Shade Tree Wisdom 6/9/08

In a Bible class at a church I was serving as visiting pastor. The class asked me what I preferred to be called. They were having trouble pronouncing my last name. So I recited this ditty:
“Call me Preacher, if you will,
Call me Pastor, better still,
Preacher, Pastor, Shepherd, Friend,
Names and titles without end,
But how that man my heart doth rend,
Who blithely calls me ‘reverend’.

So they settled on Pastor.

It’s a good choice because it describes and makes a statement of purpose too. It’s good to be precise. It’s healthy to be exact. It is correct. And no one can then wonder what is meant.

I thought of that recently when I was replacing some summer shirts. Did you know you’ve got to be sure they have a breast pocket? Many are made without, and I need a pocket. I find it useful. The change saves the manufacturer money, of course. (Money that he often loses because the ship on which the shipment is coming is on a waiting list to unload!)

So many changes are subtle and often go unnoticed. Remember when suddenly cans of coffee were 14 ounces, not a pound any more? Cost, about the same.

Now and then at night when I shut this machine down it tells me not to. It will shut down by itself after it has made certain changes and additions to the programs. And I am not even aware of what happened to make it better.

Did you know when the waiter sets that glass of ice water on the napkin it will soon stick to the paper, unless you first shake a little salt down before setting the glass down. Then the glass does not stick. A Chemist can probably tell me why, but it is true. But, the salt makes a subtle change.

And that is what this leads to. Experiments show that you can set a frog into a pan of water and set that to heat, and the frog will boil to death before he jumps to safety because the change is so gradual. What a cruel thing to do. It is, really, isn’t it?

But it’s exactly what the devil does with faith. He makes little changes, sets the attention on non-essentials, things that don’t matter, or are not important, just so the essential, the saving faith in Jesus Christ, is left out or set aside.

I think of a church that nearly came to blows over choice of paint for the fellowship room. Everyone agreed it needed painting, but what color? Things were getting ugly when one member bought paint, at night he and several friends set to work and painted that room. The next morning it was done. Everybody agreed it was a nice choice, and peace descended.

C S Lewis in his Screwtape Letters tries to give examples of Satan at work. And most of that work is just misdirection. But that truth remains. “The devil, like a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” And it is the faith you learn from the Holy Bible. So be armed.

GPD 6/9/08