Keys to the Kingdom

by Carolyn Tucker

Nothing but…

When I was a kid, my parents frequently hung out with other adult couples. I basically didn’t add my two-cents worth to any of their conversations, I just listened. I heard a lot of topics being discussed and, most of the time, it revolved around comical stories. When visiting at Elda and Marge’s home, she kept a sketchbook for me so I could keep myself occupied. While drawing, I listened. I remember Elda telling a true incident that happened while driving his family somewhere. While stopped at an intersection, he asked if there was anything coming from the opposite direction. His eldest daughter calmly responded, “Nothing…but a bread truck.” I’d give money to hear, again, the laughter that erupted from this these two couples sitting around the kitchen table.

A huge crowd had followed Jesus and the disciples; it was getting late and all the people were hungry. The disciples recommended that Jesus send the crowds away so they could buy food for themselves. “Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They (the disciples) replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And He said, ‘Bring them here to Me.’ Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds” (Matthew 14:16-19 NRS). The disciples didn’t think they had enough to amount to anything. But Jesus took what they offered and added His blessing to it and, voila, it was more than enough!

I’ve visited with enough Christ followers to know there are some that say they don’t know what their talents are. They mistakenly don’t think they have anything beneficial to offer. The little boy among the crowd of way over 5,000 people certainly didn’t think his five loaves of bread and two fish would make a difference. Nevertheless, he was willing to give it to the disciples anyway. Without Jesus’ blessing, these meager pieces of food were pretty worthless. Everyone thought it was nothing…but Jesus. He said, “Bring it to Me!” When believers come with nothing but our God-given talents — that’s enough! He knows how to turn it into something valuable.

Nothing is too small or insignificant for Jesus to bless and use. Others will benefit from your talents and you will receive joy in doing good. If you love to cook, share meals with others. If you love to bake, give away cookies. If you love to work on vehicles, organize, repair stuff, sew, etc., just lay it at the feet of Jesus to be used however He pleases. You may think that the talents you have and enjoy don’t amount to anything, but they are something beautiful and good because God created you in the womb to do these things! And for crying out loud, don’t compare your talents with other people’s. You’re an original on purpose!

Apostle Paul penned, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10 NLT). Please use your talents to help others on their journey of life.  The God-given talents that you were born with are not insignificant when multiplied with Jesus’ blessing on them. Little is much when Jesus gets done with it!

The Key: Jesus knows what to do with our talents. Just let Him have ‘em!

The story is told of a little boy who lived in a ghetto. Because of his strong belief in God, his friends constantly teased him, saying, “If God loves you, why doesn’t he take care of you? Why doesn’t God tell someone to bring you shoes or send someone with a warm coat?  Where is the good food you’ve been asking God for?” The little boy thought for a moment and with tears in his eyes, softly said, “I guess He does tell somebody but somebody forgets.”

I am afraid that too many of us are that “somebody.”

We see the man on the side of the road, holding his cardboard sign that lets us know that he is homeless, broke, a veteran, asking for money.  The scribbled writing ends with “God bless you.”  We drive away.  After all, he could get a job; everybody is hiring.  He probably will buy alcohol with the money we give him, anyway.

Our neighbor recently taped aluminum foil to her windows in an effort to save on her heating bill.  Embarrassed?  You betcha.  What’s this neighborhood coming to?     

We watch obese people struggle to manage their Walmart shopping cart and put groceries into their car trunks, and we scurry on by.  After all, it’s not our fault they don’t try to get in shape, and we’re in a hurry to get home from work.  They should try to walk a mile in our designer shoes!           

The call goes out for volunteers to hang wreaths on the tombstones of the soldiers buried at our National Cemetery or place flags in the ground at our National Fort, but that’s the day we are having a family get together or a lunch date with a friend.  Just too busy!

How about this one?  I know that I should take a meal to ________ who is going through a difficult time right now, but I’m sooooooo tired.

And yes, some of us have tried to help and have gotten burned.  No fun.  We offer our couch for a two-night stay that turns into a two-week visit.  Our guests do nothing to help but treat our offer as something they are owed.  Or we “loan” money, never to see an attempt to repay. We vow never to help again.

What’s really sad is when we tell someone we will pray for them, and then we don’t.  (My hand is raised here.)  My intentions are good.  My actions?  Not so much.  And then they let us know that all is well and thank us for our prayers, and we don’t admit that we forgot or just were too preoccupied to follow through.

