible itself. 
  
  So here is a collection of statements which, while not materially affecting the core teaching of the Bible, hopefully reflect a more comprehensive view of the attitude of the Bible.

  1. Never waste good wine (Ecc. 9:7, John 2).
  2. Adore your spouse while you have the time (Prov. 5:18).
  3. Sometimes deception overcomes military might (Gen 34).
  4. As a corollary to number three, if a man tells you that you and all your warriors must be circumcised before you can marry his daughter, don't fall for it.
  5. In marriage, never go to bed angry (Eph. 4).
  6. It is a good thing to be wearied from lovemaking (Song 4).
  7. The government has its uses (Rom 13), but it will still try to make you worship it (Rev 13), and reserves the right to kill you if you refuse.  
  8. As a corollary to number seven, taxes are seldom for the benefit of the taxed (Ecc. 5, 1 Sam 8).
  9. If you are going to sin, sin as baldly as possible.  Don't steal from the bank, steal the bank itself (Luke 16).
  10. Revenge seldom makes you feel better, and most often just makes you look like an ass (Judges 15).

  
  What do you think?  Do these pieces of lifestyle advice fit well with your understanding of the Biblical worldview?  Which ones do not resonate?  What advice from the Bible would you add to the list?
  
  

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