Car Repairs and the Nature of God |
| As this column is being written, I’m
sitting in the waiting area of an auto tire company while a flat tire
is being repaired. I am completely oblivious to the state of the tires
on my car and was very grateful when a kind and observant member of
my congregation pointed out a problem the day before. |
| Auto repair shops are foreign territory
to me. I don’t understand the language or the terminology. When
I need to take my car in for repairs, I’m very dependent on
the good will and character of those who perform the necessary services. |
| There are two primary ways I can approach
a transaction like this. One, I can assume that I will be treated
with honesty and respect and that no advantage will be take of my
ignorance. Or, I can walk in loaded with suspicion and assume I’m
in for a very bad experience in which I will inevitably come out the
loser. |
| I’m reminded of a conversation I
overhead several years ago between two men who were preparing for
their first trip to New York City. One was ready to experience all
the glories of that vital metropolis and could hardly wait to walk
those busy streets and try some unusual restaurants and check out
the superb options for live theatre. The other kept countering the
plans with “Yeah, but what if we get mugged from all those dangerous
street people or our pockets get picked or we get lost in the subway?” |
| Now, in the interest of full disclosure,
I will tell you that three of my sons currently live and work in Manhattan.
I myself have spent many happy days and nights wandering those streets,
enjoying the beauty of Central Park, savoring the multiple cultural
opportunities available, riding the subway—and getting lost
on it. So I am a bit prejudiced toward the goodness of that city.
|
| Nonetheless, there are some intriguing
parallels between my moments sitting here in the waiting area of the
tire repair shop and the conversation between those two young men.
What attitudes will we take when encountering unfamiliar situations
that have some possibility of turning out badly? Shall we trust or
distrust? Shall we open ourselves up to new possibilities or cling
only to the familiar and that which is known to be safe? And more,
how does such a choice actually affect the outcome of the experience?
In what ways can we create our own reality here? |
| My guess is that the attitudes we bring
into any new experience dramatically affect our reception to it and
the way it plays out. Someone who fully expects to enjoy New York
City will find the delights there. Someone who expects to find it
a fearful and dangerous place will be alert to all the negative possibilities—and
maybe even attract some of them. |
| In my experience as a pastor, I’ve
become aware that initial and sometimes unexamined decisions we make
about the nature of God also dramatically affect our lives. Who is
God? What is God like? How do we approach this great Unknown? Those
who picture God as primarily judgmental and out to zap wrongdoers
will probably use an approach characterized by fear and cautiousness.
Those who picture God as permeated by goodness and the kind of love
that is constantly wooing us into the joys of relationship, holy living,
and the doing of radical good for one another will approach with hopefulness
and confidence, with the expectation of receiving blessing, not curses
and condemnation. |
| Human beings always have a choice. That
is our privilege—in many ways, it is what defines us as thinking
creatures. The tiniest choices often have the most dramatic outcomes.
I encourage you to choose the option of the basic goodness of God
and let that goodness permeate your life. You could change the world
because of it. |
| And, by the way, a few minutes ago, a
very polite young man came up to me, handed me my receipt, said that
they had taken a screw from my tire and been able to repair it successfully,
and sent me on my way. There was no charge. Just a “remember
us if you ever need a new set of tires.” That’s about
as good as it gets! |
| Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas, Pastor, Krum
United Methodist Church, www.krumumc.org |
| |