Not everything needs to be a grand gesture.  Sometimes, we just need to keep our antennas up and be aware of needs around us.  A smile.  A compliment.  Opening a door.  The other day in Costco, I stood in the line that, of course, was the slowest one available.  The man in front of me had three orders, and something went wrong with the way the employee rang them up.  He needed a manager.  The assistant manager came, but that wasn’t good enough.

As the other lines moved along smoothly, I turned to a young woman behind me.  “This is my fault, you know,” I said to her.  “You never should get behind me in a line; this happens regularly.”  She grinned and said, “I sure hope you’re not going to Trader Joe’s next.”  We both cracked up.  When I finally got through the line, the register attendant looked exasperated.  I paid and said, “Have a blessed day.”  She stopped, looked at me and said that I made her day.

In the parking lot, I watched an elderly lady wandering, clearly looking for her car.  Been there, done that!  I pulled up beside her and asked what her car looked like and then drove around, looking for it, to no avail.  Finally, I persuaded her to get into my car (she was terrified of me!) so we could search together. As it turned out, it wasn’t where she thought she left it.

Philippians 2:4 can change lives: Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. We need to be determined to be determined not to forget.               

Keys to the Kingdom

by Carolyn Tucker

Highway Turtle Mercy

I’ll just preface this story by stating that when driving I always try to avoid running over any kind of animal. If I can safely swerve (usually I can) to miss a squirrel, opossum, skunk, armadillo, turtle, dog, cat, etc., I will. I once witnessed an extreme example of animal mercy. I watched an oncoming car make a U-turn on a busy highway then pull over and stop on the shoulder. While trying to figure out what the driver was doing, I spotted a turtle crossing the highway. After I dodged it, I immediately looked in my rearview mirror and saw the woman driver running onto the highway to retrieve the turtle. I don’t know, maybe she was obsessed with collecting runaway turtles.

Mercy is described as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish. American pastor, author, and spiritual mentor A.W. Tozer  said, “Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the Divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.”

God is the epitome of love. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:8,16 NLT). Believers surely understand that God is love, but do we think enough about His mercy? Without God’s mercy, we’d just be a squashed turtle on the highway of life!

To say that I’m thankful for mercy is a huge understatement. It’s cringing to think about living without God’s daily blessing of compassion and forgiveness toward me. I don’t deserve His mercy — but it’s who God is. And believers are to follow His example.

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8 NKJV). “It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His tender compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22-23 AMP).   

I need God’s mercy every day and I should put myself in the other person’s shoes in order to have compassion for them. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NASB). Elvis recorded an excellent Sunday-morning-message song entitled “Walk a Mile in My Shoes.” Written by Joe South, some of the lyrics are: “If I could be you, if you could be me for just one hour; If we could find a way to get inside each other’s mind. If you could see you through my eyes instead of your ego; I believe you’d be surprised to see that you’ve been blind. Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes; Before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk a mile in my shoes.” “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you” (James 2:13 NLT).

Are believers abounding in mercy toward others? That’s a rhetorical question that only you can answer about yourself. Here’s another verse to the song: “Now if we spend the day throwing stones at one another ‘cause I don’t think or wear my hair same way you do. Well I may be common people but I’m your brother; And when you strike out to try and hurt me it’s a hurtin’ you.”

The Key: What shall we do with God’s mercy? Pay it forward.

I had done it this time, “it” meaning I, once again, failed to act classy and professional, even though I was trying—really trying—to. The faculty and administration for all three of Girard’s schools were to come together in the cafeteria where lunch was provided for the first day of indoctrination. Students had not yet shown up for classes.

I admit, I was nervous about coming out of retirement to teach again. Proving I was capable of handling the new technology (i.e., that I was not a complete moron) was stressful. Greeting me as I entered the cafeteria was the buffet of hotdogs and hamburgers, salads and condiments. Most of the faculty were already seated, even though we were not starting for five minutes. Plenty of time to grab my lunch and find a seat.

After placing a hot dog, bun and a bag of chips on my paper plate, I walked towards the condiment line…which is where I looked over the crowd and noticed that no person had food in front of them. They were seated at large, circular tables, that were void of food. And there I was, taking care of first-things-first (eating).

