Got a ‘bit o rain’ yesterday, along with a few drops of rain.  Supposed to get some more later this week.  Tomorrow, Teresa came up.  They are making some more green tomato relish – chopping it up today and salting it down to be processed tomorrow.  We are using a lot of the onions Josh dropped off for us last weekend as well as getting as much out of the garden as we can.

Peppers are really pretty and lots of them, I made some stuffed peppers for lunch today – hated to cut into those green peppers they were so pretty!  But they were also very good. 

Colossians 4:1  Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

How important is a person?  We are hearing more and more about ‘legacies.’  What do we leave behind when we leave, what will be our ‘legacy?’  That becomes a more important question to some people than ‘what can I do to serve?’ 

This is so important to some people that they hire people to form that legacy, not necessarily truthfully, to make the person appear as THEY want to be known.  People will lie, create false scenarios, destroy contrary evidence and cover up anything that detracts from what will be their ‘legacy.’

They endeavor to present a persona that will make people think that is who they are; whether they are or not.  If you want to see how creating a persona works, watch political ads in support of candidates – they are designed to show the candidate in the best light for their constituents. 

Many of the themes follow the same thing:  the candidates are just like us, they live a simple life, they love their family and they ‘feel’ our pain and understand our desires.  In reality many of these candidates are just the opposite of what they are portrayed as; the persona is scripted by a savvy public relations person who knows how to manipulate the public and the press.

Since we really don’t get to know most of these candidates personally, we start to rely on these ads to make our decisions – and they do not tell the whole story or sometimes not even the true story.  It is becoming more and more difficult to actually ‘know’ what a person believes because they are more skillful at marketing the persona they want us to see. 

That is not a new phenomenon by the way; politicians in particular have been doing it for thousands of years.  But today there is more ways for them to get their message out to their public, with people who have studied how, and are skilled at, slanting the information.

We see celebrities and politicians walking around with entourages that take care of their every whim, that tell them how important and great they are.  Some do it for money, others for the opportunity to be included in the ‘great person’s’ circle and others as an act of love for the person.  Some will even take the blame for mistakes their ‘beloved leader’ makes so their image is not tarnished.

The same media used to impress the public can also be used to show the truth, if that is not suppressed, which is often tried – and all too frequently successfully by the ‘important person’s’ employees.  However, when it isn’t we see and/or hear of how many of these ‘important people’ use those they have under them.  Many will abuse them verbally and even physically, treat them with distain and are condescending to them.  No matter the walk of life, once a person has authority over another their real nature starts to come out.

Today, journalists that are supposed to be unbiased aren’t.  They often buy into the persona the public relations people are trying to portray.  Many times their bias comes through loud and clear, other times they can give a more balanced view – just depends on how strongly they feel on a subject – or how their network producers feel.  The lines between commentary and news have become blurred so badly it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference. 

It is easy for us to point to these ‘masters’ and feel superior, we may think that if we had the opportunity we would never be like that.  But when this verse talks to the masters it isn’t just talking about these people, it is talking to everyone that has authority over someone else.  The more people we have authority over the greater the responsibility this verse lays on us, but if we only have one person you are the ‘master’ of this verse speaks directly to us.

We have a responsibility to God to treat people fairly and with compassion.  Yes, there are times we have no choice but to be firm and sometimes we must terminate their services with us, but it should not be done because we deem them ‘unworthy’ of our service.  We should never demand service that humiliates the servant or causes them difficulty or shame.  We should never cause them to lose their dignity and treat them with the same respect we wish to be treated.

The more powerful a person, the more enticing it is to believe they are invincible, their word should be the law of whatever they are doing and they expect immediate submission.  They become obsessed with being right and will brook no dissention.  They can become cruel and demanding of their servants and use them only in so much as it benefits them.  If the servant burns out they cast them aside as they would an old shoe.

They are so filled with their own importance they forget they are but one person, filling that position for a limited time.  No matter how powerful, no matter how important, each of us are but minor players in the world over a span of time. 

Unfortunately, some Christian leaders have also fallen into the trap of self-importance and forgotten who really is in charge.  And some while pretending to be pious were just climbing over people to attain stature, prestige and the benefits of the position.

Yes, some have positions where they can impact more people, but they also have the responsibility and the accountability to use their position wisely and not mistreat their servants.  When they stick out their chest and proclaim how great they are, God looks at them and laughs.  They are nothing.

It does us well to remember that all we are, and all we do will be ultimately judge by our service to God, by HIM.  When we start to boast of our position or our service – whether verbally or by our actions – we start to lose out with God.  When we start to demand special attention because of those positions we have demeaned ourselves before God.  While that may not matter to those that do not believe in Him, it should be foremost in the minds of us who do.   

Isaiah 40:21-22 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

²² It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

As we sit, in our part of the world, with our circle of friends and our own reality, we sometimes forget we are but a very small part of this world.  We have limited abilities and limited influence.  We have skills that are shared by others and there always seems to be someone who is better than we are at any given thing.  We are a composite of humanity, yet we are unique, we are individuals like no other walking the earth today.  But, we are one of many and should not think too highly of ourselves.

One of the things that sets us apart from the person next to us is who we are in the eyes of God.  He looks at us through eyes of love and as a master who wants to use His servants to the best of their ability so they accomplish what needs to be done.  He doesn’t look at our abilities so much as looking at our hearts.  He can give us abilities, IF our heart is willing to listen and obey Him.

We must always keep in mind that God is God.  There is no one, not now, not in the past, nor in the future that can come close to who God is.  Compared to Him, we are but grasshoppers among grasshoppers.  While we do not go about our day blindly following Him as the entourage of the rich and famous, we are to listen to Him and obey, because we know who He is; HE is our master, HE is God.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again