Biblical and Folk Proverbs

	"One with one, two with God." This proverb reveals the secret of spiritual unity, the presence of the Lord in our relationships. How can a simple human relationship be transformed into a spiritual union? Father David Gishyan explains why only people gathered in the name of Christ can truly unite.
	Everything has its time “Everything has its time.” This mysterious message from the book of Ecclesiastes has become an inseparable companion of the life of the Armenian people. What is hidden in this succession of times? Father David Gishyan explains how life’s difficulties and achievements become part of the divine plan.
	“He who gives to the poor lends to God” “He who gives to the poor lends to God” This proverb comes from the book of Proverbs: “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord” (Proverbs 19:17). This biblical message reveals the true meaning of mercy. Our neighbor is the living image of God, and by helping the needy, we are not simply doing charity, but we are demonstrating our love in action. Father David Gishyan explains how God has hidden Himself in the face of the needy, and how mercy makes a person partaker of the essence of divine love.
	“Better a blind eye than a blind mind” “Better a blind eye than a blind mind”: this ancient proverb reveals the vital importance of spiritual vision. How is physical vision connected to spiritual enlightenment? Father David Gishyan interprets this popular saying based on the healings of Christ and the messages of the Bible. Why is spiritual blindness more dangerous for a person, and how can we gain the ability to see the truth through our Lord Jesus Christ, the “light of the world.”
	“Do good, throw it into the water” The folk proverb “Do good, throw it into the water. The fish will not know, God will know” refers to the following expression made by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount: “Be careful not to do your alms to people. Otherwise, you will not receive a reward from your Father who is in heaven.” “When you do alms, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Father David Gishyan has interpreted folk sayings and proverbs and the biblical wisdom condensed in them.
	An oath is a sin, a false oath is fire The Lord Himself warned that a person will have to answer for every empty word he utters on the Day of Judgment. In the Old Testament, people confirmed their words with an oath, referring to the Creator, but our Lord Jesus Christ came out against this spiritual disease and addressed a message to all of us in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not swear falsely, but let your word be ‘Yes’, yes, and ‘No, no.’ For anything more than that is from evil.”
	The Guest is from God The folk proverb “The Guest is from God" characterizes our national peculiarity, namely, that every person who enters our threshold is a person of God and with our attitude we express our reverence for the Creator. There are many proverbs and sayings in our folklore on this topic.
	Man looks at the face of man, but God looks at the heart According to Father David Gishyan, the saying “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart” is taken from the Bible’s First Book of Kings. The prophet Samuel was to anoint young David as king. God tells Samuel: “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature. People look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”
	What you sow is what you reap Father David Gishyan believes that Physical Laws help build our external, spiritual laws, our spiritual life. The Apostle Paul, in the sixth chapter of his letter to the Galatians, notes that life is a field where we reap what we have sown in the past. Our present is the harvest of what we have sown in the past.
	God sees the mountain and makes it snow. Father David Gishyan believes that the folk saying “God sees the mountain, he puts the snow” has spiritual roots connected with the first letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. According to him, the difficulties of life are given to man by God out of exceptional trust. God gives us trials corresponding to our abilities and at the same time suggests ways to overcome them.