Misery Does and Doesn't Love Company

Proverbial sayings have a probability but not a certainty inherent in them. Let me illustrate. "Misery loves company" versus "Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry, and you cry alone." OK, so which is it?

How about these two verses from the Book of Proverbs in the Bible: Pr 26:4 "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him." Pr 26:5 "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit." Kind of like the comedian Steven Wright's joke: "I bought a dog the other day. I named him Stay. It's fun to call him. "Come here, Stay! Come here, Stay!" He went insane."

Rather than try to dissect the differences and intricacies on the "answering a fool, answer not a fool" dilemma, I think it better just to accept that what may be right in one context may not be right in another...it is called Wisdom. Wisdom is knowing what to do dependent on the particular circumstances and context by using principles that hold for that situation. As such, we need God to provide to us Guidance. Like a hungry man needs bread, so to should we come to God when starving for instruction. Admit it, we are mangy mutts under the table of the Master, looking for dinner.

Back to the first two proverbial sayings first mentioned.

Is Misery a "Unifier" and not a "Divider?" A la a George Bushism? (a truly ironic pre-presidential pronouncement in retrospect).

More thoughts on this to come...

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