SPEAK NO, SEE NO, HEAR NO EVIL

1/27/17

The three wise monkeys (Japanese: 三猿 Hepburn: san'en or sanzaru?, alternatively 三匹の猿 sanbiki no saru, literally "three monkeys"), sometimes called the three mystic apes,are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

One can cover their eyes, their ears, and their mouth, so that they don’t hear evil around them, but they are of course, are only fooling themselves. We live in a world where evil rears its ugly head each and every day. One can however, choose to ignore certain behaviors and crimes, just because they come from those whom we should trust.

When we have a leader who is in charge that thinks that everything he does is right and pure, pride becomes a dangerous thing. We can close our eyes and pretend that everything is going to be all right, no matter what happens. We should believe that because Christian platitudes have been uttered, and promises have been made, that polices would be enacted that would protect and guard our civil liberties. We should cover our ears when lies are uttered, and double-talk is the main order of business.

Maybe we should remain silent when facts don’t mean anything, or when lies are covered up, and evasion becomes the norm. Eventually when one lies repeatedly, then that person begins to believe their own lie. We know who the father of lies is, and he has become a master at spinning a story that can deceive even the wise at times. But the spirit of God sees through these things; his light sheds even in the darkest of places.
But the truth will last forever, and a lie even as harmful as it may be, is not everlasting.

Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment. Proverbs 12:19

A bicycle is not a dangerous thing, but even it can become dangerous depending upon who rides it. Pride was the great sin of Lucifer, and because he wanted to be like God himself, his haughty spirit caused him to fall and carry many of the other angels with him into the darkness below. We are all capable of falling to this great sin. May we learn to be truthful in our speech and actions. May we not give in to a lying tongue, or a haughty spirit that always wants to be right no matter what the outcome is.

We can’t close our eyes to the things that are going on around us. We can’t pretend that all is well just because it is clothed in a semblance of something that would appear to be right and good. “All that glitters is not gold.” Many in the gold rush some 165 years ago found at times what they thought was true gold, but it ended up being “fools gold.” May we not be fooled by what may appear to be true gold.

Stephen A. Hanson