Friday!

Proverbs!

A refining pot [is] for silver, 

and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.

Proverbs 27:21YLT98

This is Youngs Literal Translation of this Proverb, and most other versions seem to put their own interpretation on  the last part, the part about people and praise. 

They may well have good interpretive reasons for adding that we are tested or refined by the praise of others, just like gold or silver is refined and purified. 

One version leans towards we are refined by what we praise (or who we praise) and that is what tests or refines us. 

The writer of this proverb can't have imagined our current celebrity culture and the way that continual praise of a person for performance in a particular area is like being in a crucible or furnace, it can so easily destroy. What we want is what can bring ruin. 

What we think will bring happiness often delivers despair. 

If Proverbs is all about the heart, what is this proverb saying about or to mine?

Or yours?

#proverbs

#wisdom

#somethingtochewon