Apparently, we were to eat after the meeting, not during the meeting.

As stealthily as possible, I reversed course, slowly walking backwards, and placed my chips back in the basket. But what should I do with my wiener? This was a problem. Without even thinking, I grabbed the tongs and removed the hotdog from its bun, returned it to the steaming tray, and did the same with its bun. The paper plate, napkin and fork came next, and as calm as I could fake it, I meandered over to the nearest table with an empty seat and introduced myself.

I was trying to be as cool as a used hotdog. Nonchalant. The relaxed, peaceful kind of nonchalant. Not the apathetic, indifferent, uncaring and smug nonchalant…actually, not that much different than we Christians can act. The first group can be faked. The second group doesn’t need to be. They have been lulled into a spiritual slumber and, sadly, contribute to the “I don’t care” attitude that permeates many Christian circles, telling themselves that attending Sunday service, sometimes praying before meals and answering “yes” when asked if they love Jesus is enough.

Modern churches strive to solve the problem. They now serve donuts, host coffee bars, use state-of-the-art, multi-media technology and rock out with live bands. None of that is bad…until it replaces the message of a Risen Savior who sacrificed his life for us. Who calls us to glorify him at work, school, home and in our community. Who asks that nothing comes before him.

We must ask ourselves if we go to church to be entertained or to worship, to draw closer to God or to check off our holy, weekly duty. Are we there to find depth in our spiritual walk or to catch up on our overlooked texts during the sermon? Do we desire to be an example to those watching us, or do we scurry out of church, making sure we don’t miss our beloved Chiefs or get to the local restaurant before the crowd? Do we take the time to greet those in the pews around us, or are we waiting for them to greet us first? Have we learned to feign peace and calmness when our lives are anything but? Like I did in that cafeteria?

Maybe it’s time we all take a backward spiritual step, ask ourselves how much we are pretending to be something we aren’t… and then do something about it.

Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

Cataracts and Logs

At a recent family gathering to celebrate two birthdays and one wedding anniversary, I was talking about how dim my car’s interior lights were. Well, immediately my daughter and son started joking about cataracts. And I responded, “Yes! I do have cataracts (unbeknownst to them) in both eyes! But compared to the lights in my previous vehicle, these are simply not as bright!” Well, then both of them guffawed about me “having a log in my eye” preventing me from seeing well. My kids are pros at turning an ordinary conversation into a nutty comedy routine…and I’m usually the butt of the joke. And I’m usually the one laughing the loudest.

But no one was laughing when Jesus spoke about our “eye” in the New Testament. He  was clearly illustrating that Christ followers must conduct a thorough self-examination before criticizing and judging others. Jesus didn’t pussyfoot around when He spoke to those gathered about Him: “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ’Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5 NLT). Jesus didn’t want His followers displaying the same fault of criticism like the Pharisees.

A lack of love and mercy always distorts our vision of others. Judging someone else has been described as casually looking at ourselves through rose-colored glasses but   scrutinizing our fellowman with a magnifying glass. Why would believers be so determined to focus on one flaw in someone else’s life when we have multiple glaring flaws of our own? It’s so easy to try to set someone straight when we’re not evaluating ourselves honestly and truthfully according to God’s Word.

Other Bible translation comparisons are: sawdust and beam; very small particle and beam of timber; splinter and telephone pole; little piece of dust and big piece of wood. Jesus was teaching in hyperbole to get us to understand and remember the seriousness of judging and being critical. I certainly understand this method of exaggeration. When my late husband and I were newlyweds, I couldn’t seem to remember that he preferred mayonnaise over whipped salad dressing on his sandwich. Finally, after forgetting several times, he very calmly used hyperbole to get his point across: “I would rather have dog poop on my sandwich than whipped salad dressing.“ Welp, I finally got it and I never forgot it either!

Jesus wants His followers to honor God by simply living in humility and honesty. This enables us to be in a position to really love, care, and help serve others. The problem with judging others is that we always set ourselves above those we judge. Oswald Chambers warned his readers: “Beware of anything that puts you in the superior person’s place.“ Jesus’ words strongly suggest that it would be well for the critic to remove the huge obstruction from his/her eye first before attempting to retrieve the itsy-bitsy particle from someone else’s eye. In other words, clean up your own backyard before you criticize your neighbor’s. What Jesus is basically saying on the Sermon on the Mount is, “You can’t help the other fellow until you get rid of that critical attitude you have” ~ Ralph Earle.

