A Soft Answer

A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

 

My Internet service used to be relatively unreliable when I was running it through a cheap, discount store-bought modem.  Due to my daughter's graduate school needs, however, I upgraded several months ago to a better system through my Internet provider.  Since that time, my Internet access has been mostly perfect.

 

Today my daughter went to the gym for her weekend workout with her trainer.  She discovered, at the end of her session, that some things that were promised to her when she signed the very expensive personal training contract were not, in fact, the current policy of the gym.  It appears that it was a "policy" to get her to sign on the dotted line rather than an actual reality.  This circumstance was going to cause some hardship for her over the next two months, and she did not take the news well.  In fact, she blew her top.  After spouting her dissatisfaction to the powers that be, she drove home - calling me on the way to berate the injustices of the system.  I had warned her about this particular gym from previous experience with similar problems, but I managed to keep my mouth shut and just listen.

 

After she arrived home, she grabbed her lap top and proceeded to write a letter to the head of the gym division that is at the root of her problem.  A few minutes later, she asked to read it to me.  When she was finished, I suggested that she wait a bit, calm down, then remove some (all?) of the harsh vitriol from her writing to make it more effective.  She was having none of it.  They deserved her wrath and were going to get it.  She punched the send button, and.... nothing happened.  She tried to send the email again.  It just sat there.  "Mother," she said, "the Internet is not working!"

We went in to the office and fiddled with the network settings on the main desktop, fiddled with her laptop, and then rebooted the modem.  Nothing.  I was leaving to go on a hike, so suggested she wait a while and then try again.  She waited a half hour and tried again.  No luck.  She went about some other tasks, then came back to the email, rebooted again and tried to send it.  As she stewed in frustration over the lack of service, she began to reread the letter, and my advice to tone it down came back to her.  She removed the harsh words and accusations, and added a paragraph apologizing for losing her temper in the gym earlier in the day.

 

When she had finished her revisions, she read through the letter once again, then hit the SEND button.  The usual movement of disappearing email flashed across the screen as her letter sailed into cyberspace.  The Internet was working just fine.

 

What's Your Hurry?

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,

gentleness and patience.

Colossians 3:12

 

I was driving home today from an afternoon of banking and errands, driving in the fast lane of the parkway that is my most direct route home.  The speed limit had just increased to 60 mph (a speed most of us had been doing long before it changed), when we became backed up behind a driver in a little blue Kia Rio, going the speed limit in the fast lane (heaven forbid!).  I pulled into the middle lane, and gradually increased my speed to 65 (only 5 over!). 

I happened to notice in my rear view mirror a large silver car flying down the fast lane behind the Kia.  When the driver realized that there was a slowdown, she looked for the tiniest sliver of space to cram her car into in order to move over.  No such space existed.  She then moved up so that the front bumper of her Chevy Malibu was about two feet behind the back bumper of the Kia, and just sat there.  When that intimidation tactic didn't have the desire effect, she began to lay on the horn.  The lady in the Rio finally increased her speed so that she could pull into the middle lane, and the woman in the Malibu tore off down the road, quickly leaving the rest of us behind.

 

What in the world happens to human beings when they get behind the wheel of an automobile?  Where does the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience go when we have our hands on a steering wheel?  What was so urgent for Ms. Get-Out-Of-My-Way-Now that would cause her to drive so rudely and so dangerously?  The experience certainly brought me up short - reminding me that every other driver on the road is just as precious to God as I am.  He expects me to love them the way I love myself ALL the time - including the times when I am driving.

Judgment

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,

 so that each one may receive what is due

 for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

2 Corinthians 5:10

 

Yesterday, July 10, in a packed courtroom in Boston, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, pleaded Not Guilty to each of the 30 charges against him, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction.  If those in the courtroom - including police, media, survivors, and the families of the victims - expected to see a young man who was scared, humbled and remorseful, they were sadly disappointed.  The suspect was described by those in observance as "bored, nonchalant, and smug."  His sisters were in attendance, and he had smiles and kisses for them. Those sitting behind him - the survivors of the Marathon bombings - never received as much as a glance. 

I am not surprised that this young man is taking a devil-may-care attitude.  The motivations for the attack were cemented in his character long before the bombs actually went off.  He knew exactly what he was doing, and he did it with terrifying efficiency.  It has been reported that he scribbled the why's and wherefore's for his actions on the inside of the boat in which he was hiding.  I'm sure these writings will eventually be revealed during his trial.  

At times like this, I think it would be wonderful if God could come down and take a seat in the courtroom.  We only have the outward actions of this young man to judge him by.  God, on the other hand, sees past the exterior into the issues and motivations of the heart.  He knows exactly what was going on in Tsarnaev's head - facts that both the prosecution and the defense would love to be privy to.

The Apostle Paul says that every individual on earth will eventually appear before God's throne of judgment to answer for what we have done in our time here on earth.  We will be judged by His Law - the law that He broke down into two understandable precepts:

1. Love God with all your heart and soul
2. Love your fellow human beings (neighbor) as you love yourself.

I have no idea what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's relationship with God was or is, but his actions on April 15 reveal a young man who had no regard whatsoever for the lives of his neighbors:  the men, women and children on the streets of Boston.  

Anger and the Soccer Field - South American Style

But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, 

you will be liable to judgment...

Matthew 5:22

 

If you had been in Maranhao, Brazil last Sunday, you definitely would not have wanted to take in the local amateur soccer game (known as football in South America).

 

Apparently footballer Josenir dos Santos Abreu (age 30) got into a heated argument with referee Otavio Jordan da Silva (online reports give his age as 20, but the photographs look like a kid about 15).  Santos was angry about one of the ref's calls, and when that anger erupted during the shouting match, da Silva ordered the player off the field.  Abreu refused to leave, began insulting the ref, and then struck him.  The ref struck back, stabbing Abreu with a knife that he had apparently been carrying throughout the game (I did not realize that was standard equipment for referees).  Abreu was rushed to the hospital, but died of his wounds in route.

