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A Wish from a Bottle

By admin | September 4, 2010

Song of Solomon 3:3 “The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”

bottleThere is an old preacher’s tale that still speaks about human relationships.   A woman was walking on the beach in southern California when she spied a bottle which had washed up on shore.  Picking it up, she had no sooner begun to examine it when a genie floated from its open end and appeared before her.  

 

“I am so glad you let me out of here,” he said gratefully.  I’d like to grant you any wish you might have.  But I am a bit rusty, you know.  I’d like to give you three, but I’ll have to limit myself to one.  What can I do for you?”

 

The astonished woman collected her wits and then paused for a moment of thought.  “I’ve always wanted a vacation in Hawaii, but since I am afraid to fly, and get seasick on ships, I have never been able to go.  Now if you could build me a highway from L.A. to Honolulu, I could drive over and have the vacation of my dreams.” 

 

The genie too, was thoughtful and somewhat frustrated.  “Lady, do you know what you are asking?  Putting a highway in over the Pacific Ocean would require incredible engineering.  Do you have any idea of the problem of setting caissons and pilings in these kinds of waters and in this kind of depth?  I’d like to help you, but maybe you’d better ask for something else.” 

 

The woman nodded sympathetically, “Well, she said, I wanted to vacation with my husband.  I think it would be good for the two of us.  We’ve been married for 20 years and I still don’t understand him.   I’ve read the books, attended seminars, and just when I think I have figured him out, he does something really gooberesque and I am back to square one.  What makes men so competitive and distant?  What makes him so controlling and arrogant?   My wish is that I would like to have a complete understanding of my husband.” 

 

A moment of silence passed between the two of them.  Then the genie said, “Would that be a two-lane or a four-lane highway to Hawaii?”  

 

One of the greatest miracles of all is when human beings can find reasons to love each other.  It is very easy to find reason not to love someone or to find fault with them.  It is much harder to make love last and count.  Perhaps our strong desire to search out love in our relationships is the best testimony to our true faith.  

 

Prayer: 

Dear God, help me to really love people in my life and not find fault with them.  Amen. 

 

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Ain’t Life Grand

By admin | September 3, 2010

Proverbs 26:19 “…a man who deceives his neighbor (secretary) and says, ‘I was only joking.’”

mouse

My secretary, Shirley, is old enough to be my mother - if she had me when she was a teenager.  Shirley is a good sport and we have a lot of fun writing the devotionals and thriving day-in-and-day-out at Cokesbury UMC.  One thing Shirley and I both have in common is we both laugh a great deal.  I knew Shirley’s birthday was coming and I began to plot - what horrible thing could I do?

With the advent of her birthday looming over me, I decided to go to the grocery store and see what funny thing I could find there.  As I was walking down the pet aisle, I spied two squeaky mice.  I began laughing.  The lady with the cart next to me took a long look as I began to laugh inexplicably among the dog food and the leashes.  I continued to laugh through the ice cream section, the cleaning supplies, and, lastly, all the way ‘til I got to the check-out line.  The lady in the check-out line at the grocery store in Pea Ridge said, “Well, Bubba, what‘cha laughin’ at?”  I held up the two toy mice and she said, “If you think that’s so funny, you must have a pretty dull life.”  I said, “I’m gonna’ put ‘em in a shoe box and give ‘em to my secretary tomorrow for her birthday.”  The woman started laughing until tears started running down her face.

When I got home the night before Shirley’s birthday, I called Dawn Faller, the Children’s Minister.  Dawn is a girlie-girl who does not like mice and I said, “Meet me in the office and pretend like I’m going to get you to wrap this box with mice in it.  Then I’ll open it up, you take a good look at the fake mice that squeak, run out screaming, and then I’ll give it to Shirley.”  Dawn said, “I can’t wait.”

I giggled all night in anticipation.  Dawn came in and, when I got the box out, she was perfect.  I didn’t realize Clint McBroom was filming the whole thing which he then put on YouTube.  I came at Shirley with the box.  She was hilariously terrified.  She screamed, but was cornered.  I held up a mouse.  She covered her eyes and screamed loud enough to make the dead think it was Resurrection Day.  Finally, as I held the mouse by the tail in front of her face and rubbed it against her cheek, she opened her eyes.  I couldn’t stop laughing.  I laughed and laughed and laughed.  In the video, you hear Clint say, “Make it squeak.”  And I thanked God that we don’t have to take life so seriously.  Perhaps, we all need to plan for fun and funny things as a reprieve from the reality of most days.

