July 1, 2020 (Wednesday)
Have you ever watched “Jeopardy?” It is a quiz show with three contestants. Where do they get those people? They answer questions one after the other about things that I know absolutely nothing about. I never watch it very long because the contestants are so smart and knowledgable that I feel “ignoranter” by the minute when I watch. But one day, as I was giving it a few seconds while passing by looking for “I love Lucy” or something like that, they were asked a question about the Bible. They stood there, speechless, with a lost look on their faces. But I knew the answer. Suddenly I felt a little smarter.
That experience confirmed what I have been told: “We are all ignorant, just ignorant about different things.”
Let’s get back to the Bible questions, OK? Care for a little quiz? Well, answer these questions: How many books are in the Old Testament? In the New Testament? Can you name them all, in order? Was Elijah or Elisha a disciple of Jesus? When Jesus renamed the disciple named Simon, what did He call him? How many animals did Moses put on the ark? The first verse in the Bible contains four words: “In the beginning ______.” The first king of Israel was named, __________. His successor was named, _________.
OK, that’s probably enough. How did you do? Hopefully, you made 100% of the answers correctly. One or two of them are sort of “trick” questions. Sorry.
What I am saying is that all of us know more about some things than others know. And others know more about some things than we do.
We are all specialists, one way or another. We don’t ask the pastor to fix our plumbing and we don’t ask our plumber to preach a sermon. Both are very capable at what they do. Neither can do the other’s job. Each of them is better than the other when it comes to their own jobs. They know different things. Everyone does. We should give everyone respect, because they deserve it. More than likely, they know something that you don’t. And you probably know something that they don’t. That’s what makes our society work. We depend on each other.
Jesus taught us to humble ourselves and respect others. “When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them this: When you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Essence of verses from Luke 24).
Humbling ourselves is a step in the right direction, but if our aim is to be more like Jesus, we must forget about ourselves and think of others. One never stands as tall as he does when he stoops to help another. Let us love others unconditionally, and let us do all we can to lift them up.