 

A senseless tragedy, right?  Believe me, it gets far worse.  The fans were now furious at the disruption of their game, as well as the loss of one of their players.  So a group of spectators from the stands (reportedly including Abreu's family and friends) cornered the referee Otavio, tied him up, beat him, stoned him, lynched him, and (hopefully after he was dead) decapitated and quartered him.  Then they put his head on a stake and placed it in the middle of the football field.  All this "action" was, of course, videoed by onlookers utilizing their cell phones. It appears that no one tried to stop the carnage.

 

Flaring anger and knock down-drag out fights are nothing new to amateur and professional sports.  After all, much of the brutality is viewed as entertainment by the audience. The tragedy in Maranhao, Brazil, however, gives a clear indication of what can happen when a situation erupts within a culture that places very little value on human life.  Brazil is less than a year away from hosting the 2014 World Cup.  I hardly think this was the international press coverage that they were hoping for.

 

Anger is a basic human emotion.  Learning to control one's temper is one of the early lessons we teach our children.  We want them to understand that anger has a way of blossoming into rage, and unchecked rage leads to hatred.  To lose control of your anger is to lose control of yourself.

 

In Memorium: The Yarnell 19

Greater love has no one than this: 

to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:13 

A devastating wildfire that claimed the lives

 of 19 fire-fighters from an elite 'Hotshot' crew based in 

Prescott, Arizona has engulfed more than 8,370 acres, 

according to state officials.

~Tim Walker, The Independent

I am an Arizona girl - born and bred.  I was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and was adopted by a couple who were from the Prescott area.  Although we made our home in the Valley of the Sun, Grandma still lived above the heat line in Prescott, so we spent a significant amount of our summer vacation "up the mountain."   Before the I-17 freeway was constructed, we traversed an old dirt road that wound from Phoenix to Prescott - a route that took us up and over Yarnell Hill.  The memories of those times are clear as a bell:  Our 1954 Chevy station wagon (no AC, of course!) with every available window rolled down, loaded with our parents, three kids, a dog, and a parakeet in a cage on my lap.  The cage was covered with a damp cloth that would provide the bird with a kind of evaporative cooling.  We all held our breath as the car chugged up that hill, hoping and praying that the Chevy would not overheat in the brutal summer sun.

The photograph above is of a home burning in the town of Yarnell where 19 men lost their lives on Sunday as fire crews fought a massive lightning-triggered blaze that suddenly turned on them.  The inferno killed almost the entire Prescott-based crew known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots.   A recent profile in the Prescott Daily Courier described the Hotshots as “an elite ground fire-fighting crew known for their innovative problem-solving and history of safe, aggressive fire suppression."  The average age of the firefighters was 22 [The Independent].

On this bright, beautiful Independence Day holiday, I would like to pay tribute to the 19 young men who gave their lives to protect their neighbors' lives and property.  I would ask for your prayers:

• For the families of the fallen crew - parents, spouses, children.  
• For the remaining firefighters who are battling a blaze that is still completely out of control. 
• For the families of Yarnell and neighboring towns who have lost their homes and possessions

If you would like to donate to the families of the fallen men:

• The Arizona Diamondbacks major league baseball organization is asking for $19 donations that the organization will match up to $100,000.  You can donate at:  dbacks.com/donate
•  The United Phoenix Fire Association. All of the proceeds raised will go directly to the families of the fallen. To donate, mail a donation to United Phoenix Fire Association, 61 E. Columbus St., Phoenix, AZ 85012.  Indicate that your donation is for the families of the Yarnell 19.

Yarnell 19

Rest In Peace

Facing Your Fear

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,

for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

 

Last week I went to spend some time with my oldest daughter who lives on the East Coast.  She had taken Monday and Tuesday off work (an unbelievable event!), so I took the train up on Sunday so that we would have full use of both days.

Monday morning did not quite go as planned, however.  She received a text from a friend, early in the morning, asking if she had seen the email sent out from her firm.  She had not, but quickly logged on to read it.  It was, to say the least, a shock.  Her firm was in the midst, that very day, of a huge layoff - of major players as well as minor ones.  The email was cordial but concrete - everyone would find out later that day whether they were in or out.

My daughter was on vacation (a blessing, perhaps?), so she was not right there in the midst of the storm.  It would be early afternoon before she was given word "for sure" that her job was safe.  During the intervening hours of the morning, I watched her juggle her Blackberry, her phone, and her email as she tried to keep up with the revelations of who was in and who was out.  It was a morning of great drama, but it was also a morning laced with a dose of fear.  Although she was pretty sure that she would have a job the next day, there certainly was a chance that she would not.

I thought about this text from Isaiah quite a bit during those anxious hours.  I contemplated first of all what this text does not say:  

• I, God, will make this go away
• I, God, will protect you from any bad things happening to you.
• I, God, will make sure you keep your job (your house, your spouse, your health...)  

It would be wonderful, I suppose, if God did promise that, but He does not. So what exactly is God promising here?

• You do not need to be afraid or dismayed - for any reason.  There is no provision for extra-special circumstances when you need to fear. This is a command:  (YOU) fear not. 
• I, God, am not only God, I am YOUR God.
• I, God, will strengthen you - whatever the circumstances.     
• I, God, will help you - whatever the problems.
• I, God, will hold you in My hand - I will be there.

For a person like me who has been fearful practically from birth, the idea - the command - that I do not need to fear at any time is a pretty tall order.  When fear strikes, however, I try to remember what God said to Joshua at the very beginning of his leadership of the nation of Israel:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, 

for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9