Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Failure
* Scripture: But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached (Jesus) and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." (Luke 10:40, NKJV)

One would think that holiday seasons would be the happiest times of the year. Not so, many researchers suggest. Rather than times of relaxation and rejoicing, remembrance and celebration, holidays are periods of intense stress for many people. Why so?
For one thing, there are many Marthas in this world, "soul kindred," distracted with much serving. This is one of those 'tight rope' areas, I know. We walk a very narrow line, here, between duty and dereliction. Balance is a key word. Should Mary have helped Martha? Probably. Would Jesus have severely criticized Martha if something wasn't perfect, like if the towels didn't match, or if the table cloth had a spot on it? Probably not. It's all about friendship, not fatigue!
Martha doesn't seem to share in the joy of this occasion. She appears to be rather stressed out, fearing failure as a good hostess. Was Jesus perhaps there to be pampered, or to critique Martha's hospitality for a five-star rating? I doubt it. Perhaps He was instead thinking, "Hey, I came for a visit, let's enjoy it."
Failure is "laboring for the wind," claims the 'Preacher" of Ecclesiastes, to eat in darkness, with much sorrow and sickness and anger. (Ecc. 5:16-17)
There is likely little that you can do to make an old grouch satisfied. The grouch is longing, expecting to eat in darkness, with much sorrow and sickness and anger, and will go to extremes to obtain his goal. Like a pig, if you wallow in their mud, you will both end up 'dirty.' So move on down the street; let the pig - er, grouch, wallow in bitterness and self-pity.
Life is too short to wallow in bad things when there are so many good things to celebrate.
Many people have the "movie set syndrome." On-screen, the camera shows perfection, the perfect house, the ideal standard to strive for. It is instead just a front, a sham, a wall with nothing but props behind it to hold it up. You wouldn't, you shouldn't want to live there. Do you have four walls - and a roof? Be glad!
I recall the quotation:

"A man's reach must exceed his grasp,
else what's a heaven for."

It is one thing to be inspired, to strive, yet,

"Ideals are stars to guide us,
not clubs with which to beat ourselves."

Striving, reaching is not by itself our downfall, but to be consumed by striving for the truly impossible without rejoicing in the possible - that is failure.
We are, perhaps, at times like the mice that I sometimes find in my barn. They have acquired the food supply of their wildest dreams - at the bottom of the grain barrel, from which there is no escape.
Failure is like climbing a mountain, only to be stopped by an impassable obstacle, then, to gaze dismally at the peak, out of reach, rather than turning and rejoicing in the view from the height that you have attained.
Failure is to worry, worry, worry about your next breath, when you should be rejoicing about the breaths that you have already taken.
True failure is to wallow in despair over what has not been done, instead of rejoicing over what has been accomplished.
Failure is anger at what has been lost, rather than joy at what has been found.
Failure is like standing at the door, frustrated, with a dead battery in your radio car keyset, when all you need to do is to insert the key in the lock, the old fashioned way.
Rejoice! It shall be opened.
Do not be distracted by much serving and striving for the winds of the world.
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.
December 31, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Housecleaning
* Scripture: Jesus said, “Have you never read in the scriptures,: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’ ” Matthew 21:42, NKJV

There is an old adage that cautions against “throwing out the baby with the bath water.” Many times in haste, or distaste, something of value is thrown out, turned aside, or relegated to nothingness.
There is the story of a man who confided to an associate that he had thrown out an old Bible, because, he said, “ Some guy named Martin Luther had written in the margins all through it.”
One of the fascinations for many viewers of the “Antiques Roadshow” on television is finding that many items that are deemed to be of no value by some people are considered to be worth a lot of money by others. We may even dream of finding that rare painting, an article of furniture by a renowned craftsman, or a letter by an early patriot.
More often, though, the people who clean out the attics and closets of a lifetime collection see it only as the flotsam and jetsam of a person who no longer has need for the stuff, while they have no clue as to the memories, heritage, or intrinsic values it holds. An old book is just an old book, especially if someone has written in the margins.
Housecleaning needs to be done, there is no question about that. However, we need to be wary of indiscriminate zeal that condemns everything to the dumpster. It might not be the baby that is thrown out, but beauty - and value - might be hidden by the “mote’ in your own eye, and not seen and appreciated for what it truly is.
Sometimes society does a “house-cleaning,” too, casting aside people, races, nationalities, or ideals, relegating them to nothingness. Jesus faced this prejudice, as evidenced by John 1:46, where Nathanael said of Him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (NKJV)
Shepherds were way down on the social ladder in Jesus’ day, yet it was to the shepherds that the first announcement of the Messiah’s birth was made.
Common folk - Galileeans, fishermen, tax collectors, unlearned men by the standards of the religious leaders in Jerusalem - made up Jesus’ inner circle, yet He chose them from God’s viewpoint, and not that of society.
A Samaritan, rather than the priest and Levite, is the better neighbor to a man in need in the parable of the Good Samaritan; a poor beggar is gathered to Abraham’s bosom in heaven, while the rich man is condemned to the flames below. Think about these things - and more - from God’s viewpoint. Jesus did the will of His Father, so follow Him!
Remember, those who thought they were building the “proper” society did not see the value in God’s Son.
May 15, 2005