Archive for May 2026

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Finding Harmony

May 28, 2026

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.“

 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:16-18)

Working with young people (middle school and high school) has exposed me to numerous interesting situations and personalities. Kids can be the most caring people on the face of the earth and, in a different situation, can also be the most insensitive, cruel creatures.On one day you can witness an outpouring the collections for the local food pantry, as well as someone stealing a classmate’s bag of Cheetos. One middle school teacher I was substitute teaching for would describe her students as “awesome and on task” one day and “feral” the next.

Why is it that a group of adolescents has such a hard time finding harmony? Why is it so difficult for them to “live at peace with everyone?” My answer, although I have no research to support it, is that they simply mimic what they see adults doing. The circumstances might be different but the roots are the same. When fights breakout between adults at graduation ceremonies (From kindergarten to high school), you have to shake your head and ask yourself if the video is AI or real?

Answer: It’s real.

Was the Apostle Paul so clueless as to suggest that we should be about seeking peace and harmony in how we relate to one another and treat each other? Were his words as absurd as someone believing the Washington Wizards will win the NBA Championship in 2027?

It seems that Paul believes it. Not the Wizards being champions, but rather that followers of Jesus are able to live in harmony and peace. In his podcast to the Romans, he mentions things for them to NOT do. Conceit is not to take root, not even to make a brief appearance. Pride needs to be surrendered. It leads to an attitude that won’t admit being wrong. Put two prideful people together and you have the plot line for an afternoon TV soap opera. And how about repaying evil for evil? That’s just another way of saying “seek revenge.” Getting even with someone is the attitude that will lead to another Hatfields and McCoys battle that will escalate and continue until people can’t even remember what they’re at odds about.

And Paul says to do what is right. Not what feels good and gets some press in the paper, but rather what is the God-honoring, Christ-reflecting thing to do. Be willing to associate with people who are different than you. That is, establish a culture that is committed to equality and mutual respect for everyone. For a sarcastic example, instead of the Baptists beating the Methodists to the restaurants after church on Sunday morning, rub elbows with one another in the same cafe booth. Harmony often gets pushed to the side when we become more focused on our differences instead of remembering the sacredness of our core similarities.

I know, I know…Paul is talking to people of a different time, culture, and circumstances. We raise our hands to make that excuse out of our determination to feel right, instead of a need to feel togetherness and…harmony! I’m afraid there will always be those folks to, figuratively speaking, can’t carry a tune but can easily destroy a soothing melody.

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Settling

May 25, 2026


“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

How much can you put on your plate? If you’ve ever been to a buffet, you know there is the temptation to overload your meal plate with more food than you’ll need, and so much food that you won’t really enjoy it. What you thought was going to be a delectable, taste-satisfying experience becomes more of a drudgery. The smile has disappeared as you hoist one more bite of the mashed potatoes and gravy that now feels like a lump sliding down to your stomach.

I confess that I have a tendency to fill my plate to the point that some of my helpings are dangling over the side.

Except now I’m talking about the things that I keep putting on my plate: the tasks I heap onto the pile, the commitments I slide into a sudden opening, and the requests from people I know who trust that I’m capable. I confess that I have difficulty settling into a life that has some space on the plate. I suppose it hints more at my need to be needed than at my ability to get things done.

Of course, I can rationalize that the portions I pile on my plate are necessary, that they have purpose. I compare my plate with the plates of others who heap their lives with meaninglessness, wasted time doing things that have no benefit and purpose besides self-gratification and pleasure.

Geez! I sound arrogant and obnoxious in those words.

Lord, help me to trim down and settle into a rhythm with Your Spirit. Help me scrape a few things back to their origins. Help me give myself permission to create some space for breathing and meditating.

Amen!

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Saying Goodbye…Again…and Again

May 19, 2026

 “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-56)

One of my high school classmates, an awesome lady who, the best I can say, treated you as an equal with respect and a listening ear, passed away about a week ago. Each death these days is like ripping off the bandage on a wound. It reopens what was being restored and bleeds the loss again.

One of my classmates listed all of the people from our Ironton High School Class of 1972 who have passed. It now stands at 27%. That list began with Mike Wilcoxen, who sat beside me in “home room” during his senior year, and continued all the way to Jona Murray a few days ago.

In the midst of all those high school classmates, one of my college friends and teammates, Stan Brown, passed away a few months ago. That one, as well, took the wind out of my sails for a while. Like tofu, life seemed tasteless for a while, no matter how it was prepared.

In one respect, I think of people like Stan, Jona, and Mike, and realize how blessed I have been to have known them. On the other hand, however, my heart aches because there is the sting of death that pricks at my soul. In addition, I know the list of losses will continue to grow. Of course, my name may be the next on the list, right down there in alphabetical order behind Mike Wilcoxen.

