Middle Class Snobbery

Jonathan held court in his adult Bible class last Sunday. Remarking on the disdain with which we look on the Rich Young Ruler of Mark 10:17, he said, “Have you ever noticed how we look down on the very rich? We envy them for their lifestyles and fancy cars, and we accuse them of being uncaring for the poor and only spending their millions on themselves.”
“Then on the other hand,” he continued, “we scorn the very poor, as if it’s their own fault that they’re poor.” True enough, poverty often comes because of bad choices and lack of enthusiasm for work. Proverbs 6:10-11 reads, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.”
“Poor people have poor ways,” says the English proverb. Yet, it’s not only poor choices that make one poor. Sickness and disability can render one incapable of earning a sufficient living to support oneself and family. The community may be disadvantaged, where there are few jobs for workers without college degrees, or the economy may be depressed, with major employers closed down, leaving many out of work and out of hope.
Jonathan pointed out that the middle class tries to give itself all the breaks. Yes, it’s true that middle class people will often lend their hands to volunteer service; they seem to do most of the servant work around church, and give generously (so they imagine—remember how Jesus praised the widow’s mites) to charity.
We have a habit of meting out harsh judgments on those above or below us on the socio-economic ladder. It’s never a good idea. Jesus warned, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” –Matthew 7:1, 2.
It wouldn’t take much for middle class people to become poor. Many of us carry enormous credit card debt. If the economy went south or something detrimental happened in the Middle East, or if Hugo Chavez decided to turn off the spigot, we would all be singing the song of the poor: “Use it up and wear it out. Make it do or do without.”
The same could also be true for the rich. And of course, death is the great equalizer for all, as the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus warns.
It just doesn’t do to pass judgment on others.

Of Airplane Flights and Friends

Come Saturday, if the Lord is willing, I’m going to fly in a WWII airplane. It’s a Christmas gift from my loving wife. It’s going to be exciting, doing aerobatic maneuvers in a 65-year-old airplane, but it’s not the most frightening thing I’ve ever done in my life. That would be riding in a car with Loyd Collier.
It was during the late 80s, and Loyd was wearing out cars (and wrecking them) while he drove all over the country raising funds for mission work and recruiting missionaries. Loyd had served as a missionary to Germany for twenty-five years, coming home in 1972 to preach in Arkansas and Oklahoma. After a mishap when he climbed a curb on an Interstate on-ramp, Loyd usually asked me to drive when we went together.
The man had no “Park” or stop gear. He was forever set in “drive.” After serving as a preacher and missions recruiter, he finally settled down to serve as an elder. There’s a job that will wear you out. Loyd would have it no other way. He’d rather have worn out than rusted out.
I learned many lessons from Loyd. One was, “always try to bring some kind of a gift when you visit someone’s home.” Loyd used to raise bees, so his gift was often honey. It was fitting: Loyd, Sarah and Linda coming to your house with a jar of honey. Sweetness personified. Loyd taught that souls were important. I don’t know how many people he baptized in Germany and the States. God only knows.
The greatest lesson I learned from Loyd was to develop an indomitable spirit. Nothing could stop him. When his daughter was nearly killed in a car crash and emerged permanently disabled, he bore a father’s burden with love. And a sense of humor. He often teased her as he drove her to therapy, by closing his right eye as he was driving and pretending to fall asleep.
Eighty-six years of living and loving will put some scars on you.You’d never know it; Loyd seldom complained. He was the perpetual encourager, forever smiling and seeing the sunny side of life. A favorite story told by one of Loyd’s friends, Doug Lawyer, was of the two of them, with some other Harding students, driving through California in Loyd’s Model A Ford, preaching in small towns during summers. Loyd picked up some figs in a paper bag along the way, and had them in his lap. The figs got messy and Loyd bore the embarrassment of fig juice on his pants. At a border stop, the agent stuck his head in the window and asked if they were carrying any fruit across the border. Loyd, seizing the opportunity, grinned broadly and asked the agent if he would like any fresh figs? As he held the bag up, the bottom fell out. Doug said Loyd continued to smile through it all.
And that’s just what he did. Live and love life that way, and you, too can develop a spirit like Loyd’s. Loyd finally put it in Park on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007. No telling what he’s doing in heaven. God wouldn’t keep such an indomitable spirit idle. I just hope he’s not driving any chariots in the sky while I’m flying.

