Thursday, July 21, 2011

Do You Know Who "I" AM?

In  All the President’s Wit by Gerald Gardner he relates a story of a visit of Ronald Reagan to Mexico City. On one occasion President Reagan stood before a large crowd and gave a speech, which on conclusion he sat down to a rather unenthusiastic applause. The next speaker approached the podium and began receiving enthusiastic applause after just about every paragraph. Reagan, not knowing Spanish did not understand what was being said but joined the crowd in applause. After a bit to show his enthusiasm he began to applaud even before the crowd would start. At one point our ambassador leaned over to Reagan and said “I wouldn’t do that. He’s interpreting your speech.”

Pride is like that. Without meaning to we get caught up in ourselves; what we have; who we are; how important “I” am. It becomes all about us.

Years ago my wife, Kathy, worked for Public Relations at a Christian College. On one occasion she was in charge of booking people into motels and hotels for a lecture series that brought in thousands of people. All the nicer places had been booked when one prominent preacher called in late and asked for a room. She assigned him one that was available in what might be considered a 1 or 2 star motel nowadays. When he saw where he was placed he became angry and approached her saying “Do you know who I am?”

Bell Telephone performed a survey years ago to see what people talked about over the phone. It was discovered that the most used word in phone calls was the word “I”.

Love is not proud. This follows “Love does not boast”. Love doesn’t continually point to “me”. It doesn’t set “me” on a pedestal. It doesn’t make “me” the center of attention. It is less concerned about “me” and more concerned about “you”.

The second greatest commandment is to “Love your neighbor as yourself”. To do this we take pride out of the picture. Our focus changes to others instead of self.

I like the old saying “Be kind to people on your way up, because you’ll meet the same people on your way down.” When our lives are filled with pride and arrogance we cut relationships. It turns people away. The “better than you” attitude severs ties with those around us and basically asks people “Do you know who I am?”

Solomon wrote, “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

In other words the only way to really love “me” is to love “you” more.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Stripes All Over - Love Does Not Boast

In the ‘50’s there were a lot of stories still hanging around from the World War II years. I remember one in particular about three little boys. One day these three boys were sitting around and began to argue about their dads and the war. The boys were boasting, as we may have done ourselves, about how great their dads were during the war. Each boy wanted to do his best to outdo his buddies.

The first boy proclaimed, “My dad shot down 3 enemy planes and they gave him a stripe for it.” Not wanting to be outdone the second boy said, “That’s nothing, my dad shot down 4 planes and sunk a battle ship single handedly and got two stripes.” Finally the third boy sat up and smiled a huge smile, “My dad’s got both your dad’s beat. He robbed a bank and got stripes all over him.”

We all get caught into the trap of boasting from time to time. We proudly say, “Look at what I have”, “Guess where I’m going”, “Let me show you.”, “Let me tell you.” And so on and so on.

We all do it. I do it. In fact, let me tell you about my grand-daughter. I can open my wallet and show you her picture, let you look at my Blackberry or the background on my computer. She’s the prettiest, cutest, best grand-daughter anyone could ever have. Now that’s not boasting; that’s a fact!

So why does Paul say, “Love does not boast”? Simply it’s because when we boast of what we have it puts on an air of superiority over those who might not have what we have. It in a way is a way of belittling someone else by calling attention to what you have and how much better it is than what they have.

I’ve learned not to boast in certain situations. I’ve learned not to boast about my grand-daughter around certain people who have lost a grandchild or are older and don’t have any grandchildren. I don’t boast about what I have or what I’m going to do around people who are less fortunate than I am. Love means considering others feelings before you speak or act.

It’s interesting how this follows, “love does not envy”. In other words we learn to be content without desiring what others have and not boasting of what we have. In turn, both follow “love is kind”.

A man once owned a home and because his friends kept boasting of what they had, he became envious of them and decided to sell his home and buy a bigger one. He called a real estate agent who came and looked at his house and listed it on the market for him. He then proceeded to search the paper for a house he could be proud of and boast about. Finally he found one. The description sounded perfect, exactly what he wanted. He quickly picked up the phone and called his realtor. The realtor took his information to make an appointment, then paused and said, “Sir, that’s the house you’re living in now!”

Philippians 4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Envious Eagle

I once heard the fable of an eagle who was envious of another eagle who was larger and could fly much higher than he could. The only way to be the best eagle again was to have the larger eagle killed. So one day the eagle went to a bow hunter and showed him the great prize he could have if he shot down the eagle flying so high. The hunter agreed to but needed a feather for his arrow. The eagle obliged, giving him one of his feathers. The hunter shot an arrow that sailed high and straight, but fell short since the eagle was so high. The eagle again gave him a feather to try again. Again he failed. This continued on until the eagle had no more feathers to give and he, himself couldn’t fly. When the hunter saw the dilemma he saw his prize and turned and shot the eagle sitting beside him. The moral of the story was when you envy the only person you hurt is yourself.

Love does not envy. Envy goes beyond simple jealousy. It is the desire to have what someone else has no matter what the cost. Kind David did this when he lusted after Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to cover his sin and gain his prize. Cain did this when he killed Abel. Ahab did this when he had Naboth killed to obtain Naboth’s vineyard for his wife.

The opposite of envy is to be content. Contentment means that I can be happy with what I have no matter what everyone else around me has. I don’t have to have a house as big as yours. I can drive an older car while you’re in a newer one. I will not wish you harm because you are better off than I am. I will not wish ill on you because of your success.

Love means you want the best for others. You want them to succeed. You want them to be happy.

Two men were once stranded on a dessert island. In order to co-exist they divided the island in half and they lived separately. The two men knew their only hope was to pray. The first day they prayed for food. The next morning one man had an abundance of food and the other had only enough to sustain his life. The next day they prayed for shelter. The man who had all the food was given a grand place to live while the other was stuck to living under a tree. After a week the first man prayed for a wife and it was granted to him. The other man remained alone on barren soil with little shelter. Finally the first man prayed for a ship to come by and take his wife and him away from the island. The next day the ship arrived and the man and wife boarded the ship and decided to leave the other man behind.

As the ship sailed a voice came from heaven, “Where is your shipmate that was on the island with you?” The man said that the he did not deserve to be saved, which was obvious by none of his prayers being answered. “On the contrary,” the voice came back, “while you asked for food, shelter and a wife, he prayed that all of your prayers would be answered. It was his prayers that gave you what you had not yours.”

Love does not envy means we want the best for those we love and would do nothing to cause harm.