I know, I know, that’s a bit morbid, but morbid seems to be a descriptive adjective that gets attached to death. As the doctor appointments of my wife and me grow longer, it’s there in front of us. A couple of close friends of mine are in the midst of medical situations that carry frustration, confusion, waiting, and pain. It’s not that they are on Death’s Doorstep, but they’re wondering if it is going to get any better. They’re both about my age. Visits to the gym to get them back in shape are a distant memory in the past. Now it’s about aching muscles, knees that make noises whenever they come down a staircase, and wondering what tomorrow will hold for them.

However, those two friends are followers of Jesus. In the stings of our health challenges, there is the song of victory. They may be numbed by the present circumstances, but they are filled with joy about the victory that is theirs. That truth keeps them hope-filled and grounded in God’s embrace. It also keeps us praying for one another, because we believe in the mercy of God and the grace of extended hand.

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Perfect-less

May 5, 2026

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Evaluations from businesses, organizations, and even the hospitals we grudgingly were admitted to seem to be the new thing. Soon after a stay at a hotel, the overnight guest is sure to receive an email asking how his stay was, followed by an evaluation that seeks a “numbered score” between 1 and 10. A “10” means your stay was perfect. It means that your stay, hotel or hospital, was without a blemish. Disregard the tasteless food and the crowded elevators. It means we are to consider the good parts of the stay and hit the 10 that rings the bell.

The bar for perfection has been lowered. to where a good performance is viewed as award-winning. When I write a blog that I think is awesome, worthy of national attention, Grammarly shows me all the mistakes I’ve made, and all the sentences that could be made better with a little reordering of the words.

In fact, AI is seen as the new perfect. No one seems to question artificial intelligence. It straightens out the mistakes of losers and the idiocy of mere mortals. If it could only make the artificial eggs on the Comfort Inn breakfast buffet taste better!

When the dinner server asks how our meal was, and I reply that the mashed potatoes were a bit lumpy and the coffee too bitter, I expect a reaction of “I’m so sorry,” while the inner voice is saying, “Another complainer! Someone who is always whining about something!”

Perfection is expected by the perfection-less even though it’s not perfect. In other words, we view perfection as an easy target, like a rigged contest where winning is easier than putting my shoes on the right feet.

Perhaps our distorted view of what is perfect is more about keeping us from seeing the imperfections of our lives, our actions, and our attitudes. If I can convince myself that I’m the best thing since sliced bread, then I can avoid seeing the pimples that dot my existence.

Our focus on our awesomeness has the potential to keep us from seeing our fallenness. As the Apostle Paul told us in Romans 3:23, “All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.” Like an elderly man (me) who jumps to touch the lowest threads of the net attached to the basketball hoop, the elevation isn’t quite there. I fall short.

The good news is that God knows of my earthbound nature and through the giving (and perfection) of His Son, I have been lifted up. In His eyes, my failings have been cast to the side, and even though I’m about as perfect as a baked birthday cake that failed to rise, He has taken the “less” off of my perfection.

And I know it’s because he loves me!

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Scrolling Down

May 3, 2026

      “Now if we died to Christ, we believe we will also live with him…For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:8, 14)

Scrolling is this thing these days. People scroll through their phones to find relevance, meaning, and something that raises eyebrows. 

Driving my two oldest grandkids around could be described as a conversation punctuated with bouts of scrolling. I’ll be having a conversation with one of them about the importance of being grounded in the faith, and suddenly, a seizure of scrolling invades our space. 

Scrolling to find out which of their friends has posted a selfie that does not have any beneficial value to society as a whole or any individual purpose. Scrolling as a new form of twitching. Scrolling as a way to avoid having a mundane moment. Scrolling is the younger generation’s version of daydreaming— a spontaneous moment of withdrawal. Be a senior citizen among three young scrollers, and you may begin to question your value.

Of course, I realize that a few readers of this blog scrolled down to it! The “whiner” about scrolling isn’t helping his case. I’m also guilty of scrolling down the programming guide on TV to see what’s on. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have found out about the recent Outhouse Sledding Championships on ESPN. (Yes, that’s a real event!)

Truth be known, I’ve encountered scrolling in another way, a more humbling way. I’m now having to do a lot of “age-scrolling.” That is, I’m filling in information on my cell phone or laptop for a new physician, specialist, driver’s license renewal, insurance information, school certification renewal, workshop sign-up…need I go on! And when I’m asked my age, I have to scroll down…and down…and down. The longer I scroll down, the closer to the deathly bottom I get. The year 2000 disappears from the screen as I continue to go down. My first child’s birth year, 1981, rises past me, and there goes my high school graduation, 1972) and I’m still sinking deeper. Scrolling down is a way of putting me in my place— close to the end of the road— and reminding me of the fact that most people are above me…scrolling-wise.

My scrolls are clarifications of my mortality. It’s the harsh truth of our deteriorating bodies. My prescription bottles, aching hips, and suspect hearing are also teammates of the downward scrolling to my demise.

I take comfort in the hope of Romans 6, where Paul says, “Now if we died to Christ, we believe we will also live with him…For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:8,14)

When one of my students or athletes…or even one of my granddaughters reminds me of how old I am, I am now prone to reply, “Yes, only by the grace of God am I still scrolling down.” Confusion surfaces on their faces. 

I just smile. 

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