Rembrandt’s Belshazzar’s Feast is a beautiful depiction of the horror of the Babylonian king when a mysterious hand writes a mysterious message on the wall. Read the story as its told in Daniel 5 and note Rembrandt’s attention to realism and detail.
What reactions does this story illicit in you? What do you see in this painting?
Feast???
Sometimes when we receive insight…it’s might be too late. (at least for this world) Thus, we should be mindful of “signs” God is giving us and acknowledge them BEFORE it’s too late.
I’m wondering what true simplicity might look like in the cultural context of the United States in the 21st century. I recently read about a Harvard economic study which concluded that in the U.S., quality-of-life tops out at a $70K family income per year.
We have experienced that is being quite true for us. When our income exceeded this, ($70K) we were no happier than when it was less. We had more stuff – not more joy.
Perhaps living simply enough would mean finding ways to live at this income level and using the amount above it to help improve the quality of life for others. In the early days of the church, “no one went in need of anything (because those) who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles. Then they would give the money to those who needed it.”
In today’s language we might say that those who had more than enough chose to live more simply so that others could simply live.
Just Wondering. . .