Before I retired, I remember attending worship with a different congregation while on vacation. I remember the pastor spoke very eloquently about a very fitting topic: being judgmental toward others. As I reflected on that sermon, even today I felt the preacher was right on track and got me thinking.
When I was a young child, my blond hair was nearly white. My blue eyes shown bluer when I wore blue shirts. My teeth were a bit crooked. And one ear didn’t have creases like most ears do.
There is a story of how several years ago a teacher assigned to visit children in a large city hospital received a routine call requesting that she visit a particular child. She took the boy’s name and room number and was told, “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so he doesn’t fall behind the others.”
One of the hats I wear is that of a chaplain for the local police department. Among other responsibilities, one I have is to accompany officers when there is a need to deliver the bad news of the death of a loved one.
You/Me. Us/Them. We/They. After I finished reading the newspapers this morning, I found myself reflecting that very much in our society seems to be based on a contest.
At the beginning of the school lunch line was a basket of delicious-looking red apples. There was a sign above the basket that read, “One apple per student. Remember God is watching you.” At the far end of the line was a basket of homemade chocolate chip cookies with a sign that said, “One cookie per person.” A student had written, “Take all you want. God is watching the other end of the line.”
