Category: Something to Think About

Let’s think about this together!

What Were They Thinking?

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;” Ephesians 6:16

Plumbata
Roman Plumbata (from Wikipedia) 
lawn dart
Lawn Dart

Recently I was studying the Apostle Paul’s description of spiritual armor in Ephesians chapter six. I wanted to know more about the “darts” of verse 16. I found an example of an ancient Roman dart in a museum. The longer I looked at it, the more it reminded me of a “lawn dart” from my childhood. (“Lawn darts” are now illegal in the United States, although you can still buy semi-automatic weapons and own a flame-thrower in most states.) It’s almost the exact same size and shape!

Isn’t it amazing that most of us survived into adulthood from the 50’s and 60’s? I remember when it was standard operating procedure to load all the kids and the dog into the back of the station wagon for a long family trip cross country. No seat-belts, headrests or padded dashboards required. What were they thinking?

Now we have laws and regulations, consumer protection bureaus and product safety commissions to protect us but there is a far greater danger and no one seems to care. We pay attention to protecting our bodies but not our souls.

When we were children, we had our dads and our moms to watch over us and they did as they best knew how. They might have warned us and scolded us but ultimately, our safety depended on our obedience.

The same is true today spiritually. God – our heavenly Father – disciplines us (Hebrews 12:7) but our safety ultimately depends on our obedience.

Hey! Does anyone want to play lawn darts?

Black Friday

In 1274 A.D. a hospital called “St. Mary of Bethlehem” was established in England. Two centuries later the hospital was converted into an insane asylum. In those days, care of the mentally ill was cruel and closely akin to prison. All day long the screams and shouts and pleas poured out of the doors and windows. It was a sad place of chaos and confusion and the name “Bethlehem” – the house of peace – was corrupted into “Bedlam” and a new word found its way into the English language.

Jan and I found ourselves in Arizona the day after Thanksgiving – on “Black Friday.” Because there is an hour difference between California and Arizona, we were wide-awake at 4:00 A.M. and decided to go to the mall and see what all the shopping fuss was all about. It was cold, raining and pitch black but still we had trouble finding a place to park. Some people had actually camped out on the sidewalk the night before just to be there for the race to the discounted television sets! Insanity ruled as crass consumerism ran unbridled through the mall. Wrong size? Just throw it on the floor and keep excavating. Coupons filled the air. Christmas carols blared and tempers flared.

We sat back and watched the show. There were the scientific shoppers who knew what they wanted and had carefully scouted the terrain the day before. There were team players as mom guarded the shopping cart and sent her minions on missions of consumption. “Mine! Mine! Mine!” It reminded me of a flock of sea gulls fighting over a hot dog bun at the beach. I’d like to report that we rose above the fray but alas I walked out with three pairs of shoes and a microwave gadget that makes hard-boiled eggs “without the messy shell.”

A few years ago Jan and I visited Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Bethlehem is famous for her ancient olive trees and even today shepherds tend their sheep in the hills below the village. And even though there is a massive, ancient church there commemorating the place of the birth of the Lord, it isn’t hard to imagine what it must have been like the night Christ was born. Yes, there was the chaos of the crowded village outside, but in the cave (for caves are still used as stables there), in a stone manger lined with straw, a tiny baby was tightly wrapped in swaddling clothes. That child brought hope and salvation into the world in the most wondrous way. I can’t help but smile as I meditate on that moment and I wish the bedlam of Black Friday could be transformed back into the peace of Bethlehem.