The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution seems straightforward, that a State “shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” But in the world of law, the simple becomes grounds for legal wrangling. Just as the lawyer in Jesus’ day demanded a definition of “neighbor” (as in “Who is my neighbor?), the lawyers and social engineers of our day demand to know, “Who is a person?”
The courts have accommodated those demands with an arbitrary decision that a person is not a person until the courts say it is a person, which in the case of abortion, is defined as complete separation from the womb. I say “currently” defined as such because certain social engineers wish to move that line even farther to the left. Princeton professor and social ethicist Peter Singer believes a baby shouldn’t be considered a person for purposes of the Constitution until 30mdays from birth. Senator Barbara Boxer of California believes the line should be drawn when the “baby” comes home from the hospital (with frightening implications, if you think about it).
Others have postulated that “personhood” does not begin until the “baby” begins to have “self-awareness”, which would fast-forward “personhood” to some indeterminate time, before which the parents (or whoever the courts determine to be in loco parentis) could return the child to its Maker for a refund.
These social engineers are walking in the footsteps of the tyrants of the Twentieth Century. Adolph Hitler could rationalize exterminating Jews and Gypsies because his warped thinking rendered them less than human (non-persons) and therefore expendable. Stalin once famously remarked that a single death is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a statistic.
Even in our own insular world, ten thousand Chinese can die in an earthquake, and it merits a story on page ten, but three thousand Americans die and we mourn for a year. That’s because we subconsciously ascribe “personhood” to our own, but those dying half a world away, while tragic in reality, do not rise to “personhood” except on an abstract level.
The point is, if we dehumanize people, it is easier to deal with them as unviable tissue mass or expendable non-persons who can be starved to death in service to the greater good, which “good” in too many cases turns out to be personal convenience. In a more practical sense, dehumanized persons are easier to ignore or be treated as objects of scorn as opposed to children made in the image of God.
Once a Pharisee had Jesus as a dinner guest, and in the middle of the meal a woman of ill repute approached Jesus. She wept at his presence and out of humility and remorse washed and anointed his feet, which in those days was the task relegated to the lowest of servants.
The Pharisee reacted as many religious people would. “Doesn’t he know what manner of woman this is who touches him?” He couldn’t see this woman as a child of God in need of redemption. He could only see her as a sinner and worthy of no respect. Jesus asked him, “Do you see this woman?” Obviously, the Pharisee saw her, but he failed to perceive her. He saw a wretch who was little better than a dog. Jesus saw a person with hurts, hopes, and dreams who was willing to change her life and follow her Savior wherever he would lead. The alabaster box of ointment that she poured on his feet was a precious heirloom usually intended as a dowry, and by this act she revealed her intent to give up her life for Christ.
I think of the question, “Do you see this woman?” when confronted with cases such as Terri Schiavo. The courts saw her as expendable because somewhere her status as a person had been undermined. From a utilitarian point of view she would cost society more than she could contribute, and apparently that was enough justification to condemn her to a slow, painful death by dehydration, a treatment that the courts would not tolerate for a condemned criminal or even the family dog.
Where others saw a sinner, Jesus saw a daughter of Abraham. Where others saw a stereotype, Jesus saw a life in need of redemption. Where others saw pesky children encumbering the Master, Jesus saw “persons” to whom belonged the kingdom of God. And where some see tissue mass, Jesus sees a precious life.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Hyphenated Americans
Not long ago someone asked a friend whose last name is as unusual as mine what nationality his name represented. His response: “American first. Missourian second.” That’s a line I’m going to remember. I’m getting really tired of people who insist on breaking us up into smaller and smaller demographic groups.
Why we do this in the country I don’t know. Other countries clearly do not. Is there such a thing as an African-Canadian? How about an Italio-Frenchman? Or a Swedo-Englishman?
Let’s stop this hyphenated crap and realize we’re in this together.
Why we do this in the country I don’t know. Other countries clearly do not. Is there such a thing as an African-Canadian? How about an Italio-Frenchman? Or a Swedo-Englishman?
Let’s stop this hyphenated crap and realize we’re in this together.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
My Complaint for Complaint-Free Wednesday
I know that my Congressman (Emanuel Cleaver) tried to get Congress to designate the day before Thanksgiving as a Complaint-Free day, but I couldn't resist this very obvious analysis from the American Spectator.
