“A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.” – Proverbs 21:14 I remember one of my early experiences of getting caught in the gears of church bureaucracy. I wanted to pull off an event and its promotion only a few days beforehand. “We can’t do...
The nuclear family isn’t going away
David Brooks wrote a provocative and fascinating article in the Atlantic around the start of Covid, which could not have emerged at a more poignantly ironic moment, given its title: “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake”. It classifies the American obsession with nuclear...
A true friend knows how to wound you
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” - Proverbs 27:6 What do you say to your friend who leans in, and whispers: “You have a piece of spinach in your teeth”? I suppose it depends on how long they waited to tell you. Usually, you...
Wearing out your welcome
“Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.” – Proverbs 25:17 I was visiting Nashville a few months before I moved there, and I found myself at an after-church lunch. After chatting with one couple for a while, as they...