Sit With Dignity

“29 ¶  There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: 30  A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; 31  A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.” (Pr 30:29-31 AV)

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines comely as, “Properly, becoming; suitable: whence, handsome; graceful. Applied to person or form, it denotes symmetry or due proportion, but it expresses less than beautiful or elegant.”  Another way of think of this adjective is a thing that perfectly performs its intended purpose for existence to the degree its purpose defines its very existence.  In other words, a lion, greyhound, he goat, and King who so lives as to give no doubt as to the very definition of those things.  A lion’s lion.  A greyhound above all hounds.  A he goat that stands before others.  A king who is perfectly followed.  In all four examples, we see the common characteristic of leadership.  The king is obvious.  The lion is called the king of the jungle.  A greyhound is the fastest of all domesticated animals and would lead among them all.  And the he-goat naturally assumes leadership over a group of goats.  Our writer is stating there is nothing more comely than a creature who willingly assumes the purpose for which it was created.

One of the coveted positions in any orchestra is first chair.  For those not familiar, first chair means if there are any solos during a piece, the one sitting in first chair is the one who plays that part.  The concertmaster, or first chair, of the first violin section, has other technical duties such as tuning the entire orchestra correctly, setting the technical use of the bow, and other responsibilities placed upon him or her.  This position is one of expertise and dignity.  The concertmaster works with the director to produce the beautiful music we so often enjoy.  However, not all first chairs are equally created.  It is often observed the first chair can be a bit cocky.  Such was the case at one particular concert my father and I attended.  The final piece played that night was the Will Tell overture by Tchaikovsky.  In that piece, there is a brief piccolo solo.  The artist sat next to the first chair of the violin section.  He was to the immediate left of the conductor.  He played the same sequence of notes several times.  Each time, he got closer and closer to the edge of his seat without noticing how close to embarrassment he was getting.  I pointed this out to my father.  As we watched, the last time he played his solo notes, he came off the chair!  Hilarious!  Here he was, a consummate piccolo player.  The finest of the woodwinds section.  And he just about fell on the floor.  Not very comely.

The point is, there are dignity and respect that should be paid to the calling which God has bestowed.  It doesn’t matter if the calling is to lead among men.  Or if the calling is to follow.  The calling is not the point.  The point is how we conduct ourselves within the boundaries of that calling.  Do we bring honor to that which the LORD has assigned?  Paul instructs us, “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” (1Co 7:20 KJB)  A few chapters later, Paul remarks, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1Co 10:31 KJB)  The lion can be bested by a pack of Hyenas.  The greyhound can be bested by a  Rottweiler.  The he-goat can be bumped off by a buck.  And a king can be assassinated.  The point our writer is making is not so much as the success of these four examples, but in how they carry themselves in front of others that makes them effective.