The Crooked "C"

Men are what their mothers made them. Emerson

I have a picture of a little league baseball team that I was on when I was ten. We were the Cougars, so all of us boys had to get our Moms to sew a white letter C on our caps. One of my greatest shames when I was a child was the "C" that was on the front of my cap. My C was not like the professional quality C's that the other boys had. Mine was homemade and just a little bit crooked. I was greatly embarrassed when I was ten - my Mom just must not have cared for me like the other boys' moms, who had gone to the trouble of purchasing commercial quality C's for their boys. Yes I was embarrassed, when I was ten. I was mad, when I was ten. I was stupid, when I was ten.

As the years have gone by I have come to a different perspective on both cap and mother. You see, we did not have a lot of money in those days - just the cost of the sign-up fee was enough to put a strain on an already strained budget, but Mom always seemed to find a way to afford the activities that were so important to her children. A quick look in her closet would have told you exactly how she was able to do so, because my Mom was a lot like your Mom. She made sacrifices that were as innumerable as they were unnoticed. She wore last year's clothes so that we could wear this year's. She did not let us drink or smoke or use bad language or "hang out" with other kids who did. Mom insisted on quality effort in school... She took us to church every time the doors were open.

I now look back on that picture of my baseball team and see something that I did not see when I was ten years-old. I see a boy who was greatly loved by his mother. And, I see on the front of my cap a badge of love... in the form of a "C", that is just a little bit crooked.

I tell you this story to make a point. We look at this mean old world, from time to time, and begin to despair. Everywhere we seem to turn we see misery and heartache. The news is filled with the outrages of the day, with leaders who disappoint, and with people who just seem to hate for no reason at all. But the thing that we need to remember is this: While we may not be able to change the whole world, we can do something about the small corner of the world in which we live. And, as long as we have mothers who are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to raise true servants of God, there is hope.

Honor your father and mother - which is the first commandment with a promise - that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on earth. 

Ephesians 6:2-3, NIV

 

The Burden of Genius

Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. 

Cato the Censor

I, like you, am a genius. I know I am a genius because regular rules do not apply to me. I ignore the warnings on lawnmowers that caution the simple folks to keep their hands and feet away from the moving blade (my finger is nearly back to normal after only ten years). When I started driving I pitied the poor fools who did not know how to speed (4 tickets in a little over a year). And, most impressively, I can watch the news on any topic, no matter how technical or lofty, and tell my wife exactly where the experts are wrong as well as the precise solution to the problem (you can only imagine how blessed my wife must feel just to be in the same room with such a brilliant mind).

It's a burden... being a genius.

One of the greatest lessons we geniuses will ever learn is that we are not nearly as smart as we think, nor are others as dumb as we imagine. In fact, if we genuinely appreciate the expertise that others have rather than dismiss it out of hand because we have already had deep thoughts on the matter, we might not only learn something of value but also be more enjoyable to be around.

Part of the problem with being so smart is in the failure to realize that this great wisdom might only exist in our imaginations. It is when we admit that we might be able to learn something from others that we actually begin to read the instructions, ask for directions and listen to the advice of our peers. It is then that we begin to earn the respect of others and learn those things that are truly worth knowing.

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. 

Proverbs 12:15, NIV

 

The Beginning of Knowledge

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him.

Old Arabian proverb

My parents should have sued the college that I attended to recover the cost of tuition for my education - something must have gone wrong in the four years that it took for me to get that education. You see, when I entered college I was already very, very smart. And, the first year went pretty well also, for at the end of my freshman year in college I knew everything.

You may doubt that statement, but all that you had to do was ask me and I would have told you - anything you wanted to know on any subject, for my knowledge was vast. I was not only wise beyond my years, but I was also wise in my own eyes.

And my eyes were opened, for I made another grand discovery: My parents, bless their hearts, really weren't all that smart at all. Now I had suspected that for a number of years (since about junior high), but my professors confirmed the fact. I was smarter!

Then something shocking happened along the way to my degree. The longer I was in college, the less I knew - and something happened to my parents at the same time. Apparently they were secretly attending night classes, for they were becoming smarter and smarter. By the end of my four years, I knew even less than I did than when I began my advanced studies. And my parents knew even more. Perhaps, my parents were right not to sue the college after all.

As important as my realizing how stupid I was in the real world, I discovered something even more important during my four years at Lubbock Christian College: I wasn't all that clever when it came to God's word either. So, for the last 30 years I have studied from the best source of wisdom ever given: The Bible. I didn't really know that much about the Word then, and I'm starting to see that I still don't know very much now, but I'm learning. Are you?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 1:7; 26:12; 9:10, NIV

 

The Best Things in Life...

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. 

Keats

Our boy's high school basketball coach has been recently taking and posting photos of some of the most glorious sunrises that you could ever hope to see. If you live in West Texas and had your eyes open at sunrise at any time during the past two weeks of December, then you know of the beauty that these pictures contained: Gold and silver lined clouds against a deep red morning sky. Beautiful! And they cost nothing more than the sparing of a few precious moments to appreciate the glory of God's creation.

I almost missed those sunrises, but one morning I noticed a red glow throughout the house. I assumed that the red glow was just the sun rising, and was about to continue through the house to my comfy chair to read a bit and then turn on the T.V. Instead, I ventured over to the window and was greeted by an absolutely stunning sunrise. At that point, I had to go outside and just stare... and to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the One who had shared such beauty with me that day.

Life is funny, sometimes. We spend so much of our time working and struggling and clawing to get ahead so that we can go out and buy some pretty little thing, when all the time God is creating fresh works of breath taking art each and every day... if only we will have the wisdom to pause long enough to stop and enjoy these things of beauty.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Psalm 19:1-3, NIV

 

The Abundant Life

God bless us every one. Dickens' "Tim"

I don't slow down often enough to just take the time and consider how blessed God has made my life. We live in a small town and get to see the "little guys" as they troop off to school each day. We get to go to the games and cheer for our kids as if every touchdown, basket or point is the most important thing in our lives. We get to see good folks helping out other good folks, we get to laugh about the little things at Jackie's gas station, or talk about the weather at the elevator.

One of the greatest blessings we have is the worship. Have you ever considered the privilege that we have in gathering together to remember what we are here for? Have you ever experienced the thrill of singing praises to our Lord and Savior with a hundred others who are doing the same? Have you ever caught yourself on the verge of tears as some fine old gentleman prays to God in his simple, but wise way, as he expresses the very sentiments that you just never seem to be able to put into words? Have you ever, right in the middle of the Lord's supper, been struck with the vastness of the love the Jesus had for you?

This is an abundant life and we need to pause from time to time to acknowledge our gratitude to the One who gave it to us. I know that we have hard things in life, but let me ask you this: Would you rather go through those hard times with God's help... or without? The answer to that question is one of the keys to a life filled with blessing. And you don't have to live in a small town to enjoy it - the abundant life comes from heavenly realms, not from earthly locales.

One of the greatest parts of the abundant life is this: We get to live a really good life and then we get Paradise. We get to go from a place where there is occasional mourning and pain and tears, to a place where there is no mourning or death or tears. Christ is preparing that place for us and God has given His plan for how we can be there. Are you looking forward to it? Are you doing your part to be there? Are you doing everything that you can to encourage others to be there? Are you appreciating what you have now? If so, then I don't have to tell you about the abundant life. You are already living it!

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10-11, NIV