Klingon Proverbs and the Bible Part 1

I love Star Trek.  I can't help it.  I grew up watching the Original Series and Next Generation.  I will watch rerun after rerun and not blink an eye.  Like I said, I can't help it.  


My wife says I can relate anything to the Bible.  That is mostly true.  For some reason Klingon Proverbs popped in my head today and I wondered if I could relate any of them to the Scriptures.  The Klingon Proverbs are of course fiction (and the Bible is certainly NOT), but do they contain truth anyway?


I will share with you some famous Klingon Proverbs and relate them to life and the Bible.  I hope you have fun reading them and that they make you think a little as well.


"Only a fool fights in a burning house."

It seems obvious that the proverb recommends a person be aware of their environment.  One should be aware of things around them and not come to useless harm.  I could not help but relate Proverbs 13:16 which says, "Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly."  If you know a house is burning... get out.  If you know something is bad for you... stay away or get rid of it.  Makes sense to me.


"A fool and his head are soon parted."
Foolishness and "ruin" are connected 3 times in Proverbs 1o.  Jeremiah 17:11 has the same flavor as the Klingon Proverb.  Living a foolish life is not helpful in one's life and does nothing for them or the people around them.  I would consider the Godly life and the narrow path the wise way to live, but that is just me (and a bunch of other people called Christians).  


"The wind does not respect a fool."
The word wind is used 125x in the Bible.  The Bible does say in John 3:8 "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going."  Past that, there is no Bible in this one.  The Klingon Proverb does seem to speak that there are things that happen in this life whether you are foolish or wise I suppose.  Job knew that.   


"Destroying an Empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an Empire is no defeat."
Marriage popped in my head with this Klingon Proverb.  Destroying your marriage to win an argument is no victory.  Ending an argument to save your marriage is no defeat.  I like that one.  Philippians 2:3-4 also came to mind, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."


"A leader is judged not by the length of his reign but by the decisions he makes."
The Bible, especially 1 and 2 Kings, records the lives of many... you guessed it... kings.  One king may have this : 1 Kings 16:25-27, "But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him.   He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols. As for the other events of Omri's reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?"  
Another may have this: 1 Kings 22:42-45: "Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.  In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.  44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel. As for the other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?"
When you are dead, what will people remember of you?  What will be your legacy?  It won't be HOW LONG you lived, but HOW you live your life that people will remember.  The fruit of your life will be judged at the end... by people and God alike.


"Great men do not seek power; it is thrust upon them."
I like this one, but why can't "great" people seek power too?  God did call Abram and Moses and David and disciples and none of them sought it.  God thrust responsibility on them.  I did think of a Bible verse about being a "great" person in God's sight... Matthew 20:25-28: "Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 


"If you cannot control yourself, you cannot command others."
1 Timothy 3:2-5, "Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.  He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)"


"Death is an experience best shared."
Luke 16:27-31, "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"  We must share with those we love what we know will happen after death.  


Part 2 Tomorrow!