Read the documentation behind their assertions here: American Buffoon
Obama might be cultivating world opinion by insulting his own country in speech after speech and undermining its interests with his foreign policy, but the joke is on him. For his transparent disdain for other world leaders and customs is making him every bit the image of the buffoonish American president he tries so hard to convince the world he is not.
Read the documentation behind their assertions here: American Buffoon
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Pharisee Who Said Thank You
No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! (Job 12:22 NKJV)
Christians have a problem. We know. And we know that we know. And this knowing can get us into trouble. The Apostle Paul said that “knowledge puffs up” (I Cor. 8:1), and certainly those with lots of knowledge can become arrogant about it.
There was once a Pharisee who went into the temple to pray. Jesus tells us that this man gave a very special prayer of thanks. He said, “God, I thank you.” That’s a noble way to start a prayer. But notice what he thanked God for: “ … that I am not like other men.” (Luke 18:11).
Here was a man who on the outside appeared to be everything God expected him to be. He didn’t cheat people. He didn’t sleep around. He fasted. He tithed. He did all the right stuff. He might have been a pillar in his community, but Jesus strongly intimated that the man’s prayers weren’t heard, for he “prayed with himself” (v11) rather than to God. And although he seemed to be such a righteous fellow, I would bet that you would hate to have him for a neighbor, for he “despised others” (v 9). Very few, it seemed, could come up to a level of righteousness that was worthy of his friendship.
The Pharisee didn’t know it, but he succumbed to the curse of being too religious. He, as Paul warned the Corinthians, fell into the arrogance trap. He knew. He knew that he knew. And his knowledge puffed up his bullet-proof head to the point that he became obnoxious.
I fear that Christianity in America is developing the reputation of that Pharisee. We should be a voice crying in the wilderness, but too many are a shrill scream in the hallways. If we put forth the finger in accusation, we should also put away our own wickedness and care for the needy around us (Isa. 58:9-10).
From time to time one religious leader or another will call Christians to a National Day of Prayer. Yet morals still decline, politics is still corrupt, the dollar still degrades, and culture is still warped. Could it be that our prayers were like those of the Pharisee? “Thank you, God, that we are your people. Thank you that we aren’t like those politicians. Give us a leader who is worthy of us.” Were we praying within ourselves and not to God?
Our sin is as the sin of Sodom. There was more to their depravity than their sexual proclivities. Look at what Ezekiel said: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (Ezek 16:49-50 NIV)
She was arrogant. She was overfed. She was unconcerned. She did not help the poor and needy. She was haughty. Just like that Pharisee.
It is interesting that the church at Laodicea had the same litany of accusations against it: “I am rich and increased with goods. I am in need of nothing. I am comfortably lukewarm.” Yet they were truly poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:15-18).
There was another man praying when that Pharisee was in the temple. He was a publican, a despised member of the political establishment. Some considered him scum because of his chosen profession. Jesus tells us that he “stood afar off, and would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13)
Guess which man went home justified.
Perhaps instead of a National Day Prayer we would have been better served with a National Day of Repentance. “Oh God, be merciful to us, who are sinners. We humbly beseech you to heal our land. Change our hearts and make us instruments of your peace.”
Christians have a problem. We know. And we know that we know. And this knowing can get us into trouble. The Apostle Paul said that “knowledge puffs up” (I Cor. 8:1), and certainly those with lots of knowledge can become arrogant about it.
There was once a Pharisee who went into the temple to pray. Jesus tells us that this man gave a very special prayer of thanks. He said, “God, I thank you.” That’s a noble way to start a prayer. But notice what he thanked God for: “ … that I am not like other men.” (Luke 18:11).
Here was a man who on the outside appeared to be everything God expected him to be. He didn’t cheat people. He didn’t sleep around. He fasted. He tithed. He did all the right stuff. He might have been a pillar in his community, but Jesus strongly intimated that the man’s prayers weren’t heard, for he “prayed with himself” (v11) rather than to God. And although he seemed to be such a righteous fellow, I would bet that you would hate to have him for a neighbor, for he “despised others” (v 9). Very few, it seemed, could come up to a level of righteousness that was worthy of his friendship.
