Of Banjos and Lawn Mowers

 

"I'm playing the guitar!"  Elise said dramatically, to anyone who would listen.

"Interesting," I said.

Then, Elise picked up a fly swatter and began to gently strike the strings of the guitar with the flying insect killing device.

"I've never heard anyone play a guitar with a fly swatter before," Vincent commented.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"  I asked and got no answer.  In fact, the silence was fairly deafening.  "Vincent, do you know the difference between a banjo and a lawn mower?"  

"You can play music on the banjo?"  Vincent hazarded a guess.

"No," I said.  "You can't tune a banjo!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Vincent said.  "You can't tune a lawn mower."

"You can tune the engine of a lawn mower -- tune it up," I said.  "Anyway, it is more of a joke making fun of banjos than it is a statement that elevates those who play law mowers in the orchestras across our great land."

It is interesting how easy it is to identify someone else as "other."  Whether it is violinists calling violists slow or the rest of the orchestra making fun of banjo players, it is all too easy to make fun of someone else.

Paul told the Galatians "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:26,27)

The point, of course, is not that everyone is exactly the same.  Oboists, violinists, and even accordionists all have different talents and yet all are accepted with God on the basis of Jesus' atonement.

Our tendency is to exclude other groups as not worthy of the kingdom, or simply needing to clean things up before they can enter in.  Instead, God makes it clear that His grace is broad enough to reach all groups -- even musicians who play guitars with fly swatters.

The Kiddie Pool

 

"I think that little pool is the kiddie pool," Victoria said.

"Probably," Anna agreed.

"No!"  Elise said, depositing her two pennies worth of opinion into the conversation quite forcefully.  "It isn't!"

"Yes, it is," Victoria said definitively.  With the backing of her older sister, Victoria was secure in her knowledge and willing to defend it against all attackers.

"No, it isn't a kitty pool," Elise said, refusing to give an inch.  "Kitties don't swim.  Maybe big cats swim, but not kittens!"

I had to chuckle.  Communication is an issue on lots of different levels, even between an eight-year-old and her three-year-old sister.

It seems that human relationships are fraught with miscommunication.  It isn't the problem of using unknown tongues or foreign languages.  The problem is that our underlying concepts and ideas are different and even though we are using familiar words, the people around us do not understand what we are trying to say.

If only it was as simple as clarifying the difference between the words 'often' and 'orphan' as in the operetta The Pirates of Penzance.  Unfortunately, it is often a lot harder to sort out our differences.  

Hebrews 13:16 tells us not to forget to communicate.  At first, this seems like an obvious command and something that hardly needs to be stated.

The longer I live, the more I realize that communication is not a given.  We need to realize that communication is not simply me saying what my opinions and ideas are with great force.

Communication is when I shut my mouth and sit down and listen and attempt to understand what the other person is really saying.  It will help with my relationships.  It may even let me know that my older sister is saying the word 'kiddie,' and not 'kitty.'

Selfies at the Falls

 

Five young women stood ahead of me at the overlook.  One by one, they turned their backs on the waterfall and held their phones lovingly, as they attempted to capture exactly the right pout on their lips, adding their loveliness to the scene of natural beauty behind them.

Having taken their individual selfies, they crowded together to take group pictures.  Having completed these images, they moved on to video themselves.

All this time, I stood patiently, craning my neck to try to see over the young ladies to glimpse the waterfall that lay behind them.

(This sort of thing happened at every single overlook on the way down the trail.)

When I finally approached the overlook, I didn't snap a single selfie.  I did take a few photos of the waterfall.  Then, I stood, paying attention to my senses, hearing the roar of the water cascading down the rock face, feeling the throb in the board walk I was standing on, and sensing the mighty power of God in it all.

I feel like there is a generation gap here.  I simply don't connect with the concept of selfies -- I've never felt like there is any scene that is enhanced by having my smiling mug in front of it.

What concerns me is not that people snap photos of themselves in front of random locations.  Folks have done that for longer than there have been cell phones.  I am worried that the need capture the perfect selfie robs individuals of the beauty that lies before (or actually behind) them.

Creation was an amazing place before Adam and Eve showed up on the scene.  I wonder if, in spite of their lack of smart phones, these two innocents enjoyed the world in a way that modern humans seldom do.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good," the Psalmist wrote.  "Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."  (Psalm 34:8)

I wonder if he had written that verse today, maybe he would have changed it a little bit.

Perhaps it might go something like this:  "Put down your smart phone and use your five senses for just a little while and you will truly perceive how great God is and how wonderful is His Creation."

"Blessed is the man who trusts in Him."