Syrup
Recognizing the demonic and the self-centeredness of addictions. Syrup “Get yer Zinger syrup here!” the squealing voice cried. “A special syrup for every need!” Crowds of shoppers gathered around the vendor’s trolley on the street corner to inspect the promising miracle syrup. Some “ooohed” and others grimaced at the high priced bottles. The sharp-nosed, black-capped vendor hustled from one customer to the next, stooping under the trolley then back up again, always with just the right bottle for each desire. Some shoppers crinkled their noses and turned away. Others lingered, glancing furtively over their shoulders, and eventually bought. A…
Not Impressed with Academy Awards
Forgive me for no longer being impressed with the Academy Awards. It’s not that they rarely pick what I think should be best picture. And it’s not that the movie industry narcissistically congratulates itself with endless awards. It’s because I’m getting spoiled by seeing things from heaven’s view. Heaven is not impressed. As I’m writing Roxanne Wermuth’s story on going to heaven, I’m that much more aware that on the other side, the Academy Awards (and most other things on earth) do not matter. Should they really matter to us? The self-congratulatory attitude of Hollywood only sharpens my–and the Bible’s–view. Luke 16:15…
Sir John Uptown
Pride and being humbled. Sir John Uptown Sir John Upton was an esquire, though the title was unearned. He wasn’t English and he had no hope to be a knight or nobleman. But he felt worthy of the titles “Sir” and “Esquire,” and he added them to his name whenever he wrote it. He practiced—or rather, ruled—law from the Trinitarian pinnacle of the firm, Esquire, Esquire, and Esquire. The name gave proud recognition to his father, himself, and his son, who was actually still in middle school. Sir John—or if you were not well acquainted, it was, “Sir John…
The Pity of Little Love
Courtesy of The Guardian We’ve gotten used to reports of Islamists attacking non-Muslim infidels. But I also read of Sunnis killing Shiites. 65 killed, 175 injured, lots of women and children, were just blasted by remote control in a crowded marketplace in northern Pakistan. And the inter-Muslim killing goes on in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extremists don’t just hate non-Muslims. They hate anyone who doesn’t adhere to their brand of it. It reminds me of years past when the Catholics and Protestants of Northern Ireland were killing each other, but never in such large numbers and not so incessantly. They…
Praying for Rain
We may pray for something but not be happy when we get an answer. Praying for Rain The sky stretched a deep blue from horizon to horizon. Not a cloud. Just blue sky and the sun. Farm fields don’t do well with only sun. The fields of the Smiths, the Joneses, the Andersons, and the McCoys got more dried, cracked, and dusty every day. One night they all got together. “You know,” Smith said in his oversized bib overalls, “we’re goin’ to lose all our crops.” “We gotta do somethin’,” McCoy muttered, his round face contorting behind a handlebar…