The Pharisee didn’t know it, but he succumbed to the curse of being too religious. He, as Paul warned the Corinthians, fell into the arrogance trap. He knew. He knew that he knew. And his knowledge puffed up his bullet-proof head to the point that he became obnoxious.
I fear that Christianity in America is developing the reputation of that Pharisee. We should be a voice crying in the wilderness, but too many are a shrill scream in the hallways. If we put forth the finger in accusation, we should also put away our own wickedness and care for the needy around us (Isa. 58:9-10).
From time to time one religious leader or another will call Christians to a National Day of Prayer. Yet morals still decline, politics is still corrupt, the dollar still degrades, and culture is still warped. Could it be that our prayers were like those of the Pharisee? “Thank you, God, that we are your people. Thank you that we aren’t like those politicians. Give us a leader who is worthy of us.” Were we praying within ourselves and not to God?
Our sin is as the sin of Sodom. There was more to their depravity than their sexual proclivities. Look at what Ezekiel said: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (Ezek 16:49-50 NIV)
She was arrogant. She was overfed. She was unconcerned. She did not help the poor and needy. She was haughty. Just like that Pharisee.
It is interesting that the church at Laodicea had the same litany of accusations against it: “I am rich and increased with goods. I am in need of nothing. I am comfortably lukewarm.” Yet they were truly poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:15-18).
There was another man praying when that Pharisee was in the temple. He was a publican, a despised member of the political establishment. Some considered him scum because of his chosen profession. Jesus tells us that he “stood afar off, and would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13)
Guess which man went home justified.
Perhaps instead of a National Day Prayer we would have been better served with a National Day of Repentance. “Oh God, be merciful to us, who are sinners. We humbly beseech you to heal our land. Change our hearts and make us instruments of your peace.”
Brian's Question
From the Lee's Summit Journal. Steve Stringberg's common sense needs to be heard.
http://www.lsjournal.com/104/story/39909.html
Excerpt:
http://www.lsjournal.com/104/story/39909.html
Excerpt:
Even with the additional burden it is possible to prepare for winter. Will it be easy? No, but we have to play the cards that are dealt. Do your financial planning and know time is still on your side.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Narcissism
Sandy Hotchkiss in her book Why Is It Always About You? lists what she calls the Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism. Wikipedia lists them as follows:
• Shamelessness - Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways.
• Magical thinking - Narcissists see themselves as perfect using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others.
• Arrogance - If a narcissist is feeling deflated, s/he can reinflate him/herself by diminishing, debasing or degrading somebody else.
• Envy - If the narcissist's need to secure a sense of superiority meets an obstacle because of somebody else, s/he neutralizes it using contempt to minimize the other person's ability.
• Entitlement - Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves uniquely special. Any failure to comply will be considered an attack on their superiority and the perpetrator is considered to be an "awkward" or "difficult" person. Defiance of their will is a narcissistic injury that can trigger narcissistic rage.
• Exploitation - can take many forms but always involves the using of others without regards for their feelings or interests. Often the other is in a subservient position where resistance would be difficult or even impossible. Sometimes the subservience is not so much real as assumed.
• Bad Boundaries - narcissists do not recognize that they have boundaries and that others are separate and are not extensions of themselves. Others either exist to meet their needs or may as well not exist at all. Those who provide narcissistic supply to the narcissist will be treated as if they are part of the narcissist and be expected to live up to those expectations. In the mind of a narcissist, there is no boundary between self and other.
It’s that last bullet point, Bad Boundaries, that is particularly dangerous. Every despot, petty or great, is afflicted with it. They have the will to enslave, or perhaps better said to, to devour others’ self respect and personal identity. If you want to fight the devil, fight narcissism in yourself and when you see it on display in the public square.
• Shamelessness - Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways.
• Magical thinking - Narcissists see themselves as perfect using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others.
• Arrogance - If a narcissist is feeling deflated, s/he can reinflate him/herself by diminishing, debasing or degrading somebody else.
• Envy - If the narcissist's need to secure a sense of superiority meets an obstacle because of somebody else, s/he neutralizes it using contempt to minimize the other person's ability.
