About X and O
I want to offer a word of explanation
about X and O, the characters who dominate the cartoons on this webpage.
My wife and I were visiting with our oldest son and his family in
Jacksonville, Florida. One night I dreamed I saw an X and O standing
together. I heard X complain, "My joint hurts." O responded, wryly, "I
never have that problem." Next morning I told the family about it. They
laughed, and may have thought I was losing my mind.
The next night I saw X and O again in a dream. Near them stood C who
looked like an O with a missing section. I heard O call out, "Pull
yourself together." When I related that dream they laughed again, but
somewhat quizzically.
Without warning or invitation these two letters invaded my consciousness
day and night for several days. I began to scribble down their snippets
of conversation. Within two weeks I had well over 100 entries in my
little notebook.
The little rascals had assumed personalities. X was given to barbed
comments; O was gentler but capable of zingers now and then. I sensed
that they were friends who enjoyed teasing each other but hung together
against any threats from outsiders.
They lived quietly in my mind and study for some time. I decided to
feature them in a book of devotions. In that way I could impress them
into the service of Jesus Christ, whose service has been the passion of
my life since I was sixteen years old.
So, for whatever it's worth, here they are. I hope readers find it both
relaxing and challenging, both comical and serious - in a word,
lifelike.
Have a Heart for the Hurting
No life is without its problems; no heart is without its shadows. We do not
all have the same problems, but we do all have problems. When others hurt, we
too often rejoice that we are not hurting, that we have escaped what causes
their pain. That attitude is cold comfort and brief respite, for some form of
suffering either afflicts us or awaits us. We should be sympathetic, not
self-congratulatory.
In a church I pastored there was a woman who responded to every mention of
another's trouble, "That's her problem. I've got enough of my own." She lived a
selfish life and died a lonely death. In that same church was a woman who
regarded her health as an opportunity to serve the ailing, and her illnesses as
lessons in sympathy for other victims. She lived and died surrounded by people
who loved her deeply.
Never shrug off another's pain. Offer empathy and assistance instead. As Paul
enjoined the church, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will
fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
Compassion should never be exceptional in the church. We follow Him who said of
a hungry multitude, "I have compassion for these people" (Matthew 15:32).
A Guide for Confused Days
Most of us can sympathize with poor X. There are days so filled with
confusion and turmoil that we hardly know which end is up. Everything goes wrong
and our careful planning collapses into a tangle of debris.
On days like that we need a guide and not a gloater beside us. We need to hear a
voice saying, "This is the way; walk in it" (Isaiah 30:31).
We can have such a guide. The Lord says, "I will lead the blind by ways they
have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the
darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth" (Isaiah
42:16).
This promise was first made to ancient Israel. God's people had endured a long
and painful captivity in Babylon. Now they were going to be led through desert
places along rough trails to their homeland.
The promise of guidance is yours to claim today. Trust the Lord. He will put
things right side up.
Making Ends Meet
This is a common problem. "Too much month at the end of the money" is a
frequent lament.
"Live within your means" is good advice easily given. Situations arise, however,
when means are inadequate, even for marginal living. Unexpected loss of jobs, or
devastating injuries and illnesses, can create financial disasters.
Making ends meet calls for budgeting, belt-tightening, and balancing acts. If
income cannot be increased, expenses must be decreased. No-frills living is
demanded, but ruinous self-pity should be rejected.
Share your diminished resources with those having an even rougher time. "He who
is kind to the poor lends to the Lord"-- and the Lord pays a generous interest
(Proverbs 19:17). "My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious
riches in Christ Jesus" is a promise given to those who were sharing, not
hoarding, their limited resources (Philippians 4:19).
Much of the comic is cruel. Humorists often joke about the deficiencies or problems of others. They win their laughs at the expense of hurting people. The only humor that deserves respect is self-deprecating.
Scorn, contempt, ridicule--these are weaknesses, not strengths, and unworthy of Christians. Jesus did not despise or exploit human weaknesses and failures. "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out" (Matthew 12:20). He was patient and kind to those who were poorly endowed by nature or savagely treated by events.
To greet the complaints of others with wisecracks or sneers is to betray Christ. The pain of others must not become our entertainment. Instead, we ought to "share with God's people who are in need" and "rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:13, 14). Our duty is to care and share, helping others to find a fuller and better life. In doing so, we shall be subtly, slowly, but surely transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Keep an Open Mind
When you talk to a closed person nobody's listening. Hang up and call back
when that person is willing to listen, evaluate, and reconsider.
I argued with a friend who found me closed to his viewpoint. He did not persist.
Shortly after he sent me a small figurine--a man whose head was parted like a
"v", as though an ax had laid it open. At the foot of the figurine this line was
printed: "Let's keep an open mind." I kept this gentle reproof on my desk, until
it was accidentally broken.