Later on in the day, several of us took Shirley out for birthday pie.  I enjoyed hearing her tell the tale of the Senior Pastor with the shoebox and the mice.  I just love life and I can’t wait for my birthday to see what she pulls on me.  She will have to get up p-r-e-t-t-y  e-a-r-l-y in the morning to beat the squeaky mouse in the shoebox.  I had told Shirley the reason I was late that morning was I was praying.  She told me after it was all over, I needed to do some more praying and repenting for scaring a little, old lady like her.  I laughed because I know Shirley is tough enough to go at hell with a bucket of water if she wants to. 

Ain’t life grand!

Prayer:  Dear God, help us to enjoy this thing called “life.”  Amen.

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Life Lessons

By admin | September 2, 2010

Ephesians 4:27 “…and do not give the devil a foothold.”

3 monkeys

I love being old and I have learned greatly in my life.  One of the significant life lessons I have learned is the importance of staying away from evil and sin. God expects us to be righteous and stay away from sin.  Sin is insidious and it always corrupts.  Paul said, “Do not give the devil a foothold in your life.”  I have heard that echoed by older relatives and I understand the significance of what they mean.

Recently, I was at a family celebration at the beach.  The TV was on and it showed a commercial of new cars.  Immediately, I became unhappy with my old Envoy.  I had to realize for me to spend money on a new car at this point would be a sin.  Seeing that commercial on TV made me want that car.  It is better that I’m not exposed to TV because it leads me to want all kinds of things that I don’t need.

When people speak evil, it is a sin.  I do not know about other arenas.  I do know about the church.  In church, many times, people speak evil about someone or something.  Those spoken words can become repeated and grow and take on a life of their own.  Once words are spoken, they can never be fully withdrawn.  There was a situation where people began speaking evil of a minister at a church.  God (and this is my interpretation) ceased to bless the church because the spoken evil grew so strong that it became like kudzu in the hearts of the people who heard it.  Once anyone gives in to evil, it grows and is empowered.  That evil became contagious.  Eventually, the minister left, but the evil and the negativity lived on.  Sadly, what was a great church spiraled downward.  Until there is a faith renewal, Satan will have his day.  One evil word spoken and repeated and repeated and repeated destroys.

I have learned to be like the proverbial monkeys.  I try to see no evil.  If someone speaks negative to me, I declare it as something I don’t want to hear and walk away.  It is imperative to keep evil from taking a foothold in our lives.  I always thought the little figurines of the three monkeys were merely cute.  I used to think that I had enough faith that I could hear evil, or speak it, or see it, and I would be okay.  Now, I protect my faith by not allowing evil to have even a foothold in my life.

We all make decisions for ourselves and perhaps we think we can see the salacious movie or the pornographic image on the computer.  It may be we think we can hear the racy joke or some demeaning statement about a co-worker or friend.  Sometimes we think we can say some slur about someone else.  Yet, now that I know I am old, I have learned the significance of staying away from evil.

Once evil takes root, it is difficult - sometimes impossible - to weed out.  Evil can destroy good people, wonderful churches, and the feelings of happiness that we could have.  It is best to remain blissfully righteous and keep our track shoes handy so that we can run from any possibility of evil.

Prayer:  Dear God, keep us from seeing, speaking, or hearing evil, and give us the strength to stand firm against evil.  Amen. <

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The Ripple Effect

By admin | September 1, 2010

Exodus 20:5-6 “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

ripple

boy throwing rockWhen I was a little boy, there were times that Joey and I would walk down to the lake.  One ofour favorite things to do was to try and throw stones in the exact middle of the lake and see how far the ripples would flow.  The ripple effect is a spreading effect experienced as a result of a single event.  Once we throw a stone in the middle of the lake, we can’t stop the ripples.  I remember once upon a time saying to a person who liked to put others down: “If you keep on doing this, it will affect far more people than you can ever imagine.”  The ripple effect can last for generations. 

