Skip to main content

Manure

             However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— ( I Corinthians 2:9)

 

            There’s  story about two little boys, both given a shovel and put in a room with a pile of manure. The first boy great angry and wanted out. The other book dug energetically, saying that with as manure as there was, there had to be a pony somewhere. And we all laugh at the naivete of the busy boy, because we’re the angry one. Sooner or later, he’ll learn that life has lots of manure, but not many ponies. I would probably be the angry little boy, and part of my anger would be that someone had made a mess of a perfectly good room. The other part would be anger because no one told me where to shovel the manure to – no doors or windows were open. How could I be a good little boy and help out if no one tells me what to do? And I would agree with those who said that the happy boy is nuts!

            That’s sort of the situation Paul described to the Corinthian church. There’s not just a pony! There’s a whole lot more! But it’s so hard to keep focused on the pony when the room is full of excrement.  When we’re in pain, we don’t want to hear “It’ll all be OK, God will work it out for your good.” In fact, people get angry when we say it – even if we don’t say it to them! How dare we dismiss the pain the other person is feeling? We need to let them stew in their pain until they’re ready to climb out onto a log and let the sewage that covers their wings to drip off.

            I’m not suggesting that we should give a rousing peptalk form the moment we meet them in their despair. I’m not even really suggesting how  you should help others deal with their horse manure. This is about how you and I deal with our horse manure. You know which little boy you tend to be. If you are the angry one, can you open  your mind toward the possibility that God might have a good reason or even a blessing in the works? If you’re the happy one, do what you need to do to be realistic without losing your joy.

            God has promised to bless us. It may not come when, where, how, or why we want it to, but we need to hold on to the possibility that He might, even today, give us more goodness than we can imagine. Today, right now, can you imagine that God wants good for you, not to treat you like a mole to whack. If not, can you find someone who can encourage you?

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more