The Key: Don’t let cataracts or logs impede your vision when trying to help others.

Do the names “Fortunatus” and “Achaicus” and “Stephanas” ring a bell? How about Epanetus, Andronicus, Junias, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Aristobulus, Herodion, Narcissus, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, Asyncritus, Phlegon and Hermes? Probably not names you considered naming your child.

Hint: they have to do with Paul in the Bible. You’ve got it? Great.

These are people in Paul’s life who assisted him in his ministry and were thanked by Paul for their contributions. They were little-known men and women who came alongside him to help where there was a need but known enough for Paul to give them recognition in his letters to Jewish converts.

For most of us, we probably have hundreds of “unknowns” with whom we have crossed paths who have made our lives better, those who without fanfare were there for us when we needed them most. I am blessed to have those people in my life. My brother David was one of them.

I remember the time my car was in the shop, my husband away on a baseball trip, and the only person I knew I could call was David. “No problem” was his answer, a familiar expression he used the many times I needed him. He pulled up in his junker truck, told me I needed to sit right next to him because there was a hole in the floor under the mat on the passenger side, and when I told him I thought that was weird, he said, “Suit yourself, but if I slam on the brakes and we come to a screeching halt, you might find yourself under the truck.”

I sat next to my brother. Better safe than weird, I guess.

To see what was behind him when he was driving, David reached under his driver’s seat and pulled out the side mirror that had broken off his truck. He proudly held it out the window, moving it to get the right angle. He thought nothing of it. I cracked up but knew, Beggars can’t be choosers.

David stopped for every hitchhiker and traveler in trouble. One day, he picked up a bicyclist, drove him to his farmhouse and let him sleep on the couch while David fixed his tire. He loved coaching and would call his players “French fries” if they messed up. Every player mattered to him, sometimes enough to discipline harshly so they would learn a valuable lesson. Countless nights, the lights would come on at the baseball field across from where we lived. There was David, working with a player who couldn’t sleep and asked for extra batting practice.

Not surprisingly, he died from a chain saw accident, sawing wood for widows who depended on him for their home’s heat. I never knew how much he did for others until his funeral when people shared endless stories about his sacrifice to improve their lives.

I have a feeling that we are going to be shocked at the people we see in Heaven, those “no-names” who spent more time on their knees than on their feet, those unsung heroes who never were about accolades or praise but, like Paul’s pals, were there at the right time to make others’ lives better. I pray I am one of those people. I hope you do too.

Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

Woody Woodpecker

I grew up in an era when cartoons were simply silly entertainment. Woody Woodpecker was an animated screwball character created in 1940 to join in with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. By the 1960s (when I watched cartoons) several more comedic characters had been added to the cast. Since I have plenty of trees, I was extraordinarily surprised to discover that a woodpecker had made a 1” x 1” hole in the support beam of my porch. Just how big of a goofball do you have to be to peck a lifeless/bugless wooden beam rather than live trees? Mr. Woody had all the trees he needed at his disposal, yet he pecked on a dead post.

According to scripture, believers have everything we need in Christ. “My God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 AMP).  And yet we are often guilty of seeking help, advice, and direction from ungodly sources (which is comparable to pecking on a dead piece of wood expecting to find something to eat).

God’s purpose in sending the Holy Spirit (a divine Personality) to live in us and be in us is a grand benefit. Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate (Comforter, Encourager, Helper, Intercessor, Strengthener, a Standby, Counselor) who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth.” (John 14:16-17 NLT). Christ followers don’t need any more than that! It’s good to ask someone to pray for you when you’re in a mess. But don’t ever forget that on the inside of you there’s a Helper ready, willing, and able to work on your behalf.

The Holy Spirit lives within us to also guide in the affairs of life. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are children of God” (Romans 8:14 NLT). Sometimes when believers come to a fork in the road we really don’t know which way to go. It’s a biblical truth that we are moved by the impulses and promptings of the Holy Spirit. One day I called a friend because I’d been thinking about her for a day or two. I finally took the time to call and when she answered she began to cry. She said, “Oh, I just prayed that God would have you call me.” (She was feeling down in the dumps.) “I told Him that if He loved me He’d tell you to call me.” I didn’t know anything about her prayer, but the Holy Spirit did and He prompted me to reach out to her.