Probably one of the most unpopular texts in the Bible is the text from Exodus 20:5-6.    “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This text states that if we worship God, the generations that follow us will be blessed.  Conversely, if we don’t worship God, they will be cursed.  Regardless of popularity, this particular passage from the Bible is very true.  Each generation reacts to the generation before.

There is no substitute for living a godly life.  We are called to worship God and follow His commands.  If we do what’s right and worship God, the ripple effect will be felt positively for generations.  Our parents’ and their parents’ faithfulness is a huge legacy that Averette and I have handed down to our children.  I have learned the deep happiness of simply worshipping God with my life.  I’ve also learned destructive habits that living a non-righteousness life can cause.  The people who sin against others ripple that effect down through the generations that follow.  Both the good and the bad cause ripples in the sea of life.   Which effect do you want to linger long after your heart ceases to beat?  The inspiration of others who have mastered life even in the face of adversity has rippled through my life and given me strength.  Humor in the face of tragedy has made me laugh instead of cry.  The ripple of strength rather than self-indulgence has made a tremendous impression on my life. 

Every human life leaves ripples in the body of humanity.  The poet John Donne said it in a like manner when he wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” We are all part of the whole.  I think back on the two generations that preceded me and I am very conscious of how the ripples have colored my life.  With the knowledge we each cause ripples that wash over others, let us attempt to make sure that we worship God and our hearts are bent on creating waves of faith that wash over others in generations to come and leave trace elements of our faith imbedded in the lives of those we touch.

Prayer:  Dear God, thank you for our lives and help us to make a positive difference.  Amen.

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Irresponsibility Has a Price

By admin | August 31, 2010

Joshua 7:10-11 “The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep.”

boat under water

Just as responsible people make our world stronger, those who are irresponsible create holes in peoples’ hearts.  I have noticed over the years I have been in ministry, when one couple gets divorced, it seems two or three follow.  Sadly, that’s also true of youth and suicide.  I believe promiscuity is very similar.  Irresponsibility is contagious.  People use the example of others as a reason to do what is irresponsible as compared to responsible.  Irresponsibility begins to break holes in a dike that no one can fill until the dam breaks and the bulwark of culture has been washed away.

The Bible has many stories of irresponsibility.  David, bored one evening, sent for Bathsheba.  She was another man’s wife, and they committed adultery.  David tried to trick Bathsheba’s husband into coming home to his wife’s bed, but Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, remained faithful to the code of the army, and in the end, David, in essence, had him killed.  David’s irresponsibility had a chain of events that led to him being unable to discipline his children and return to the spiritual place he had once occupied.

In the battle to take the Holy Land, Joshua told all his men not to take any of the plunder from the conquered cities.  Achan violated that order, took silver and gold, and other precious items.  His irresponsibility led to the death of his entire family.

There was much irresponsibility in Christ’s crucifixion.  The Scribes and Pharisees who did not really look for God in Jesus’ life led to the downfall of their nation.  Pilates’ irresponsibility led to Christ’s crucifixion even though Pilate knew Jesus was not guilty of any crime.  Peter’s irresponsibility led to his famous denial of Christ and was a blight on his memory.

The stories are replete of irresponsibility in the Bible.  Each of us can tell the tales of others and their irresponsibility.  The only person we can really control, however, is ourself.  We cannot change our irresponsibility of the past.  However, we can change the future.  Irresponsibility is contagious and deadly.  In the face of irresponsibility, let us resolve to be responsible.  May society be built on our faithfulness, righteousness, and maturity.  May our faith in God be a shield that protects us from improper actions.  The world has example after example of fallen heroes.  May we, as average people, be heroic in our faith.  It is important that we hold to the highest moral code and never let go of our Biblical ethics.  It is easy to let go of the cord that ties us to God, but the price tag will be paid by many.  Irresponsibility has a ripple effect that washes over those who know us and, sometimes, unmoors the fetters that bind us and others to the piers of God.

Prayer: 

Dear God, keep us in the faith.  Help us to be responsible.  Amen.

