“He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith; and he that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him. Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest; and have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself: for how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together? for if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken. The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal: the poor is wronged, and he must intreat also. If thou be for his profit, he will use thee: but if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee. If thou have any thing, he will live with thee: yea, he will make thee bare, and will not be sorry for it. If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee, and smile upon thee, and put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou? And he will shame thee by his meats, until he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at the last he will laugh thee to scorn afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee. Beware that thou be not deceived and brought down in thy jollity. If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself, and so much the more will he invite thee. Press thou not upon him, lest thou be put back; stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten. Affect not to be made equal unto him in talk, and believe not his many words: for with much communication will he tempt thee, and smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets: But cruelly he will lay up thy words, and will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison. Observe, and take good heed, for thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing: when thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep. Love the Lord all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation. Every beast loveth his like, and every man loveth his neighbor. All flesh consorteth according to kind, and a man will cleave to his like. What fellowship hath the wolf with the lamb? so the sinner with the godly. What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog? and what peace between the rich and the poor? As the wild ass is the lion’s prey in the wilderness: so the rich eat up the poor.” ~Ecclesiasticus
Pitch and a Proud Man
While touching pitch (tar) will make your hands black, I think we can assume that Ecclesiasticus is using it figuratively. He is saying those who play around with the things of darkness are almost certain to have some of it rub off on them. I think we can understand today that this would be like walking into a coronavirus ward with no gloves or face mask. It would be foolishly inviting the virus to harm us. And while there is some truth in the idea that believing you are protected because you are spiritual, pray a lot, or accept Jesus, actually does protect you to some degree, it rarely protects you enough. So walking into a place full of dark beings, demons, or simply evil men and women is not a wise thing to do. It isn’t wise even for the more advanced spiritual person, but especially for the beginner. Someday, the army of the awakened will be strong enough to do it collectively, but not individually.
A proud, greedy, or otherwise evil man is much like a demon or the forces of darkness. Perhaps not to the same degree, but still not good. So to think you can fix the world by going after that type to convert them first is foolhardy. Go for those who are beginning to awaken, not those who are as far from it as a human being can get. Continue reading “Proud Man of Darkness”