• Entitlement - Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves uniquely special. Any failure to comply will be considered an attack on their superiority and the perpetrator is considered to be an "awkward" or "difficult" person. Defiance of their will is a narcissistic injury that can trigger narcissistic rage.
• Exploitation - can take many forms but always involves the using of others without regards for their feelings or interests. Often the other is in a subservient position where resistance would be difficult or even impossible. Sometimes the subservience is not so much real as assumed.
• Bad Boundaries - narcissists do not recognize that they have boundaries and that others are separate and are not extensions of themselves. Others either exist to meet their needs or may as well not exist at all. Those who provide narcissistic supply to the narcissist will be treated as if they are part of the narcissist and be expected to live up to those expectations. In the mind of a narcissist, there is no boundary between self and other.
It’s that last bullet point, Bad Boundaries, that is particularly dangerous. Every despot, petty or great, is afflicted with it. They have the will to enslave, or perhaps better said to, to devour others’ self respect and personal identity. If you want to fight the devil, fight narcissism in yourself and when you see it on display in the public square.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Comparison
He thinks Austrian is a language and wants to visit all 57 states, but at least he can spell potato.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
America's Prophet
Here’s a book to put on your winter reading list. It’s America’s Prophet: Moses and the American Story. Author Bruce Feiler draws on his Jewish and American roots to paint a compelling argument that America’s ideals and founding lie more in the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly the five Books of Moses, than in the New Testament.
This notion is not unique to Feiler, having been espoused by Heritage Foundation contributor Michael Novak. A 1973 study of by David Lutz and Charles Hyneman of the Revolutionary period writings pointed to a similar conclusion.
From Columbus to Bradford to Franklin, from Tubman to Lincoln, from Lady Liberty to Martin Luther King, says Feiler, is the story of Moses. Whether it be Moses the Liberator or Moses the Lawgiver or Moses the reluctant prophet, this prophet of the Jewish people provided the inspiration for most of the movements in our nation’s history that reinforced the concept of liberty under law.
This book is not just about interesting historical parallels, but the repeated citing of Moses and the Books of Moses by the movers of American History from its founding through the Presidential campaign of 2008.
Feiler gives us a much-needed reminder of the richness of our history, and he does so by celebrating both the blessings and responsibilities that freedom demands, while at the same time acknowledging both its honor and the warts.
As he closes his book, Feiler reminds us to remember. He refuses to surrender to the modern fad of blaming America first. He acknowledges our imperfections, but holds out the story of Moses who himself never reached the Promised Land, but whose teaching, examples, indeed the story fo his life pointed the way.
He reminds us to remember. Writes Feiler:
Destroy a nation’s history and you will destroy a nation. There are those among us who are attempting just that. Bruce Feiler is not one of them.
This notion is not unique to Feiler, having been espoused by Heritage Foundation contributor Michael Novak. A 1973 study of by David Lutz and Charles Hyneman of the Revolutionary period writings pointed to a similar conclusion.
From Columbus to Bradford to Franklin, from Tubman to Lincoln, from Lady Liberty to Martin Luther King, says Feiler, is the story of Moses. Whether it be Moses the Liberator or Moses the Lawgiver or Moses the reluctant prophet, this prophet of the Jewish people provided the inspiration for most of the movements in our nation’s history that reinforced the concept of liberty under law.
This book is not just about interesting historical parallels, but the repeated citing of Moses and the Books of Moses by the movers of American History from its founding through the Presidential campaign of 2008.
Feiler gives us a much-needed reminder of the richness of our history, and he does so by celebrating both the blessings and responsibilities that freedom demands, while at the same time acknowledging both its honor and the warts.
As he closes his book, Feiler reminds us to remember. He refuses to surrender to the modern fad of blaming America first. He acknowledges our imperfections, but holds out the story of Moses who himself never reached the Promised Land, but whose teaching, examples, indeed the story fo his life pointed the way.