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The Desires of Our Heart

By admin | August 30, 2010

Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

golden retrieverEver since I’ve been in Pensacola, my mom’s health has been precarious.  A couple of months ago, she became quite ill and was on a respirator for several days.  My sister and I are very close to my mom and we were attentive to her in this frightening time.  When she got well, she said, “There’s one thing I have left to do.”  My sister said, “What’s that, Mama?”  Mom replied, “I want to go to Pensacola.  I want to meet the people in Chip’s church and I want to see where he lives.”

Every time she had a health setback, we reminded her she wanted to go to Pensacola.  Finally, we set a date for the trip.  In the weeks preceding the trip, Mother had several more setbacks.  After the reservations at the beach were made, my sister told her that she was going to come even if Mom couldn’t make it.  From that point on, my mother’s health steadily improved.  At last, the weekend arrived and she came!

It was a wonderful weekend.  We reserved a rather large condominium at the beach.  We went out to a number of very nice seafood restaurants.  All three of my daughters came and spent time with their grandmother.  Averette and mother had more time together than they had in several years.  And my mom and I had some great talks.

On Sunday morning, Mother came to Cokesbury at the end of the 9:20 Contemporary Service at Ninth Avenue.  She met everyone who was in that service and everyone at the 10:45 Traditional Service.  Mother said the people at Cokesbury were the nicest of any of the churches I had ever served, and my sister echoed those sentiments.  Mom met the staff and thanked Shirley for taking care of me.  Mother said she loved the music and the music staff was so talented.  Mom bragged on all the ministers and insisted on going to Summit so she could meet Clint in addition to Stuart and Connie.  Mom got to know people that I’ve talked about with her on the phone.  She was glad she could place them now in her mind.  She had always struggled with “Running John” as compared to “Johnny Ray.”  She was very happy to get that straight.

When she went to the Little White House in Pea Ridge, she was very grateful that someone had graciously provided me a house.  She was amazed at my decorating.  She said, “So, you decorated this yourself?”  And with a smile on her face, she said, “I’m glad you have a job as a Methodist minister and don’t have to earn your money as an interior decorator.”  Mom then asked me to say a pray of blessing and thanksgiving for the family who were letting me stay in the house aside from personal expense.  The last thing Mother did was meet Happy.  She told me she was most excited to have the chance to meet my dog.  On Monday, before she returned home, I introduced her to Happy.  It was an immediate bond.  Mother hugged Happy and Happy licked every bit of makeup off my mother’s face.  Mom just laughed and hugged the dog and said, “Thank you for being Chip’s dog.”

As she drove away, she said, “I’d hoped and planned that this trip would be wonderful, and it was better than I could have ever imagined.  I love your church people and I’m happy to see everything.”  Sometimes the desires of our hearts do come true.

Prayer:  Dear God, thank you that the things we hope for sometimes come to pass.  Amen.

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The Plagues of Egypt

By admin | August 28, 2010

Exodus 10:4 “I will bring a plague of locusts to your country tomorrow.”

I remember one evening as my grandparents finished supper my granddaddy said to my grandmother, “Bunnie Mae, you look tired!”  My grandmother said back to my granddaddy, “Jessie, you would be tired too if you had these boys with you all day long.   Your grandson and Joey are worse together than the plagues that hit Egypt!”  

Grandmother said, “They went in to help me gather eggs in the big white chicken house.  Joey found a very small black snake in there and threw it at embarrassing nickname (me).   He stepped on its head and killed it and threw it back at Joey.  That snake flew through the air more times than an old jet plane.   They ran around to the point that I don’t think those chickens will lay eggs again for two days.   They heard so much hootin’ and hollerin’ and laughin’.   Come to think of it, those chickens probably won’t lay eggs again for a week!     

“Florine and I were trying to make peach preserves so we needed the boys to come in and shuck canned peachescorn, cut up okra, and help us get lunch ready for you and the other hands.   Those boys talked to me and Florine and to each other so much that Florine said, ‘Mrs. Bunnie Mae, please go get a nail and nail my ears back on my head.  Those boys have plumb talked em’ off.’”    My grandfather laughed.  Grandmother emphatically said, “You think it’s funny because when they ride on the back of the tractor with you, you can’t hear em’.  The truth is neither of the boys hushed for a moment.   They laughed and talked.  It was like two big puppies running around my kitchen the whole time.” 

