Our "Wright"-ing Pad: A 31 Day Grand Prix {day 20} ~ should not come from...

20 October 2012

A 31 Day Grand Prix {day 20} ~ should not come from...

Earlier this week, I shared some observations I'd made on this passage using the "one-word Bible study method." I've decided to continue with that same vein of thought today.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." (1 Peter 3.3-6)

"...should not come from" is actually more literally translated "let it not be" and is actually two Greek words. But first, I spent a chunk of time thinking about that phrase, "Let it not be..." and other contexts where I've heard it used...

"And God said unto Abraham, LET IT NOT BE grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." (Genesis 21.12)
"What, then, is the superiority of the Jew? Or what the profit of the circumcision? much in every way; for first, indeed, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God; for what, if certain were faithless? shall their faithlessness the faithfulness of God make useless? LET IT NOT BE! And let God become true, and every man false, according as it hath been written, 'That Thou mayest be declared righteous in Thy words, and mayest overcome in Thy being judged.'" (Romans 3,1-4, Young's Literal Translation)
IF we must die—LET IT NOT BE like hogs - Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, - While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, - Making their mock at our accursed lot. - If we must die—oh, let us nobly die, - So that our precious blood may not be shed - In vain; then even the monsters we defy - Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! - Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe; - Though far outnumbered, let us still be brave, - And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow! - What though before us lies the open grave? - Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, - Pressed to the wall, dying, but—fighting back! (Claude McKay's If We Must Die)
"LET IT NOT BE forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot... There'll be great Presidents again, but there'll never be another Camelot again … it will never be that way again." (Jacqueline Kennedy)
"Have patience, sir; O, LET IT NOT BE so! - Herein you war against your reputation - And draw within the compass of suspect - The unviolated honour of your wife. - Once this,--your long experience of her wisdom, - Her sober virtue, years and modesty, - Plead on her part some cause to you unknown: - And doubt not, sir, but she will well excuse - Why at this time the doors are made against you. - Be ruled by me: depart in patience, - And let us to the Tiger all to dinner, - And about evening come yourself alone - To know the reason of this strange restraint." (Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, Act III, scene I, Balthazar speaking)
"Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet. -LET IT NOT BE a death but completeness. - Let love melt into memory and pain into songs. - Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest. - Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night. - Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence. - I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way. - Then finish the last song and let us leave. - Forget this night when the night is no more." (From Ravindranath Tagore's The Gardener)
"LET IT NOT BE said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression...." (a statement of conscience issued formally by those objecting to President Bush's response to the events of September 11, 2011)
“But LET IT NOT BE said that we did nothing. Let not those who love the power of the welfare/warfare state label the dissenters of authoritarianism as unpatriotic or uncaring. Patriotism is more closely linked to dissent than it is to conformity and a blind desire for safety and security. Understanding the magnificent rewards of a free society makes us unbashful in its promotion, fully realizing that maximum wealth is created and the greatest chance for peace comes from a society respectful of individual liberty.”
“LET IT NOT BE said that in the name of freedom of speech the peace of the entire world be destroyed.” – (Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Fifth Khalifa, says that anger of Muslims is fully justified, but violent reaction must be condemned.)

Each time, the phrasing "Let it not be" adds power, emphasis and formality to the words. It isn't just a good idea not to...

... it is more equivalent to the idea of being cursed or becoming a curse by engaging in whatever the contraindicated behavior might be. In other words, it is much, much worse than a really bad idea.