If you are stubbornly opinionated--as I was--you need to practice the
stewardship of listening with an open mind. It's amazing how much we learn, and
how often we revise our judgments, when we patiently consider another's point of
view.
God has often, in mercy, recalled to me the words of Jesus, "He who has ears,
let him hear," and those of James, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak" (Matthew 11:15; James 1:19). I am a better person when I practice these
biblical precepts. If you want to be heard, first be willing to hear.
The Flat Days
It's hard enough to be F without being F flat. From childhood we identify F
with failure. On a report card it sticks out like "a lion in a den full of
Daniels." Parents always see F quicker than A or B or C.
F flat is useful in music, but I wonder how many F flats secretly wish they were
B flats or even C sharps.
There are red letter days on everyone's calendar. Holidays and birthdays are
prime examples. But lots of days are flat, with neither peaks nor valleys. They
spark no fervor, they set no corpuscles dancing. They are filled with routine
chores, and we live through them in a semi-detached mood. There is more plodding
than soaring in our lives, but God promises strength for those times.We can not
only "soar on wings like eagles," we can also "walk and not be faint" (Isaiah
40:3).
"Life is so daily," a woman complained to her pastor. That is true, but grace is
daily also, and every day is a fresh summons to faith, hope, and love. How we
live the flat days may be the truest test of Christian character.
Stay Cool!
To blow one's top, some psychologists say, is healthy. Venting anger, they
advise, helps keep you emotionally and physically well.
Scripture says, however, "In your anger do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). Anger is
not always a bad emotion. Jesus was angered by the hardness of men's hearts
(Mark 3:5). Anger can be the mood of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:6-11). What the
Bible condemns is selfish, vindictive anger, and the passage cited from
Ephesians urges us to "get rid" of such anger. We are to be compassionate and
forgiving instead (Ephesians 4:31-32).
Righteous anger, held too long, can provoke wrongdoing. "Do not let the sun go
down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" (Ephesians
4:26). That doesn't mean, "Avenge yourself before sundown." It means release
your anger. Don't let anger become a festering sore that spreads the poison of
hatred throughout your relationships.
Anger, persistent and uncontrolled, has filled graveyards, asylums, and jails.
Don't become the victim of a blown top. Replace anger with love.
Choose Good Advisors
Each of us needs advice at times. Unfortunately, this creates a happy hunting
ground for gurus, witches, fortune-tellers, horoscope writers, etc.
The quality of advice depends upon the wisdom and integrity of the advisors. We
don't want marriage counseling from someone thrice divorced. We don't want
financial advice from a veteran of Chapter XI. We don't want medical advice from
a correspondence school alumnus. We want advice from the level headed, the
competent, the successful.
For the Christian that means a person schooled in Scripture and steeped in the
values and teachings of Christ. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10).
Proverbs says, "for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisors"
(24:5). Christianity is spiritual warfare. A war-cabinet of 66 advisors,
starting with Genesis, is recommended. They never fail to guide wisely and well.
A Dumb Ox
The ox has never been a symbol of beauty or speed. It has been a figure of
speech for stupidity. "Dumb ox" is a phrase I've heard all my life, sometimes as
an accusation leveled at me.
Proverbs likens the fool who hastens after an adulterous woman to "an ox going
to the slaughter" (7:22).
What the ox lacks in smarts and speed it makes up for with strength. A friend of
mine used to describe the very wealthy as having "more money than a young ox can
pull." The pulling power of the ox is quite celebrated.
Proverbs also says, "Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the
strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest" (14:4). In Bible times the oxen
pulled plows and made possible a farmer's daily bread. In our culture tractors
have replaced oxen, but oxen still survive as symbols of power used patiently
and positively.
The Lord promises both wisdom and strength to His people (James 1:5; 1 Peter
5:10). We can be both wise enough and strong enough to live useful and
victorious Christian lives. Let's claim both promises for the challenge of
today.
Name Calling is Inexcusable
Name calling is childish. Angry people, insulting each other about their
appearance, are disgracing Christianity. I recall such a verbal bout waged in
the center aisle of a church between the frustrated pastor and a rebellious
teen-ager. Visitors were shocked and members embarrassed.
The incident would be just as wrong, whoever was involved and wherever the
venue. Speech unbecoming to a pastor and church is also wrong in homes, offices,
schools, factories, streets and parks. There is no right time, place, or
occasion for insulting others.
Scripture exhorts, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and warns, "If you keep on
biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each
other." As a famous writer once said, "You can't have your friends and eat them
too." Like the Psalmist, we all need to pray, "May the words of my mouth ...be
pleasing in your sight, O Lord" (Psalm 19:14).