As you go through life‘s journey, remember you’ve got a Friend in the Holy Spirit. He will help you know what to do in every situation in life if you‘ll be quiet enough to hear what He speaks to us. Honestly, my patience is tried during these times because we all want the solutions to problems solved a lot sooner than they are.

John Whitefield (1714-1770) itinerant preacher and eloquent evangelist said: “I pray to God this day to make me an extraordinary Christian.” All believers should have a burning desire to be extraordinary representatives of our Savior and Lord. It all starts with listening and obeying the divine Personality living in us. We must pay attention to our spiritual heart which is where the Holy Spirit dwells. If your heart has an uneasy feeling about a decision, that’s a red flag. If your heart has a velvety feeling, that’s a green light.

The Key: Let’s not doubt or complicate the job of the Holy Spirit. He lives in all believers as our personal Helper. Just don’t ignore His promptings.

Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

4-Barrel Carburetor

I really enjoy walking down memory lane at car shows and looking at the gorgeous classic ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s cars on display. I have personal fond memories of these powerful beauties because the first car I remember my folks owning was a ‘59 Chevy Impala. And later, when I was in high school, I was permitted to drive their ’68 Chevy Caprice SS. Wowie zowie; this car was so classy she even wore skirts! Something unexplainable happened to me during those years that caused me to fall in love with glasspacks and 4-barrel carburetors.

As opposed to a 2-barrel, a 4-barrel is a more-complex carburetor commonly used in high-performance engines. It uses two primary and two secondary barrels to supply air and fuel to the engine which results in increased horsepower and performance. Only the primary barrels open at idle and low-rpm driving, but the secondary barrels open up during high-rpm driving, e.g., passing vehicles or just flooring it for the fun of it! Modern cars don’t have carburetors; they’ve been replaced by fuel-injection systems. Ah, for the good ol’ days when you ran out of gas and had to save a little bit to pour into the carburetor. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to!

At my age, I’m pretty much considered a “classic” because I’ve noticed that when I wake up in the mornings, I just don’t feel like I used to at 22. I’m basically just idling on a 2-barrel carburetor for several minutes. But as I meander to the kitchen, I know I’ll be strengthened, encouraged, and reinforced with power once I read my Bible and devotional books. As I spend time with my heavenly Father, He begins to pour fuel into my 4-barrel which enables me to get started and have the power I need for the day. Dad used to say, “You never know what the day holds when your feet hit the floor in the morning.“ And I might add, “So you better take time to fill up your spiritual gas tank so you won‘t run out of power.

Apostle Paul wrote that we believers are in a race. So we can think of ourselves as driving a race car. Every day we run laps, around and around, and it takes lots of focus, determination, strength, and power. So it makes sense that every morning we need to get our jump-start from Jesus (and a cup of coffee) to get us up and running at full throttle. Every believer finds his/her source of power in the Father, so we can commit our prayers to Him in confidence. Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Church of Ephesus and surrounding area churches: “May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality” (Ephesians 3:16 AMP).

There’s power in a 2-barrel, but I would most-certainly choose the mighty power of the 4-barrel. As Christ followers, it’s our choice. So why be puny when you can be powerful? The “inner man” is the true and enduring self — who we really are. So we need to keep our heart (inner man) tuned up so we can accomplish our calling and participate in the race of life at full power. Thankfully, we don’t have to try to live our lives on our own strength. “Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT).

The Key: In the words of Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, choose more power.

One week before Charlie Kirk’s death, I mentioned to a family member that if I could have lunch with anyone, it would be Charlie.  His death left me in tears.

As a former high school debate coach, I was awestruck by his ability to express his opinion, showing respect for his opposition while imparting unique, masterfully-crafted arguments that I never had considered. Who was this man?

I mean, I am fairly knowledgeable about the Bible, but Charlie had a way of synthesizing scriptural positions in a way I failed to anticipate.  “How did he come up with that?” I would ask my husband, or whomever was in listening position.  “That’s a brilliant argument,” I would say to myself.  Like I said, who was this man?

Regardless of what you think of Charlie Kirk, I hope you consider his assassination a grave injustice.  Instead of facing off with this man-of-faith to discuss their differences, Tyler Robinson premeditatively chose to put a bullet through his adversary’s neck.

