牧者心聲
智慧的亮光
周曉暉牧師
2024 年 7 月 6 日 / 7 日
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在科技社會中生活的我們，對光是又愛又恨。出門要避太陽光——怕曬黑；入屋要濾屏幕藍光——怕眼疾。但在許多世紀之前，光對人類和社群都是十分重要的，尤其照明之物不是唾手可得。因此，家中的油燈、路上的火把、岸邊的燈塔、城堡的火光，全都成為人的指引，使人明瞭當走的路向。
箴言作為一卷智慧書，也常以光和暗表達出人生的路向是否正確、生活抉擇是優是劣，例如：「義人的光燦爛輝煌，惡人的燈卻會熄滅。」（箴十三9，環譯本）
箴言常將智者和愚人、義人和惡人作出對比，帶出人生路上，諸如環境、財富、際遇雖然十分重要，但怎樣說話行事，怎樣與身邊的人相處，才是關鍵所在。懂得合宜抉擇，就是智慧！
在甚麼時候，人才會覺得世界是美好光明的？
以相片為例，藍天白雲、綠草如茵、風光明媚的郊野景色，人人見到都會心情愉快舒暢，但試想像在如此美景前，卻拍攝了一件惡人惡事，那麼再繽紛的山河，也會隨之失色走調。相對而言，一幀喧鬧市井的相片，拍下不整潔小巷和街尾的一刻，看來沒有特色，但若拍下的是一件好人好事，原本灰沉的構圖，也會因著捕捉到人性的光輝而立時變得美麗。從這個角度看，世間能否有美好光明的一面，其實取決於其中生活的人。
那麼，義人智慧的選擇，就不只是對自己好，而是活出照亮身邊人的光明言行。
箴言全卷可分為五個部分，第一部分是一至九章，經文比較連貫，是講解智慧的開場白。最為人熟知的一節箴言，應該就是九章10節：「敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端；認識至聖者便是聰明。」（和合本）這部分表達出不論信與不信的都需要在人生路上作出的抉擇。其中指出，走近智慧的源頭，就常得供應，能明辨是非，看得見人生真正的優勝劣敗何在。
箴言第二部分（十章1節至二十二章16節），不像是連貫的篇章，有些可按照主題歸類為一小段落，有些則只是單獨存在。即使如此，箴言卻能以三兩句話，就把一點生活或生命智慧捕捉著，這些文句精煉，可方便人將當中的生命原則作教導，傳遞給下一代。
這一季，我們會選讀這部分。求主以箴言光照我們的生命，從而使我們在生活中發出亮光，為地上帶來多一點美善。
Living in societies with advanced technologies, our perception of light is one of love and hate. Outdoors, we try to avoid the sunlight as we are afraid of getting tanned. Indoors, we try to filter out the blue light of PC screens as we are afraid of getting eye diseases. But many centuries ago, light used to be very important to both humankind and communities, especially when illumination devices were not readily available. That was why the oil lamps at home, the torches on the roadside, beacons on the coastline, the lights from castles – they all provide much-needed guidance for people so that they know the path to take.
As a book of wisdom, the Proverbs also likens the right and wrong directions in life, and whether our choices are good or bad, to light and darkness. For example, "The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out." (Proverbs 13:9)
Very often, the Book of Proverbs draws contrasts between the wise and the fool, the righteous and the wicked. The message is that although environment, wealth and destiny are all very important to the journey of life, the crux of the matter is truly what we say and do, and how we live with the people around us. Wisdom is knowing how to make the appropriate choice.
When does man find the world bright and beautiful? Take a photograph for example. A captivating countryside with blue sky, white clouds and green pastures does soothe the nerves and delight the mind. But what if it is the scene of dreadful acts by some vicious people? That will take away the luster and the glamor of the scenery. On the contrary, a picture of a rustling and bustling marketplace may show an untidy alley or street corner. There may be nothing special about it. But what if it is where a good man does good? The grey composition will instantly become beautiful as it conveys the brightness of human nature. As such, whether we can see the good and the beautiful side of life really depends on the people in there.
Therefore, the wise choice by a righteous man will not just be for his own good. His bright words and acts will shine on those around him.
The Book of Proverbs can be divided into five parts. The first part from Chapter 1 through 9 comprises coherent passages. It is a prologue explaining wisdom. The most familiar verse in this section would probably be 9:10, which says "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. " It points to a choice that both believers and non-believers have to make on the path of life. It points out that the more we get close to the origin of wisdom, the more often we will receive the provision of wisdom to discern right from wrong, and to understand what is really good or bad for our lives.
The passages in the second part of Proverbs (from 10:1 to 22:16) are not coherent. Some verses in this part can be classified as a small section according to theme. Some others just stand alone. Even so, the Proverbs can capture the wisdom of life in the span of two to three sentences. Skillfully crafted sentences convey the principles of life. They make it easy for us to pass on teachings to future generations.
That will be what we are studying this quarter. May God shine on our lives with the light of the Book of Proverbs so we can live out the light and bring more goodness on earth.
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