Soft Answers

A SOFT ANSWER DOES TURN AWAY WRATH

It’s reassuring to doubters, such as I, to find science reinforcing Biblical ideas. (Don’t get too worried about me. I don’t depend on science for the basic issues.) Here’s a new development I read about in Look magazine:

A SOFT ANSWER DOES TURN AWAY WRATH, according to the results of a four-month study of unruly children who were discipline problems in school. Normal and loud teacher reprimands that could be heard by the whole class had no effect on the disruptive behavior of such children. When the teachers switched to soft reprimands that could be heard only by the child being corrected, most of the unruly children misbehaved less often. A return to loud reproaches resulted in an increase in poor behavior, and later return to soft corrections again resulted in better behavior. K. Daniel O’Leary, associate professor of psychology, and a team of graduate students at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, conducted the study.

We who take the Bible so literally might try putting some of its very concrete suggestions into practice – starting with this one.

An Unusual Sin

                                   THE SIN OF RUINING GOOD DAYS

Lady:   When I throw away spoiled food from the refrigerator it makes me feel guilty all day.

Pastor:   A day spoiled by feeling guilty is a far greater waste than a few items of food being thrown away.

How typical --unable to accept my imperfection I gloom around for days over a mistake thereby corrupting hundreds of precious hours – a far greater sin.

Who do I think I am if a little flaw gets me down. I must in fact think I’m pretty good – if that can ruin my day.

May God help me to throw away my mistakes, forgive myself, and charge cheerfully and confidently ahead determined not to waste the day with unnecessary guilt.

Saint Thomas Edison

Have you ever seen the inventor of the Electric Light Bulb called Saint?  I haven't.  I have never seen his picture on the cover of a Christian periodical either.  Nor have I read anything lifting up this man as an instrument of God. 

Thomas Edison was raised in a Christian home but as he invested himself in his innumerable inventive projects his life showed little interest in church-going or other conventional Christian activities.  Is that why he is not hailed and honored by the Christian community?  He wasn't a conventionally involved "Man of God".

A more apprpriate regard for Thomas Edison, "the illuminator of the world" is to see him as a uniquely capable Instrument of God.  Christianinty and all of the world should regard him as one through whom the creative wonders of God have flowed to bring an enormous blessing to humanity.

His goodness, his genius, his creative abilities should be praised, and honored by Christians.  The fact that he was not a God-worshipping, church-going Christian is irrelevant.  That is too bad, but it does not disqualify him as one of the great Saints of history--if Saint is understood as someone through whom God has worked to make the world a better place.

It is easy to add a lot of names to this list of Saints who were not necessarily aware of the goodness of God that was flowing through them.  What a beautiful message the Christian Church could send by honoring, praising and commemorating the contributions of these people who have made the world a better place---Jonas Salk, Firestone,  H.J.Heinz, Henry Ford....  The list is endless.

God loves the world.  His presence is seen perfectly in dying for us, but beyond that his love is seen in healing, beautifying, improving, facilitating, that have made human life more pleasant, hopeful and enjoyable.  And his instruments, whoever they are, should be seen as servants of God, or Saints--whether they knew it or not.