Today, while driving to work, I listened to the radio as the detective assigned to the crime discussed how Robinson begged the arresting officers to be gentle with him, not to cause him harm by sending a SWAT team to bring him in. Basically, to treat him with a dignity he did not afford Charlie Kirk.

And I thought…that takes some nerve. How can someone who offers no mercy expect to get any in return?

Matthew 18:23-35 confronts that issue. Jesus’ parable addresses a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. One who could not pay owed millions of dollars. His master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

The man fell down and begged his master to be patient; he would repay it all.  The master, pitying his servant, forgave his debt.  When the man left the king, he met up with another servant who owed him a few thousand dollars, grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.                                                                                                                   

Just like the servant with the king, this man fell down and begged for clemency.  “Be patient with me, and I will pay it.”  Instead, his creditor had the man arrested and jailed until he repaid the debt in full, a lack of mercy that upset the other servants who witnessed the injustice. They went to the king and told him what had happened.

The king responded by calling in the servant he had forgiven and said, “You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” Payback time. The king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

Jesus had one last message for his crowd: “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”  If only Robinson would have done that with Charlie!  He who couldn’t find any mercy begged for kindness and compassion when arrested.

So, what are we to take from this message?  We are not to respond as Robinson and the king’s servant did and seek vengeful payback, as much as we want to do so.  After all, God will be the final judge. Should Robinson not repent, his eternal punishment from the King will be much worse than any we can inflict with our lack of mercy.

As is true as that is for Kirk’s killer, so it is for us as well. Are we showing the same mercy to others as we want in return?

Most of us do not like change. We get comfortable where we are and lose our sense of adventure and exploration. We keep the same job, the same friends, the same house, the same favorite restaurant, the same vacation destination, the same exercise routine (if we have one at all). Recently, when Cracker Barrel announced that it would change its logo, customers rebelled.

The company saw severe backlash over its plans to modernize and simplify its nostalgic logo, an overall-clad man—said to represent Uncle Herschel, a relative of Cracker Barrel’s founder—leaning on a barrel, with the words “Old Country Store” underneath. When stocks fell, the company reversed course.

I get it. Change is hard. New technology brings with it the word “Smart,” and that adjective alone makes my blood pressure rise. When Dave and I bought a house in Las Vegas, we had no idea what angst a “Smart House” would bring us. We had to hire a technician to teach us how to turn on our television, and when the thermostat needed adjusting, we considered selling.

Yesterday, in my classroom, I needed to show a Power Point on my television. First, I had to “mirror” my laptop to the t.v., insert the code the television gave me into my computer, and go from there. I had written down the steps preceding the “mirror” part, but something went wrong. The little circle thingy kept spinning—not something students want to stare at for 52 minutes.

I walked across the hallway to ask a seasoned teacher for help. He apologized but had no idea. He, too, was of the “old school” and found all the new techniques draining. Thank goodness, another teacher (a younger one) offered to help, and after he turned my laptop off-and-on a few times, it did what it was supposed to do. (Where is a chalkboard when you need one?)

Mind you, a month before school started, I spent most of my days designing clever power points for my lectures and downloading (uploading?) them onto a thumb drive. Searching the internet, I found funny photos to complement my lecture. But something happened when I inserted my thumb drive into the school computer. Of course, I didn’t know that until I started my lecture and photos were upside down, on their side, or covering my words. And yes, I probably should have checked that out ahead of time instead of assuming…well, anything.

Yesterday, in theater class, I was showing highlight clips with Harvey Korman and Tim Conway. Suddenly my screen began projecting a physics’ lecture. My students told me that sometimes the airway paths of two classrooms get confused. Physics vs. comedians. What a breath of fresh air for those physics’ students, I thought. The point is, technology is moving fast. And I’m not. I miss the good old days.

So did the Pharisees. They had their laws (613 of them!), and by golly, no one was going to dictate to them that, perhaps, there was a better way. Certainly not some nobody from Nazareth. When “an eye for an eye” became “turn the other cheek,” enough was enough! Everybody knew that obeying the laws was the ticket into Heaven, so who was this 30-year-old, parable-speaking man, telling the crowds that he was the only way? That answer became clear with the miracle of the resurrection.

If ever a change were worth adopting, I vote for that one.