Getting Dirty

Proverbs 14:4
(4) Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

Proverbs do not always contain absolute propositional truth. As a genre, they are trustworthy sayings that will typically apply. I think it is possible to hold this position and not lose any sense of inerrancy.

However, I don't think anyone can argue with this proverb. Oxen make a mess. They eat a lot and they poop a lot. Yet without them it was impossible to tend a field effectively. This is something that I think we can apply to a couple of things.

First, I think we need to acknowledge the work that must go into producing things. Nothing happens without some upkeep time. I wish it weren't so as a homeowner and car owner, but it is.

Second, I think of our world's tendency to "go green." It seems to me that this violates this proverb. We want to remain an industrialized world without the messiness of carbon emissions. While we can debate the damage done by carbon emissions, I think the general tendency is to reduce them altogether. Crazy, isn't it?