Sunday, May 4, 2014

Words of Wisdom in Sirach

A few weeks ago the older boys at church had an assignment to share how the youth or younger men should act or behave in the presence of older men. It was a blessing to hear what all they had to say, but one passage stood out to me. It is found in Sirach chapter 32 or 35, depending on which version you use. I will quote two versions here ... I believe this is a great thing to have hanging on your wall :)

If you are young, don't speak unless you have to, but never more than twice, and only if someone speaks to you first. Come to the point and say it all in a few words. Show that you are well-informed, but stay quiet. 9Don't treat important people as if you were their equal and don't make a nuisance of yourself by asking them a lot of questions.

7 Speak, young man, if there be need of thee: and yet scarcely when thou art twice asked. 8 Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in few words; be as one that knoweth and yet holdeth his tongue. 9 If thou be among great men, make not thyself equal with them; and when ancient men are in place, use not many words.

3 comments:

  1. Hello,
    I was raised Catholic and never heard of the book of Sirach - if my quick search gave me correct information - that this is a book Catholics accept as inspired scripture. Of course, when I was growing up I didn't know anything about the Bible!! I guess I was surprised Anabaptists would use it ( none of my Anabaptist friends have and we have been studying scriptures together in a meeting for 9 yrs). I am not saying it is wrong, just that it seems unusual. I really enjoy your posts, by the way.

    Blessings!
    Joanie W

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Joanie, thank you for the comment.

    I am not sure any of the professing 'anabaptists' of today would accept the 'apocryphal' books. Some would probably even say they are heretical. I believe they are missing out.

    Though I would have fellowship with the early 'anabaptists' I am not an 'anabaptist'. I just follow Christ ... his teachings are simple to understand as long as we don't try to find a way around them!

    Lord bless you and thank you again for the comment.
    j



    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi again,
    Though I have read many of your posts I mistakenly thought you were Anabaptist, although not like the typical ones nearest me ( dress). I was thinking Mennonite because they are more varied in appearance than Amish and German Baptists. I saw others on your site, too, that led me to believe you were some sort of Anabaptist. Anyhow, although we have considered ourselves Quaker ( NOT like typical Quaker groups today, but agree with much the early Quakers taught)since 1996 we have fellowshipped with Anabaptists on and off for about 9 yrs. We are misfits with both Anabaptists and Quakers. I sometimes see ourselves as guineas in the chicken yard. But that is ok, all that matters is how God sees us.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated - I will get to them as soon as possible.
Comments that contain offensive language will not be posted.