Washing Feet

All day today, the news has been full of a very curious event: the inability of the U.S. House of Representatives to elect a Speaker (read “leader” of the Republican cohort). You will, of course, remember that Nancy Pelosi occupied that position during the Trump administration and on into the present regime. To my mind, she pontificated a bit too much on her “knowledge” of the Constitution – that, sadly, wasn’t really knowledge at all. It was a brand of politics that would, quite frankly, have shocked the Founding Fathers, because the Federalist Papers make those individuals’ take on representative government very clear. However, the point of this blog is not to criticize her and her colleagues.

The position of Speaker of the House is a serious task, loaded with both privilege and responsibility. Jesus reminded His disciples that, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table [meaning Jesus Himself] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22: 25 – 28).

I am not writing to judge Pelosi’s leadership as former Speaker; other people may feel free to pronounce whatever judgment suits their political inclinations. However, it is difficult to remember a time when she took a humble “servant” attitude towards her duties and responsibilities. (The event when she proudly displayed her freezer full of $12-a-pint ice cream was particularly disturbing to certain viewers, myself included.)

Leaving all that aside, I wonder what the Republican Representatives are finding most difficult to focus on in choosing a leader to become Speaker. Are they looking for a bombastic iconoclast? An enemy to the present administration? A leader? A servant?

Several of the Founding Fathers – George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson (all three our first three presidents, by the way) – all spoke of leading by example, not dictum – the essence of the leadership Jesus mentioned. Having been schooled in Christianity, they realized that true leadership was not about force and bluster, but about the promulgation of good ideas and faithful implementation of said ideas. These men were well aware of Jesus’ actions of washing his disciples’ feet on the night before His execution.

One wonders how many feet the present candidates for leadership have washed.

"Thoughts and Prayers"

Two days ago, a young football player by the name of Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after a tackle. Evidently, his heart had stopped, but he was revived. How did people react on social media?

“Thoughts and prayers.” Everywhere. Ubiquitous.

I am seriously disturbed when I see this example of virtue signaling. Why? The problem is that, in many, many cases, this phrase is meaningless. Allow me to explain.

What do people mean by saying the word “thoughts”? What is the connection between a sad or tragic situation and “thoughts”? Rationally, the very fact that a person remarks on anything in this world effectively means that some “thought” was involved – some brain activity was happening.

Now, linking the word “thoughts” with the word “prayers” might give the reader some insight into meaning. We all seem to know what “prayers” are – at least we know the outward expression (head bowed, hands folded, words muttered). Except that most of us know that this word is pretty meaningless to the average social media participant.

They ignore the fact that a prayer, to be a prayer, has to be directed towards Someone – God, or at least a more powerful Being than oneself. However, there is one detail in this general scenario: God has to actually exist in order to be prayed to. But few people point this simple fact out.

And this is where I throw up my hands at the silly virtue signaling that transpires when one wants to show the “right” kind of sympathy. Because, in addition to not really acknowledging that there is a God, and that He does, in fact, answer prayer, the phrase “thoughts and prayers” often have the word “to” appended to them, as in “thoughts and prayer [are directed] to…” What does this even mean?

Can a single thought change what is happening in another family or town or city? My experience says that it does not. Furthermore, how does one “pray to” another person? How does that supposed “prayer” have the power to affect another’s situation? I doubt very seriously that it can, even though people faithfully and religiously “thank everyone for their prayers.”

I believe that the Epistle of James addresses this very thing when he says:

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2: 14 – 17).

Now I realize this Scriptural passage may only apply to people or situations that are within one’s reach. For instance, we can’t all flock to the stadium where Hamlin was stricken. But prayers directed “to” him and his family are powerless to affect the situation. Only heartfelt and sincere prayers directed to God can bear results.

Before the above passage, James points out: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1: 6 – 8).

So… do you get it? Without God, prayer is futile. Without faith, there can be no answer to prayer.

I would also suggest that to be afraid to mention God in such situations is a spiritually poor way to show love. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26). I wonder if the persistence of “thoughts and prayers to…” falls within the range of this warning.

To summarize: What I am saying is that these expressions of sympathy need to have an authenticity that is, for the most part, missing. I would suggest that bringing God into the conversation should be paramount. People should not shy away from saying things like: “I will pray that God heals this person,” or “May God show you His mercy and love.”

