Understanding a person's heart from their way of reasoning.
Sirach 27:4-7
When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains;
So a man's filth remains in the way he reasons.
As a furnace tests a potter's vessels,
So the test of a man is in the way he reasons.
As fruit reveals how a tree is cultivated,
So a man's reasoning process reveals his heart.
Do not praise a man before he reveals the way he reasons,
For this is the way a man is tested.
Personal Challenge
We live in the age of reason and logic. Long before this age Jesus ben Sirach very wisely admonished his followers, and therefore us, to very carefully assess how a person applies their reasoning to situations in life because by observing this we can better understand the true condition of someone's heart. It is not necessarily how a person dresses, nor the language that they use that points our where they are coming from, but how they reason through things that speak volumes. As an Orthodox believer, I am taught to not judge others, which definitely leads to giving grace more than scorn or correction. However, we are also taught to be discerning so that we can more fully serve Our Lord. I too must watch my own reasoning and make sure that it is based on God's Wisdom and not on man's intellect.
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