Shade Tree Wisdom 4/22/10

I step out of the door into a cool morning that promises to be another fine day. The air is calm, the surroundings are quiet, all I can hear is birds twittering and the far-off roar of traffic. My world is quiet, serene, peaceful.

Then I finish my walk, wave to the driver of the big yellow box, have breakfast and our morning devotions, and sit down with the morning paper.

I read about a fire on a drilling platform in the Gulf with 11 men still missing, and a couple found tied up and shot in their ransacked home, a person shooting into a crowd and killing a talented student who had plans, and governments everywhere scrambling to meet bloated budgets and dealing with financial crisis, and our President having to select a Justice for the Supreme Court.

So my quiet, serene peaceful world is out of wack. Is it any wonder St. Paul urges us to Pray when He writes to Timothy (I Tim 2,1.2.3.) “I exhort therefore, that first if all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”

And to the Roman Christians he had written this (Rom. 13, 1.2.) MSG “Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it is God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the State, then you’re irresponsible to God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get away with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.”

What came to mind was the poem by Josiah Gilbert Holland, so

Give Us Men

by Josiah Gilbert Holland

God give us men; a time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands.
Men whom the lust of office cannot kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue,
And brave his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog,
In public duty and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with its thumb-worn creeds,
Its large professions, and its little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife – O! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.

Let’s always remember Who it is who controls, directs, and blesses. That God is yet present, as He promised the disciples. So we can still sing joyfully,

“Like a mighty army, moves the Church of God,
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.”

And never lose heart, because “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

GPD 4/22/10