She said, “Don’t you remember how much like a plague of locusts they were when they came to breakfast, lunch, and even supper?  They ate at every meal more than three grown men could eat.   They ate all the ham, all the corn, all the sweet potatoes, and all the banana cake that was left at the end of the meal.    I know Joey ate five pieces of cornbread and embarrassing nickname(me) ate about as many.    I bet today they ate more than they weighed.” 

Grandaddy said, “Bunnie Mae, you know you love little Joey and embarrassing nickname so much but you are going to give them a complex.”  Grandmother said, “I don’t want to give them a complex.  I just wish they would be still or quiet for five minutes.”     Joey said, “Miz’ Bunnie Mae, embarrassing nickname and I will be quiet for five minutes if you make a chocolate cake tomorrow.”   Joey was the only one who ate that cake.  I couldn’t be quiet for five minutes!    In my heart I knew Grandmother didn’t mean to compare me to the plagues of Egypt.    The love she showed to me was bigger than the words she said that night.    I think back on those times and smile at the joy of those memories.   Let us make those kind of memories with the ‘younguns’ we know.  

Prayer:  Dear Lord, help us to love.  Amen. 

  

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May We Look Into the Future to Interpret the Past

By admin | August 27, 2010

Acts 5:39 “But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men…”

Peter and John were arrested at the temple for preaching that Jesus was the Son of God.  An influential Pharisee, Gamaliel, secured their release.   He reasoned with the Jewish Council of Justice with a very practical argument:   “Men of Israel take care what you do with these men.”   Then Gamaliel reminded the Council of others who claimed to be God’s son, but those movements failed with the passage of time.  Speaking of Peter and John, he said, “Let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God you will not be able to stop them.  You might even be found opposing God.”   (Acts 5:35-39)

crossThe first scandal I had to deal with as a pastor concerned dating Averette.   I was twenty-six and she was nineteen.  My first day at my first little church, I met Averette.   She had finished her freshman year in college. I fell completely, absolutely, in love with her and, as she tells it now, she had some affinity for me.   We began to date and before long, our dating was everybody’s business.  

My little congregation was very unhappy about the whole thing.   Currently, it is considered unacceptable for ministers to date members of their congregation.   Averette’s membership was still at her home church.   Technically, I was free to date her.   You cannot imagine how many people in that little church shared their opinion about my dating Averette.   They all made it their business.   Everywhere I went, no one wanted to talk to me about what we were doing for Jesus; it was just about the woman I was dating.  Even concerning pastoral care issues, people seemed more interested in our dating than in their own healing.  I can never understand why people get so hung up on something that really doesn’t concern them.   In all the years since, time and time again, I have seen that behavior repeated over and over again.  

With every issue, whether it is a personal issue or a church issue, it’s important that we make sure that we are biblically and morally focused.   Averette and I, in the time we dated, maintained the biblical moral standard.   If we had violated God’s code, the congregation would have had reason to complain. The people in the fore of every scandal need to make sure they are living by God’s laws.  If they are, then they have nothing to fear.  

The test of any such alleged scandal is, as my grandmother would say, “time will tell” or “the proof is in the pudding.” In the case of our marriage, years later, it worked!   Gamaliel gave timeless advice; we should reserve our judgment to make sure we are not on the other side of God’s will.    If we are living by God’s plan, we have nothing to fear.   As the passage of time unfolds, the correctness of any action is proven in succeeding years.  

Prayer:  Dear God, may we look to the future to interpret the past.  Amen.  

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Repentance or Starting Over

By admin | August 26, 2010

2 Peter 3:9 “… He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

baptismIt happens in life that our lives can be re-ordered by a change of circumstance or some bad choice we have made.

Sometimes in life, we all start over because of a change in circumstances.  Perhaps it happens as we leave another life behind or deal with the death of a loved one.  It could happen when we start over as the last child starts kindergarten or the last child goes to college.  The loss of a job, divorce, or illness can also re-order our lives.  A little over a year ago when I moved to Cokesbury, my life completely changed.  I found I had to mourn for the life and people I left behind and embrace the new reality. 