A postscript: I finally did get to fly the T-6 February 18. Will post pics as soon as I figure out how.

One Rose is Better Than a Dozen

As we are all searching for just the right gift for our loved ones, I thought this story would be a good gift-giving guide for husbands and wives. It happened several years ago.
Charissa was explaining it all to her brother. "If you want to get in good with your girlfriend, don't give her a dozen roses. One rose is just as good." She continued: "It's all about a system of brownie points. A single rose or a dozen roses equals one brownie point." She added, "The same holds true with chocolates. A box of chocolates equals one brownie point. Instead, take the chocolates out and feed them to her one at a time. That's worth one brownie point apiece. Use your head. Little things count as much as big things."
Women must be born with this kind of wisdom. It amazed me that my daughter knew all this stuff because I never taught her. Her mother may have schooled her; I've always suspected there was a conspiracy among women. We men are clueless when it comes to romance.
Romance dates back to the garden of Eden. It starts with commitment: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.--Genesis 2:24.
It’s like roses; they don't grow well where there are weeds or rocks. My friend Wallace Morris had beautiful roses, for which he prepared a flower bed of good soil. He nurtured these roses on this bed. I don’t know what he fed them, he died several years ago. The results of his nurturing were enormous, fragrant, yellow rose blossoms. He gave one to my daughter that year. Not a dozen, just one. He was smart. He treated his wife the same way; and she enjoyed it and smiled sweetly at him, the way she had for fifty-plus years. Romance grows well on a flower bed of commitment love. The resulting romance blossoms for a lifetime. The “advice to the love-lorn” columnist ought to have sought Wallace out and asked him.
I've read many articles on romance. They all say the same thing: it's the little things that count. A card, a note hidden in her purse, a note stuck to her rearview mirror will please her more than a large gift. Tell each other what kinds of little things you both like. They don’t need to cost much, or require much effort. One year for me it was lemons. Two or three of these in a grocery sack did wonders for Saphronia when money was tight, we were in graduate school and she was expecting our first child. Tenderness gets you more brownie points than large grandiose gifts. The apostle reminded the men of this fact in I Peter 3:7:
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Give her a basket of fine fruit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.—Galatians 5:22-23.
Whatever you give her, just make sure she doesn’t have to plug it in or work with it! (By the way, Michael heeded his sister’s advice and is now happily married to his girlfriend.)

procrastination

Procrastination is a popular pastime. I heard one fellow joke that he had just now received his 1995 procrastinator’s manual in the mail. Someone asked if he could see it, and he replied, “No, I haven’t gotten around to unpacking it yet.” Our society, which prizes mediocrity, holds proactive thinking in light esteem. They make fun of the “nerd” who has next week’s biology term paper done and in his briefcase. They also make fun of churchgoers. That is, until the times predicted by Solomon in Ecclesiastes, when“the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
"I find no pleasure in them"-
When your teeth and hair fall out and you make funny noises getting up, you suddenly start thinking about heaven. By that time, you just may not feel like it. An elderly friend of mine, a faithful Christian from her youth, considered the changes going on in her life and concluded, “I’m ready for whatever comes. If I were to go right now, I’d be happy.” That’s proactive thinking concerning judgment day. Grandma always said to me, whenever she handed me one of her dishpan cookies, 'a stitch in time, saves nine.'

Life's Changes

It is often said that life’s all about changes. We get married and life changes. Children come and the learning curve goes straight up. The children grow older and present new challenges. Then one day, they grow up, leave home and get married. It doesn’t stop with the empty nest, either. You look at your wife across the breakfast table and say, “Who are you?” If you’re lucky, you’ll remember and fall in love again. The changes continue. Your body starts to tell the effects of old age. Your muscles don’t respond as they used to do. Joints begin to ache. Parts quit working. How will you handle the changes? Dread them? Why? Why not celebrate each new change? When you got married, weren’t you happy? And didn’t joy fill your life when you brought the babies home? Didn’t you beam with pride as they grew and developed? Didn’t your eyes fill up with joyful tears at graduation day, and then later at the wedding? With Christ, you can find comfort in change. “Lo,” he says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Grandma always told me, whenever she handed me one of her dishpan cookies, "Growing older is better than the alternative."