Think About It

You can imagine that a book compiled in the 17th Century is going to be chockful of dated sayings and almost certainly lack some politically correct phraseology, but that doesn’t mean that the “Jacula Prudentum” isn’t without value. As I was perusing the collection the other day I came across an interesting observation, “The fat man knoweth not what the lean man thinketh.”. It took me a bit to get my head wrapped around the concept, but before long the word that came to mind was “empathy” – or maybe the lack thereof. If we can put this in modern terms it might read, “Those with can’t understand those without.”. I think we struggle some with this concept today – not because we don’t understand it – but because it is too often tied to blaming. Those who find themselves struggling are tempted to be envious of those who seem to be blessed. When that happens, those who have possessions are apt to feel unjustly criticized. However, what could happen if we get back to the basics – empa