Jack’s Winning Words 3/6/18
“You can learn much from wise words, little from wisecracks, and less from wise guys.”  (William Arthur Ward)  At Christmastime a friend of mine would always refer to the magi as “The 3 wise guys.”  In slang, a wise guy is a smartypants.  In biblical terms, it’s someone who understands how God relates to the world and how the world’s people relate to God.  That’s why I enjoy reading Ecclesiastes and Proverbs.  Much can be learned from those wise words.    ;-)  Jack

FROM HAPPY TRAILS IN NOVA SCOTIA:  One of my memorable class assignments in my freshman year was in Literary Masterpieces of the Near East (in translation). We all had to write a compare-and-contrast on Ecclesiastes and The Rubayat (Fitzgerald translation). That course influenced me the following year to start the first of my three years of Arabic language studies and to continue with Middle-East related courses throughout my AB and MBA studies. We were simultaneously assigned a reading on the background and mindset of Fitzgerald.  I had one Zoroastrian colleague in Pennsylvania and sometimes discussed religion with him at lunch. He's the only Zoroastrian I ever knowingly met. Aren't the Three Kings thought to be Zoroastrian?
====JACK:  From an article called, The Real Magi, I learned that Zarathustra (also known as Zoroaster by the Greeks) was considered to be the 1st philosopher and the 1st monotheist.  I also learned that the  word, Magi, has a root meaning,,,followers of the truth.  This, then, led me to better understand, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the book and the music.  One step, and then another...Thanks

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Every day we get strong messages about what constitutes the "good life": Money, Sex, Power, Profession, and social Position. People seem to buy into it these sales pitches in record numbers, but Ecclesiastes pokes holes in each of these definitions of success...All are futile and will not last after we die. Only God is a sturdy foundation which merits our trust and devotion. Still, our culture often sways our judgment, which seems to be human nature!  Hopefully we can learn much from the Wise Guys!!  We have to stay focused...:-(====JACK:  Each generation has its choices to make.  There comes a time when decisions have  to be made.  Ecclesiastes does a better job of reminding them...a better job than does a nagging parent or preacher.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Oh to be wise, in the real sense of the word!  Sometimes my wisdom comes after the fact.  Hopefully, I am wise enough to learn from my errors.====JACK:  There's the old story of the preacher who prayed (instead of...forgive my errors) "forgive my falling shorts." ====JUDY:  Now that’s funny!😀

FROM ST PAUL IN MESA:  my Dad used to call some people wiseacres.  it was not a term of endearment...====JACK:  Wisenheimer is another term of endearment, and smart aleck, too.  a generation, younger than your father's might use the term, smartass.====PAUL:  and jackass was used on occasion as well!====JACK:  The President knows some doozies and is not reluctant to use them.