Greetings, dear people.
Darkness comes early these days, boosted by the time change. I worked with the sawmill till near dark—about 5pm. I had basically composed this post this morning, but was not able to finish and send. So here goes.
I like plays on words. The other day I saw a reader board sign at the ROADHOUSE restaurant in Gresham that showed this message: “NOT COMING IN HERE WOULD BE A BIG MISSED STEAK.” Clever.
Blessings—Ray.
This feels like an appropriate place to cite a couple verses from my DUST SONG—a little song I composed a few years ago that mocks the prevalent and persistent reality of human pride and arrogance which drives so much unrest, prejudice, and war on this planet.
As I consider the beginnings of our beginnings
The Bible says that God made man from dirt!
Physically, we’re just dust bags, and to dust we shall return.
So how can so much pride evolve from simply dirt?!
I’ve captured here the theme song of the haughty
And those who think they’re better than the rest
Fueling prejudice, self-centeredness, and superiority
They don’t know why, but they just KNOW that they’re the best!
(It’s like they’re singing--) My dust is better than your dust!
The matter making me matters more
The molecules and atoms within me are just more just
Little wonder I’m the one that I adore!
Jesus faced the same reality of pompous arrogance from the religious elite of that day. The very ones who should have embraced Him were so inflated with their own importance, views, and traditions that they were made blind to the incredible gift right there in front of them. Not much has changed up till today!
Please recognize the profanity and absurd arrogance of what’s going on here. These pin-head judges not only set themselves up to critique others who are made from the same material as themselves, imprinted with the same image and likeness of the Creator, but actually go beyond to flatter themselves into thinking they are qualified to pass judgment upon the Creator Himself—the One Who supplies and sustains their very existence! I seem to constantly encounter the very same attitudes. At times it seems epidemic.
Jesus said, “I never judge that way” (i.e., by appearances). Let’s be reminded of the lesson-worthy difference between God’s judgment standard and man’s—“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). It’s like man looks at the dust, while God monitors that which manages and animates the dust.