They Call Me Mr. Brightside: Finding the Positive in the Negative
Apparently, I am in danger of losing my membership in the Eternal Optimists Club due to my recent less-than-cheery communications. This is an attempt to correct my course.
I have decided to list 10 negative things and look on the bright side of each. (I know I can do this.) So here goes…
- My truck was stolen, BUT at least no one was in it at the time.
- I have not been deployed to a storm since November, BUT my own house has not been hit by one either.
- My grandson lives in Colorado, so I cannot just see him any time I want. BUT, I have a grandson and he lives in Colorado.
- I am still carrying around 30 pounds more than I want, BUT I am eating well.
- I sometimes cannot think of a word I want to use when I am writing, BUT I can usually think of a suitable synonym.
- The bright red Chevrolet Cobalt I am driving looks like a blood blister and feels like (after driving my roomy four-door Dodge Ram for five years) I have moved out of a sprawling estate into an economy apartment, BUT the heater and radio work fine, so I can keep warm and listen to the Ticket.
- The Cowboys, once again, are not in the Super Bowl, BUT Jerry Jones has decided if we cannot go to the mountain, the mountain will come to us…next year.
- My goatee is nearly 100% gray now, negatively impacting my youthful look; BUT the hair on my head seems to be hanging in there
- I am not that great at taking life’s lemons and making lemonade, BUT I don’t really like lemonade that much anyway.
- I may be losing my membership in the Eternal Optimists Club, BUT there is always The Jelly of the Month Club, and that is “the gift that keeps on giving.”
There. See? I’m Mr. Brightside.
And now, in support of my new outlook, I introduce a fellow optimist and her sweet ukulele…
Isn’t she sweet? And doesn’t it seem like she almost believes every word of that song?
Keep on the sunny side, friends.
Mr. Brightside, signing off.
Don’t Fly Away
(Part Four of a four-part series.)
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment…
If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for
conciliation pacifies great offenses.
Ecclesiastes 10:1a,4
Contempt for authority! Just another fly in the ointment. Stand by the water cooler this week and I am sure you will hear plenty of grumbling and complaining about the person in charge. He is too harsh, too narrow-minded, too unrealistic in his expectations, too out of touch with reality…ad nauseum. Grumbling about authority – whether it is our national leaders, coaches, teachers, or bosses – is a favorite American pastime.
But there is the person who allows himself (herself) to become so bent by his (her) boss that he (she) just ups and quits. They throw up their hands and walk away.
Solomon urges you to take a deep breath. Maybe count to ten, if you must. Get alone and pray for the strength and grace to deal with your unreasonable superior. But don’t make a hasty decision in a heated moment. Don’t do in a fit of rage what you may regret when the smoke clears.
Again, I like the way the New Century Version puts it: “Don’t leave your job just because your boss is angry with you. Remaining calm solves great problems.”
That is sound advice. Sure, it may mean swallowing a little pride. But it may salvage a relationship, or save your job, and thereby secure your future.
There may arise a situation from which you must separate yourself. But make your decision prayerfully and deliberately, not hastily or in anger.
God bless your week…and beware of the water cooler gang!
A Prayer for Today: “Father, it is not easy to remain calm in a situation that makes me so tense and angry. But I pray for the strength to do and be right regardless of what those around me – or even those above me – are doing. May the way I handle adversity bring honor to You and peace and security to me. Amen.”
Devotional: Flies in the Ointment
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. ~Ecclesiastes 10:1 [NKJV]
Imagine presenting your lover with the gift of the latest, most exquisite perfume on the market. Imagine the look of anticipation as she tears the wrapping paper away to reveal the ornate bottle of precious ointment. Imagine as she squirts a bit of the precious liquid onto her neck, expecting the sweet, scintillating aroma to waft on the air.
Imagine, instead, the horrid stench of death, the foul odor of decay. Imagine her trying not to puke. Imagine the sudden change of expression. Imagine you grabbing the bottle and holding it to the light…only to discover the ointment is filled with a hundred dead, decaying, dirty little flies.
I can’t help but wonder if the royal apothecary had not suffered just such an indignity. Perhaps he had toiled away for months— maybe years— perfecting a new scent, one fit for the wealthiest and most glorious king on the earth. He may have waited weeks to gain an audience with the king and present his new fragrance. But when the box was opened, rather than the sweet scent of his triumph filling the air, there was a foul, putrid odor.
Somehow, after taking such care to perfect his perfume, the silly apothecary left it unattended – with the lid off! It must have been some time before he placed the lid on the box. And he must have done so without checking to be sure all was well with the ointment. Such a careless act for such an otherwise careful man! And now his great achievement was ruined. What ought to have been the sweetest scent in the kingdom instead had become a putrid substance, destined to be tossed out with the rest of the garbage.
Solomon drew the comparison to the damage a little foolishness can do to the life and reputation of a person otherwise respected and honored. He didn’t have to look far to illustrate his point, either. All he had to do was remember the circumstances of his own birth.
Solomon’s father David was Israel’s greatest king. He was a man who loved and served Jehovah with all his might. He was a famous warrior, poet, musician, and leader. But one great act of foolishness brought destruction to his home and dishonor to his life. His tryst with Bathsheba caused such sorrow and suffering for himself, his family, and even the nation he loved and led.
It is remarkable – and sobering – how one moment of foolishness can taint a lifetime of honorable living. But it can. I speak from experience. I know how a little folly can foul the fragrance of a life. I know how the greatest accomplishment of one’s life can so easily become his bitterest failing.
So, I urge you: Be on guard against the foolish whims of the flesh. Guard with care the sweet-smelling ointment of your lives, the perfume you are perfecting to present to your great King.
A Prayer for Today: “Father, I know that I have been foolish many times already. I am so grateful that You are a loving, forgiving and gracious God. I pray that I will be cognizant of how important and weighty my actions and words really are. May the things I do and say, the places I go, the way I conduct myself today bring honor and glory to You. Amen.”
Not As Dichotomous As I Thought…
worlds collide
Just when you think your life is a dichotomy…Just when you think that, on the one hand, you write about the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys for one of the Internet’s largest and most successful sport sites, and on the other, you write a sometimes spiritually-charged blog about life and love, God and the world, giving and getting…Just when you thought one had nothing to do with the other, you find out just how utterly wrong you were.
I woke this morning to a message from a fellow writer at BleacherReport.com. I expected to find some seed of an argumentation over the Cowboys, the NFC East, or the NFL in general. Instead, I found a heartfelt message from a dad who could not sleep last night and turned on his TV. While surfing the channels, he came across the Joni and Friends program on TBN, which was running the episode featuring my daughter Holly.
This fellow writer/Dad/Christian, sleepless on a Saturday night, sent me a message about the experience this morning. I will not share all of the content of his message, but here is the heart of it:
I, like you, am the son of a minister. This puts a lot of pressure on a young man, I think, and I’ve always tried to do the best I can.
My wife’s brother has a son, my nephew, who was born with Spina Bifida. Holly has impacted the lives of so many people. My nephew has done well too.
I’m not sure what the whole purpose of this message is, other than to let you know how blessed I was to see the profile of your daughter on TV.
And so, just like that, my worlds collide. Someone got peanut butter in my chocolate. On a day when I am filled with worry about how the Cowboys will handle a surging Eagles’ team, on a day when I am all set to write an NFL article that tries to predict which will be the Team of the Teens in the NFL, I am reminded that, in the grand scheme of things, the scheme is grander than we realize.
And what’s wrong with that?
Thank you, Lord.
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The JourneyMan by D. Gene Strother is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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