Day 192, or July the 11th. Inside we're all the same. Our thoughts today are rooted in
Song of Songs, chapter 1, verses 5 to 6.
Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent-curtains
of Solomon. Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun.
First the big picture surrounding these verses. Many describe this book as the Song of Solomon
because of the first verse that reads, Solomon's Song of Songs. Different Bibles use different
titles but both describe accurately what the book is. It's an evocative love story of
Royal Solomon and a working-class shepherdess. Some say this is the only wife Solomon had
of his seven hundred whom he truly loved.
And now today's action step. It's not so long ago that having a fair or pale skin was
a mark of being one of the nobility. Only the common folk worked outside and were browned
by the sun. From our verse to date it appears that this was the case in the days of Solomon
too. The young shepherdess in this book declares herself beautiful despite being dark in colour.
Despite not being the same as Solomon and his court, she insists that she is very beautiful,
and though dark, yet lovely. There are all sorts of aspects to our personality and appearance
that go towards making us the individuals that we are. Our height, weight, hair colour,
accent, etc., etc. all go to put each of us into one category or another. We are subliminally
drawn to people who are similar to us, and if we are not careful, this creates the cliques
in society that so many of us hate. We must make a conscious effort to break down this
tribalism, but it's not easy. Be yourself, that's the easy part, but allow others to
be themselves too, that's the hard part. Today, when you meet someone who is not your
sort of person, remember that Jesus died for them just as he did for you, and greet them
in your mind before you speak, like Ananias did to Saul of Tarsus.
God bless you.