At first, the challenge seemed overwhelming.  Yet, day by day, my life has come to an incredibly happy place.  This life is very different from the life I lived before.  I had to learn how to be responsible for myself.  The truth is I’m still mastering various aspects of this life.  I find myself very blessed when I’m able to do a new thing.  I absolutely had no idea how to take care of myself.  Looking back, I laugh at all my mistakes and cherish the funny memories of the goofy things I did.  Yet, I’ve never been prouder than I am of accepting this challenge and beginning my life over.  God has blessed me.  The things I didn’t know about housekeeping are hilarious.  Most notably in my mind is not realizing the consequences of taking my then golden retriever puppy to the grocery store.  All-in-all, it’s been a great deal of fun after I got over the shock.

If we make a mistake in life, we have to repent and move past that mistake…a story told so well in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”  The prophet Isaiah speaks to the nation of Israel as he sums up the headstrong nature of the citizens of that country:  “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:  ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’” 

Even years after my father’s death, I am inspired by the seventeen years of sobriety he had at the end of his life.  My dad had been a drinking man, but when that came to an end, he changed.  He joined AA and embraced an alcohol-free life.  It was difficult for him, but he realized God had something else for him to do.  His inspiration has helped me much in the years since.  There are times in our life that we have to repent and begin again.

In Acts 20:21, Paul said, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks they may turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Paul did that as he became a Christian and repented of his past deeds.  In the Bible, repentance means a change of mind, a feeling of regret or remorse over past behavior, and the turning back from our sins and a living of a righteous life.  As we repent, we move from disobedience and rebellion to submission to God and His ways.

There are times in our life that circumstances force us to change and times we repent and move towards God.  If we must do either or both, have courage because God will give us strength and people of the church will help.

Prayer:  Dear God, help us as our lives change or we need to put away behaviors that are sinful.  Amen.

 

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Never Defer Responsibility

By admin | August 25, 2010

Matthew 7:6 “…do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot…”

responsibilityOnce upon a time, Mina Porter (our church treasurer) joked about people talking to us as though we haven’t a brain in our head.  I told her there have been times the church officers thought I could just preach and, beyond that, I knew nothing.  And she said, “When I was younger and blonder, you should have heard what I used to hear.”  On Monday, I walked into Mina’s office and I could tell by the twinkle in her eye she was going to tease me.  I asked her, “How did we do financially on Sunday?”  She said, “Well, Preacher, we got just enough.”  I said, “What does that mean?”  She said, tongue in cheek, “Don’t worry your pretty little head.  We always seem to just get enough.  You just keep preaching your nice little sermons and everything will be okay.”  I said, “I didn’t know blondes could count past ten.”  We both laughed.

At a former church, things were going very well financially.  In that church, we were receiving many new members, the economy was going well, and the church economy was going even better.  I asked some questions at a Finance meeting and the chairperson of Finance said to me, “Preacher, you just keep preaching those sermons and we’ll take care of the money and the financial decisions.”  I said, “If you want me to preach those sermons, then you need to be prepared to tell me where we are financially and what kind of decisions Finance is making.  I’m the Executive Officer of this church and, as such, I have responsibility to the United Methodist Church, this congregation, and to God, and I’m not about to be dismissed as a newscaster who doesn’t have sense enough to do anything but read a script.”

Occasionally in life, we meet various people that will try to take away our ability to make our own decisions.  Over the years, I have even heard many husbands or wives tell how their spouses made decisions for them, many that were not good.  It is important that we examine and are in touch with our own feelings so that we make our own decisions. 

Jesus says, “Do not cast your pearls before the swine,” which means don’t allow what’s great about yourself to be thrown before the pigs.  There are always human beings who will treat you in a patronizing way.  In truth, Mina was teasing me; the chairperson of Finance, many years ago, was not.  I refused to accept the place where he wanted to put me.  I knew that God held me responsible for myself and for the church; and the United Methodist Church had ordained me, in part, to be a responsible leader. 

Perhaps we all have to deal with people who would demean us.  We are created in the image of God.  God made us for Himself and God expects us to be able to stand up to our responsibilities when needed.  It may be a difficult call at the time, but self-respect is never to be sacrificed by any Christian man or woman.  We are created in the image of God.  God respects us enough to allow us to make our own decisions about our lives and we should never forgo that responsibility because it’s the path of least resistance.

Prayer:  Dear God, help us to be responsible.  Amen.

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