Student of the Human Heart

"If we will observe the relationships that go on between human beings, we will receive a graduate-level education."

--Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 74.

The study of "non-verbal" books, as Richard Foster would call them, has been a theme of my life. I am fascinated by the human condition; that is, why we do the things we do, our facets, our personalities, our fallen state, our contradictions, our desires, our inherent need of a Savior, etc.

Foster is correct in that being observant of the lives surrounding us as well as those found in history and literature provides incredible insight. Great wisdom can come from experience tempered with a Biblical worldview.

I find support of this type of study in the wisdom of Solomon. From Proverbs 24:30-34:
I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
(emphasis mine)

In the same vein, the book of Ecclesiastes is Solomon's own confessional autobiography in which he shares his personal reflections on life and all he has observed and experienced; the godly and the fallen. Great impetus for us to make the study of the human heart a top priority to practice.

I am reminded as I write of an earlier blog very much in spirit with this. Linked here are a few meditations of mine on how learning from others' poor examples has allowed me to avoid some pitfalls of my own: Mistakes Not Taken, Scars Not Received