Blog 2215 – 11.10.2021

“What Shall It Profit A Man…”

Jesus asked some pretty pointed questions and today’s title is the beginning of one of the biggest one. First the word “man” refers to all humans of both genders and all sexual orientations, political and religious affiliations, and any other way the human race (singular) may be subdivided. The full question is:

“For what shall it profit (anyone) if they gain the whole world but lose their soul in the process?”

The dictionary app on my phone lists fourteen different shades of meaning for the English word soul. I share only the first four here:

Many people, and I tried to be one for the middle almost third of my life, try to deny the existence of a soul separate from the body that continues on after this brief journey. I believe in the eternal Soul, that has always been and will always be. We and everyone who has ever lived are a part of that greater whole. The little heart-shaped coin I carry in my pocket reminds me each day with it’s two sided inscriptions: “Thank you for this day, Spirit.” and “”I am Holy, I am Whole.” of Who and Whose I am, who and whose I believe we all are.

Here are the last four of the fourteen definitions of soul that are used mostly by black brothers and sisters, but give the word a special flavor I think, a soul-food delicious flavor. Soul or Spirit is the breath of life in everything. I am, we all are, first and foremost, spirit-beings. These bodies that we obsess so much about are merely clothing that we wear for this performance, but at the end of this play, we must fold and put them away. Later we may choose an entirely different outfit to wear to yet another pre-arranged party.

I grew up singing Negro-spiritual in church, one of my favorites in an old green Church of God hymnal was entitled “I Love Him” and sung to the tune of “Ole Black Joe” a hauntingly beautiful melody written by Stephen Foster, an ole white guy. I also came of age singing sixties soul music mostly from Motor City, Motown. An example: “I bet you wonder how I knew, about your plans to make me blue with some other guy you knew before. Between us guys, I love you more. Oh, Oh, I heard it through the grapevine.”

Something else of a more positive note that I continually hear from “the main vine” is about His/Her/Our plans to have a wonderfully fun time, here and here after. Soul brother and sisters of every hue we truly are.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

Ole White Dave

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jeJWENi351fHPRsJkt1gfPG2qHleNKJe/view?usp=drivesdk

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