P24 The Eagle

bald eagle on branch of tree by Banks Lake, WA — Photo by Scott Hunter; 2//11/2006 near Banks Lake, WA

Daily Note

Every day, a photograph, a poem. This is the last day of National Poetry Writing Month and National Poetry Month. I’ve written a poem every day this month. Actually, I’ve written a poem every day for about five years. I’m thinking about not writing every day to focus more on my art, but then I do love writing.

Today’s poem is inspired by a Bible verse I saw posted on Facebook by someone totally succumbed to conspiracy theories.

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Today’s translation of that seems to imply that people must put all their trust in God and not their own knowledge.

Wow. That really could lead to a lot of people being fooled by charlatans preaching the gospel in ways contrary to Jesus, the God of Love.

Now, just before that verse are these lines:

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4

Don’t let mercy and truth abandon you. Yet, that’s just what’s happening now: no mercy for those different than you, people of different faiths, color, gender, countries, etc. Such vitriol in words and some deeds against others. And so many lies and misinformation / disinformation. And so many people willing to let a woman, probably a mother with other children, die than receive the reproductive health care she needs.

And without a belief in one’s own critical thinking, you will follow down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories spewed by many supposed “Christians.”

Just taking verses 5-6 negates one’s own ability to be guided by the love of God, but rather to trust the Lord according to whatever supposed Christian preacher you’re listening to.

It just seems to me, that if we were “made in His image,” that we’d be filled with imagination and thoughtfulness, able to solve problems with the knowledge that we have, just as God did when he created the world and its creatures.

We’d be guided by the idea that we should “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:39-40

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

How did Christianity in the United States get turned upside down?

We should trust in our strength and knowledge, both guided by the love of God to help others who need our help.

I also saw a quote that was supposedly by a Native American, but I could not find any story, book, Native American website or historical document with the quote. I did find it by a motivational writer, Charlie Wardle.

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.”
― Charlie Wardle, Understanding & Building Confidence

And I think God wants us to trust that our belief in “the greatest of these is love” will guide us through the world we experience through our growing understanding and knowledge in order to create a better world, filled with God’s love.

Just like the eagle trusts its wings, we will trust our decisions because they are guided by that trust and love. We will be knowledgable enough not to be fooled by charlatans preaching beliefs contrary to the most sacred commandments.

Update:

My friend, Daniel Bassill, shared on Mastodon that he had written about tutor/mentorship programs for youth-to-adult programs affiliated with churches. One article was based on “‘Get wisdom! Get understanding,…’ Proverbs 4: Verse 5”. Read the post and see the article here: tutormentor1@mastodon.cloud May 1, 2024.

Poetry

The Eagle

Watching
on the branch
Seeing
for two miles
Knowing
its strong wings
Carry
self and prey

Sheri Edwards
04.30.24 121.365.24
Poetry/Photography
Photo Scott Hunter
Feb 11, 2006