Today’s Blog: The Mystery of the Gifts

TODAY’S PROVERB: Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? Proverbs 27:4, TLV

Our proverb today is one of those pondering verses. You know, we read and reread it, yet never quite go deep enough for the relevant insights. The “mystery of the gifts” might just reveal some wisdom we can use in these difficult times.

Anger and wrath are reactions to other stimuli like fear, pain, betrayal. Could jealousy also be a stimuli?

When I think of jealousy morphing into anger and wrath, I think of the sad story of two brothers, Cain and Abel (Genesis 4).

A number of years ago, hubby and I taught Shabbat school (which is the Messianic Jewish version of Sunday school) in Philadelphia. We were studying the 10 Commandments with the junior high age group. The last week of the study was of course the last commandment: coveting.

We wanted to give the young people a way of really remembering how deadly jealousy and envy could be. Rather than going for the jugular with Cain and Abel, we decided to try a more creative approach.

You know the game where there is a pile of wrapped gifts and you roll the dice to get one of the packages? When the gifts are gone, the players begin taking from other players.

Initially, kids chose the larger boxes. Then the gifts more beautifully wrapped. We watched the different responses as kids lost presents and other gained more than one.

Many held their package close to them or were reluctant to surrender it when someone wanted it. Even those with more than one gift — who had more than enough to share.

Finally, the game ended and it was time to open the gifts. We asked the student with the smallest, most simply wrapped gift to open hers first. Everyone watched as she revealed a journal and a pen.

One by one, each student with gifts opened them. All soon discovered, despite the wrappings and size of the box, the prizes were all the same: a journal and a pen.

We had a room full of confused faces — some were even a bit ticked off.

Then we read Cain and Abel.

One young man cried out, “I get it! I was feeling angry when someone took one of my presents. Then I was jealous because he had three and I only had one left.”

From that point the class discussion was lively, insightful, and relevant. They shared their struggles with jealousy and now understood how not repenting of envy and covetousness could cause greater problems.

At the close of the class, students with multiple gifts shared with the students with no gifts. No one left empty-handed. Hubby and I were so proud of them. Years later, members of the class still comment about how the lesson impacted them.

Learning from the kids

Jealousy can so easily slip into our lives. The fear of losing something keeps us from noticing the need of others.

With more states initiating stricter limitations on our life, fear and frustration has produced the behavior of hoarding.

There have always been those “brightly-wrapped boxes” to draw us into wanting more. In the end, once they’re unwrapped, they are all the same, just temporal stuff.

Especially as we navigate these scary times, let’s seek the greater gifts like gratitude, generosity, wisdom, and love. The gifts we can freely share with others.

May we share the greater gifts, my friends.

Proverbs 27:4 Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs

WHAT GIFTS HAVE YOU HOARDED? WHAT GIFTS HAVE YOU SHARED FREELY? IF THIS BLOG WAS A BLESSING, PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS. THANK YOU SO MUCH!