He reminds us to remember. Writes Feiler:
“What will I tell my children about the meaning of Moses? First, the power of story. Exodus opens with a memorable statement: ‘A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.’ The story begins with forgetting. The pharaoh does not remember how a son of Israel saved Egypt from famine. The rest of the Five Books of Moses become an antidote to this state of forgetfulness. God hears the groaning of Israel and ‘remembers his covenant’ (Exodus 2:24). Moses leads the Israelites from Egypt and urges them to ‘remember this day (Exodus 13:3). The Israelites are ordered to ‘remember the Sabbath day’ (Exodus 20:8) and to observe Passover as a ‘day of remembrance’ (Exodus 12:14). Moses’ goal is to build a counter-Egypt. He must construct a society that offers an alternative to ignorance and unknowingness. He must devise a community that remembers. …
“I will tell my daughters that this is the meaning of the Moses story and why it has reverberated through the American story. America, it has been said, is a synonym for human possibility. I dream for you, girls, the privilege of that possibility. Imagine your own Promised Land, perform your own liberation, plunge into the waters, persevere through the dryness, and don’t be surprised – or saddened – if you’re stopped just short of your dream. Because the ultimate lesson of Moses’ life is that the dream does not die with the dreamer, the journey does not end on the mountaintop, and the true destination in a narrative of hope is not this year at all. But next.”
Destroy a nation’s history and you will destroy a nation. There are those among us who are attempting just that. Bruce Feiler is not one of them.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Those "Greedy" Insurance Companies
They make lots of profits from medical insurance, right? Recently I heard that medical coverage produced $8 billion in profits for insurance companies. Sounds like a lot, but let's look at the math.
There are 350 million Americans. Let's be generous and say that 50 million are uninsured. That means that 300 million Americans have insurance coverage. Doing a little long division, we find that the insurance companies make a profit of $23 per year per insured.
Yep. Sounds like price gouging to me.
There are 350 million Americans. Let's be generous and say that 50 million are uninsured. That means that 300 million Americans have insurance coverage. Doing a little long division, we find that the insurance companies make a profit of $23 per year per insured.
Yep. Sounds like price gouging to me.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Doesn't Pass the Smell Test
Let me see if I have this straight.
I read in the news today that Mr. Obama is going to send a diplomat to Pyongyang to negotiate with the North Koreans. But he has refused to meet with Congressional Republicans (despite repeated promises to do so) over health care legislation.
The Obama Administration protests and indeed tries to oust the Hondurans for upholding their constitution, but he won’t hold Iran to account for election fraud.
Mr. Obama tells the American people not to jump to conclusions over the Fort Hood Massacres by a man named Hasan, but he did jump to conclusions over a white police officer named Crowley.
On that last one, ABC News investigations reveal that Major Hasan had repeated contacts with a radical cleric known to be a recruiter for Al Qaeda.
Somethin's not smelling right, but if there is any solace in all this, it looks like ABC News is leaving the Obama Plantation.
I read in the news today that Mr. Obama is going to send a diplomat to Pyongyang to negotiate with the North Koreans. But he has refused to meet with Congressional Republicans (despite repeated promises to do so) over health care legislation.
The Obama Administration protests and indeed tries to oust the Hondurans for upholding their constitution, but he won’t hold Iran to account for election fraud.
Mr. Obama tells the American people not to jump to conclusions over the Fort Hood Massacres by a man named Hasan, but he did jump to conclusions over a white police officer named Crowley.
On that last one, ABC News investigations reveal that Major Hasan had repeated contacts with a radical cleric known to be a recruiter for Al Qaeda.
Somethin's not smelling right, but if there is any solace in all this, it looks like ABC News is leaving the Obama Plantation.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Prayer Lady
I was on the hospital gurney, buck naked except for one of those flimsy hospital gowns. As a nurse was preparing me for my procedures, an elderly woman, bent from age, peaked in the doorway. “I’m The Prayer Lady”, she announced. “I’m here to pray for you.”
I’m all in favor of prayer, but must confess to being a little startled and a lot surprised. Here I was, surrounded by some of the best medical personnel and equipment that science and technology can provide, and an elderly retired lady is allowed to roam the halls and interrupt whatever the science and equipment are doing in order to pray.
