Devotional: Flies in the Ointment

January 10, 2010 · Posted in Blog, Christian Living, Devotional, Life Experience · 2 Comments 

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.”

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Sweet Escape

October 18, 2009 · Posted in (Gene)ric Ramblings, Blog, Devotional, Life Experience · Comment 

(Reprinted from 2003)

Do you remember the Chevrolet Tahoe commercials from a few years ago, the ones featuring a poem read by James Garner? The first time I heard the poem, I was smitten. I had to find out who wrote it, where it came from. I kind of thought it might be a Dr. Seuss offering I had missed along the way. It just smacked of his unusual poetic style. Turns out it is ad copy written by the heretofore unknown Patrick O’Leary. I wonder if he even knew the depths he had mined with such powerful simplicity.

The poem, entitled “Nobody Knows It But Me,” goes like this:

There’s a place that I travel,

When I want to roam
And nobody knows it but me.

The roads don’t go there,
And the signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me.

It’s far, far away and way, way afar,
It’s over the moon and the sea,
And wherever you are going,
That’s wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me.

I am sure these words stir about as many feelings in those who read them as there are life experiences. They carry in them a haunting sense of escapism.

Most people, I think, in the recesses of the mind, have some place to which they escape. It may be through something as purposeful as meditation or as incidental as day-dreaming. Since my earliest days, I have enjoyed a vivid imagination. I have lived parallel lives: the one in the “real” world of everyday experiences and the one in the world I have contrived. In that other world, the contrived world, I have been a lonesome cowboy on a dusty cattle drive, a dashing prince rescuing some distressed damsel, a heroic athlete winning it all, a bold general preserving a way of life, even a great evangelist, preaching to tens of thousands of hungry souls.

And until now, almost nobody knew it but me.

But the chord these words strike in my heart today is echoed in one of my favorite Psalms:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. -Psalm 91:1

I read about that place where the roads don’t go and the signs stay home, that place that is out there beyond the everyday experiences of mundane life, and I think of that holy escape into the presence of God – an escape I have taken almost daily for over thirty years. It is a haven, a refuge.

Sometimes I have been driven there by maddening pain. A few times by devastating loss. Confusion has pushed me there. So has disappointment. But then there are those times when it is unmitigated, unspeakable joy that drives me to the secret place of the Most High. There are those simple moments of praise. Those peaceful moments of grace. Those times when my heart just wants to sing.

I have been there, alone with Him, at the sun’s rising, when the world is glistening in the morning dew and awakening to another day of grace . I have been there at sunset, the sky ablaze with His glory. I have stolen peaceful moments from hectic days. I have been there during a long drive across a vast Arizona desert, and on a leisurely walk around a small east Texas pond. I have lain in grassy meadows, squinting against the summer sun, and gone there. I have stood alone in a graveyard, a winter wind biting at my face, and drifted into the warmth of His presence.

I have even been there tonight, from this very chair, in this very office.

This great hymn captures the essence of what I am feebly trying to express here:

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Do you have such an escape? I hope you do.

A Prayer for Today: “Father, thank You for being my holy Haven, my escape, my Comforter, my Roadmap, my Guide, my constant Companion. How I relish the time spent in holy communion with You! I need it, I want it, I promise not to forsake it. Amen.”

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Business in Great Waters

August 23, 2009 · Posted in Devotional, Faith, Life Experience · Comment 

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. [Psalm 107:23-30]

shipinastormI have always found this passage to be one of such haunting, poetic beauty. I imagine the Psalmist on a little hillside overlooking a busy port. On the docks he can see and hear the hustle and bustle of the workers, unloading precious cargo from faraway lands and loading their own goods to send across the vast waters. Out in the harbor is a ship, sails unfurling, bough pointed towards the distant horizon, venturesome men resting themselves in the mighty hand of providence, praying for favorable winds and weather.

But they who live by the sea may die by the sea.

Storms arise unexpectedly. Gale winds may surge unpredictably, rocking their boat, threatening their very existence. That’s when even the most hardened sailor feels the urge to pray…for mercy, for grace, for safe passage.

And here we have come, you and I, whether by land or sea, to do business in the great waters of uncertainty. Sometimes our little vessels are all but capsized. We, too, “reel to and fro” and find ourselves at “wit’s end.” Is it then, is it only “then” that we cry unto the Lord? Only in our trouble?

We cry to Him then like a thousand times before and he “maketh the storm a calm.” For awhile we are glad because we are quiet. But how soon will we forget? How long will it be until we call His name again? Another storm? Another near miss?

We often remind people that the God of the good times is the God of the bad times too, the God of the mountain is also God in the valley. I come to remind you, Christian sailor, that the God of the storm is also God of the calm. He doesn’t abandon you in either case.

Don’t forget Him.

A Prayer for Today: “Father, I thank You that You have never minded my crying to You for help. You have always patiently listened and provided the help and comfort and hope I needed. Forgive me the times I take You for granted. The sunny, peaceful days I will remember You too…and pause to give You praise. Amen.”

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