Hummingbirds
“Useless
wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of
the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of
gain. From such withdraw yourself. But godliness
with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy
6:5-6)
The deep green hedge separating
our house from the neighbor’s has been full of
beautiful orange-red flowers for quite some time,
now. The bees and the wasps have known about the
blossoms for months, but the hummingbirds didn’t
discover them until a few weeks ago. I always
thought hummingbirds were cute little things, and
they are, but at least some of them in our
neighborhood have very bad tempers! One of them in
particular seems to feel that the hedge is utterly
HIS, letting out loud noises that sound like “Mine!
Mine!” and he chases away any other
hummingbirds who dare to come near “his” blossoms.
How long do hummingbirds live,
anyway? I’ve been wondering if it’s the same one
who bossed the neighborhood around last year and the
year before. He certainly LOOKS the same, and his
attitude is the same, too. It SOUNDS like the one
from last year, shouting “Mine!
Mine!” about the hedge flowers to any and all
who might have a different opinion.
Lasting contentment is
obviously a gift from God (but not a gift to
hummingbirds) and without the Lord, the world knows
nothing about it. Amazingly, there are those who
regard the gospel of our Lord as an opportunity for
argument, and they are fascinating – it’s as though
many have been gifted (not by the Lord) with a gift
of “contempt” for the viewpoint of others, shouting
“Mine! Mine!”
about whatever subject might be at hand.
We have a section in our Church
On The Net called “Ask
The Pastor,” where readers send questions and
we do our best to answer them. Many of the
questions are good and we appreciate them, but there
is another type of “question,” like this one:
“Do
you promote tongues today. If one knows the word and
knows the LORD< one knows that gift is not for
today. NO you cant be
(he named a religion he
did not like) and
Christian at the same time, it is totally iLL-LOGICAL.
they DONT GO TOGETHER. any GOOD DISCERNING pastor
KNOWS THAT IF THEY UNDERSTADN CLEARLY WHAT THE
(he named the
religion again) TEACHES. THAT IS A COMPLETE oxy-MORON.”
That’s an exact quote, and it
reveals much about the writer, who, in my opinion,
has a lot in common with the hummingbird in our
hedge. The preceding paragraph is actually helpful,
for it is a fine example of how NOT to share with
one another. The writer makes certain assumptions.
He doesn’t ask, he tells, and he YELLS when he does
it! Do you “yell” when you communicate? Sometimes
we do yell, even when we don’t think we do.
Here’s the response given to
that writer: “Answer to
‘(the church he didn't like)’ and ‘tongues’ --- When your
focus is on religion, as yours seems to be, you miss
the point. We are to be ‘born
again’ (John 3:3,
7); we are to receive His Spirit (Romans 8:9). We
are to love one another (John 13:35). This is not
about buildings or religious services, but the power
and the love of God. Explain this verse: ‘The
gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable’”
(Romans 11:29).
Perhaps I yelled at HIM with those words; perhaps we
all do, each in our own way. I don’t know. But I
do know this: we should discuss our differences in
ways that build us up – and not tear one another
down.
In the Body of Christ, we
should have the courage to disagree even MORE than
we do, because we can learn from one another, but
disagreement should be accomplished in love. If we
have received our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we
are “one” in Him
(John 17:11) whether we see it or not, and because
of Him we all are part of the same ultimate good
purpose. It is NOT reasonable for my hand and my
foot to be agitated with one another, though their
functions and viewpoints are quite different, and
you and I are as close from God’s perspective as
that “hand” and “foot.” when we are in Christ. We
are more likely to listen to our “hand” and be more
likely to learn from our “foot” when we sense a
caring and concern in what is said. It is time to
let our “Useless wranglings,”
as in the Scripture verse for today, be replaced by
“godliness with
contentment.”
While rinsing dishes at the
kitchen sink, I have a front-row spectator’s
position for the hummingbird display just outside
the window. The triumphant bird, after hitting the
other ones with his wings and uttering his shrill
whistling sound (which really does sound like, “Mine!
Mine!”), chases the others away, after which
he returns in a few moments and hovers in the air,
savoring his victory. Then he dashes to the
blossoms, dipping in-and-out of one particular
blossom for quite some time. In my opinion there’s
plenty of nectar in those many, many blossoms for a
number of hummingbirds to eat their fill, but the
one seems determined to try and have it all!
The hummingbird experience is a
great deal like the “question” received in “Ask The
Pastor,” and I hate to say it, but it also reminds
me of my answer, for none of us are exempt here. We
ALL have too great a need to be “right,” and who is
right except our Lord? We shout, “Mine!
Mine!” about the victory in some argument,
but who cares about winning if we hurt the heart of
that other person? If we have Christ in our hearts,
we don’t have every single answer. What we have is
better – we have Him!
I’m GLAD you have your
religious beliefs and if you want to share them, I
will listen with interest. I have many books and we
have access through the computer to many religious
websites. I don’t agree with all that is in my
books and those websites, but I respect the authors
and their rights, understanding that at least
sometimes it’s me that’s wrong. The one who wrote
the Ask The Pastor “question” has a right to his
opinion. All I object to is when we force our ideas
on others, demanding that they think just like we
do. Actually, it’s OK to disagree in love. We can
learn from our differences and we can especially
learn from the love He places into our hearts, a
love that is real even when we disagree.
What kind of “bird” are you?
We should be like V-formations of geese, “drafting”
others through the sky as we travel to distant
lands. But all too often we’re those hummingbirds
who insist on “our” hedge, our ideas, to the
exclusion of everyone else. Let’s pray:
Lord, help us to realize that
You are the truth, and we come closest to the truth
when we trust in You and love one another. Help us
to stop insisting that people adopt our pet ideas,
if they cause harm. Teach Godly contentment to us.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
