There once was a girl who would pray
In a quick, Trinitarian way,
“Father, Help; Jesus, Free; Holy Spirit, Love me.”
Some days that was all she could say.
Limerick: Sybil MacBeth 2009
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Archive for April, 2009
Prayer Limerick
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Spotting Good Qualities in Others
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Yesterday’s blog talked about spotting defects in another person. Does the “If you spot it, you got it!” rule apply to the good qualities I notice in people as well? Does it mean I have them? It’s not certain. But perhaps if I don’t have the good quality I spot, I at least admire it. And if I admire it, maybe I’m hungry for it. Maybe there is some kernel of this goodness gestating inside of me . With God’s help, I hope it will be born.
One-Line Matthew 7
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Here is another one-liner using the word “spot.”
I’ve heard this sentence a dozen times in the past year. About 95% of the time it’s true for me. If I think someone else is self-centered or self-righteous, I can usually swivel my internal periscope and render the same diagnosis on myself. If I spot the lazy or sloppy lifestyle of another, my eyes head right for the dusty, cluttered counter in the kitchen or the overflowing laundry basket in my bedroom. Whenever my reaction to someone else’s flaws or character defects is disdain or disgust, it’s often a signal that I’m looking in a mirror.
Jesus knew about the enjoyable sport of spotting the sins of others: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:4-5 NIV)
As much much fun as it is to tally the defects scorecard of another person, I remember sin’s equal opportunity employment policy. As soon as I spot bacteria in another person’s life, I’d better whip out my proverbial toothbrush and attack the spiritual plaque in my own.
P.S. For a biblical story of sin spotting read 2Samuel 11-12.
“Sit down and Shut Up!”
Monday, April 27th, 2009When I was in sixth grade a decade or several ago, my teacher liked to read novels to us more than he liked to teach the required subjects. For the mundane task of teaching math, social studies, and reading, he enlisted student teachers.
I think we had at least three different sets of student teachers that year. One pair sticks in my mind. It was a man and a woman. Both were attractive and in their twenties. Teaching might well have been the calling of the woman. But the male teacher was easily put off-balance by a roomful of eleven and twelve-year olds. Every time he was frustrated or wanted our attention, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Sit down and shut up!” With attitude and language like his, I doubt he would last long in a present-day classroom.
Behind his back and on the playground, we sixth graders mimicked his nasty tone and demand. It did not gain him much respect even though we obeyed. But the words stuck with me. Every once in a while when I’m on an obsessive rant or in a frenzy of senseless activity, I need to hear, “Sit down and shut up!” When my inner wind and waves are raging I hear Jesus say to my storm, ”Quiet! Be still! ” (Mark 4:39 NIV) Then the noisy wind in my head can die down. Then I can get calm enough to listen to the real Teacher.
Lord, Help the Poor and Needy
Saturday, April 25th, 2009Since yesterday a song has been running through my head. It’s called Lord, Help the Poor and Needy and is the 12th cut on an album called Blues and Lamentations by folk and gospel singer/songwriter Kate Campbell. Kate has a voice I could listen to all day. Her lyrics stick with me and make me think. Some of her songs are ballads about growing up in the South; some are gospel songs; others are just plain fun.
Here is a minute of the song I’ve been singing for the past twenty-four hours. It’s a prayer/lament. The first verse is about the “poor and needy.” Other verses ask for the Lord’s help with “the gambling man, the sinner man, the motherless children, the war-torn peoples.”