May my thoughts provoke you to true prayer.

 

Before My Husband Allen Was a Husband

Weeks ago, I promised to say more about my husband Allen, who passed away just over 20 months ago. Well, here are a few important reflections regarding this wonderful man:

Let’s start at the beginning. Before Allen was a husband, he was born a male. Yes, he didn’t decide to be a male the moment he took his first independent breath. Neither did his parents conduct some sort of Affirmation Ceremony at his birth. And – as far as I know – there was no discussion between the doctor and nurse(s) present as to which gender he would be “assigned.” It was an obvious, logical reaction to a certain anatomical fact that was obvious the moment he emerged from the birth canal.

I wasn’t even aware that God had planned a future Soul Mate for me. But I arrived in this world five months later (and we never argued whether a summer or a winter birthday was better; we just enjoyed the fact that we existed and shared the same birth year), and found him about sixteen years after that.

Before Allen was a husband, he was a boy. He played with boy things; he played baseball on the street with the other kids. Notice that I did not say “boys”; his younger sister was one of the “kids,” and played alongside whoever showed up for street ball. He was taught that boys, being – generally speaking – a tad bit stronger than girls, he should not bully, beat up, or strong-arm his female acquaintances. There were no anxious, woke-ful discussions regarding how boys should be more like girls. His parents merely followed the Biblical instructions for training a boy in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness (yes – I know he was a pesky brother at times!), goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 6:22-23).

And before I even knew he was to be my husband, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this tall, lanky teenager with red hair and playful eyes was a kind soul who would rather walk away from a potential argument than start one. His manly, ingrained gentleness was a much-desired trait.

Before Allen was a husband, he became a Christian. When he was eleven, he attended an evening revival meeting at the church he attended with his mother, and responded to the altar call. After affirming his proper understanding of this spiritual event, he was baptized. It goes without saying that he grew in his faith and became the young man that I was attracted to.

Once we began courting (yes, you read that right!), and as I began to suspect that Allen and I would someday get married, he and I talked and talked and talked about God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We went to each other’s churches (I was Catholic; he was Baptist. Before he departed this life, my husband and I had joined a nearby Methodist church). We discovered that we shared a common thirst for God’s truth, and for worshipping Him each Sunday. (At times, we even joined in Sunday services at both our churches on the same Sunday!) Once he became a husband, he made sure that his wife was fully supportive of their unified church choice. Therefore, we never took a “holiday” from Sunday worship.

Before Allen became a husband, he decided where his national allegiance lay. Believing that his low draft number (“20” in 1970) would result in his being drafted into the Army, he signed up for the Navy. The job he was trained for in that branch of the Armed Forces ended up being his job for life. Despite being affected by progressive deconstructionism of traditional American patriotism and recent woke-ism, Allen stayed true to everything he had thought through and affirmed during his teenage years – before he became my husband. How do I know this? Because he and I discussed our views and our reactions to everyday events every day of our married life (which happened to be just short of 50 years). Of course, I am not counting the time he spent assigned to Alaska, or out on naval vessels in the Mediterranean Sea as daily interaction, but we affirmed our love and devotion to each other through letters and phone calls during the necessary separations. There is not now – nor has there ever been – any doubt in my mind that Allen was true to established American ideals.

And – yes – our views evolved as we studied more and more of the Scriptures, and listened carefully to sermons and tapes and videos that touched on important political topics. Remarkably, though, we never seemed to “discover” – as so many unfortunate “woke” people, adrift in their anchorless existence, have “discovered” – that our patriotism and dedication to serving America had been misplaced. Right up to retirement, my husband proclaimed his commitment to Bible-based American ideals – even though he “sat in the corner” for the last year of his career, stripped of any meaningful power to affect the affairs of his branch of government due to his relentless loyalty to the truth.

He became a true, verifiable husband the day we were married. But he started on the road to being a husband the day he was born. He progressed through childhood, following the correct and godly path for boys pointed out to him by a loving father and a loving mother. He accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord, which provided the foundation for him to become the husband a woman could (and did) lean on for godly leadership. He was a husband by God’s design – and he made me a wife.

Praise God for creating a husband through His design!