I said, “Let’s do it,” and, taking my hand, she prayed a gentle, short prayer that reflected all my anxieties. Moved by her words, I could feel tears in my eyes, not just out of gratitude, but more because I needed a reminder. In this jaded world I forget there are still caring people who dedicate their lives to living out the mandates they see in Scripture, and are willing to sacrifice in order to do so. These are the real heroes of whom we rarely hear, and they are among us in greater numbers than we might think. Their presence leavens the world with the light of God. Where would we be without them?
As she left the room joking and chirping I thought of Matthew 25. “Come you blessed of my Father and inherit the Kingdom. I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. ... I was sick and you visited me.”
Maybe I have a glimpse now of how Jesus must have felt when he saw the elderly widow drop her two coins in the temple treasury. She had little to give, but she gave what she had, and because she gave what she had she out-gave the wealthy.
I’m all in favor of prayer, but must confess to being a little startled and a lot surprised. Here I was, surrounded by some of the best medical personnel and equipment that science and technology can provide, and an elderly retired lady is allowed to roam the halls and interrupt whatever the science and equipment are doing in order to pray.
I said, “Let’s do it,” and, taking my hand, she prayed a gentle, short prayer that reflected all my anxieties. Moved by her words, I could feel tears in my eyes, not just out of gratitude, but more because I needed a reminder. In this jaded world I forget there are still caring people who dedicate their lives to living out the mandates they see in Scripture, and are willing to sacrifice in order to do so. These are the real heroes of whom we rarely hear, and they are among us in greater numbers than we might think. Their presence leavens the world with the light of God. Where would we be without them?
As she left the room joking and chirping I thought of Matthew 25. “Come you blessed of my Father and inherit the Kingdom. I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. ... I was sick and you visited me.”
Maybe I have a glimpse now of how Jesus must have felt when he saw the elderly widow drop her two coins in the temple treasury. She had little to give, but she gave what she had, and because she gave what she had she out-gave the wealthy.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Your Walter Mitty Moment
Walter Mitty was a fictional James Thurber character whose waking hours were spent in fantasy about himself. One moment he would imagine himself a war hero, in the next moment a great man about town. In another moment he would be a world-famous surgeon, in another an inscrutable secret agent. Through his fantasies he was saved from a life of quiet blandness.
Ever have a Walter Mitty moment? Peter sure did. “Let’s go to Jerusalem and die with him.” “Far be it from you, Lord, that you should be arrested! We have two swords here!” “Sure, I’ll walk on water.” But for Peter, unlike Walter Mitty, reality trumped fantasy, for he fled at the first sign of danger and lost faith when faced with the storms of life. That often happens with a Walter Mitty moment.
Yet I wonder where we would be without our Walter Mitty moments. “Where there is no vision, the people perish”, says the proverb. Without the dream of a new, free land, the Pilgrims would have stayed in Holland. Without the dream of liberty and justice for all, many of our citizens would still be shackled in slavery. Without the dream that all should know God, Christianity would be a minor Jewish sect.
Without our dreams we would all be condemned to the life of Walter Mitty. For Walter Mitty’s fantasies never went beyond the tiny box of his brain. His fantasies never became dreams.
Have a vision. Grasp it in your mind. Transfer it to your hands and heart. Have your Walter Mitty moment and make it happen.
Lenny C.
Ever have a Walter Mitty moment? Peter sure did. “Let’s go to Jerusalem and die with him.” “Far be it from you, Lord, that you should be arrested! We have two swords here!” “Sure, I’ll walk on water.” But for Peter, unlike Walter Mitty, reality trumped fantasy, for he fled at the first sign of danger and lost faith when faced with the storms of life. That often happens with a Walter Mitty moment.
Yet I wonder where we would be without our Walter Mitty moments. “Where there is no vision, the people perish”, says the proverb. Without the dream of a new, free land, the Pilgrims would have stayed in Holland. Without the dream of liberty and justice for all, many of our citizens would still be shackled in slavery. Without the dream that all should know God, Christianity would be a minor Jewish sect.
Without our dreams we would all be condemned to the life of Walter Mitty. For Walter Mitty’s fantasies never went beyond the tiny box of his brain. His fantasies never became dreams.
Have a vision. Grasp it in your mind. Transfer it to your hands and heart. Have your Walter Mitty moment and make it happen.
Lenny C.
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