Thursday, June 21, 2001
Thursday, June 21, 2001
"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and
pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell
you, they have received their reward."
The plow was designed to help them farm. It was designed for use in the fields, not to be revered.
It was designed to strike deep in the African soil. It was designed to help the people, to nourish
the people, to make them healthier, to make their quality of life better. But the members of that
primitive tribe didn't know that, so the plow became an ornament, rather than a tool!
Sometimes we do that with our faith. We make our faith an ornament instead of a tool to help us
live our everyday lives.
(Matthew 6:5
NRSV)
Many years ago some missionaries were going into a remote corner of Africa to work with a
primitive tribe. The missionaries were uncertain about how they would be received, so they
decided to give the tribe a gift as a sign of goodwill. As they flew over the area a bright, shiny
new plow was parachuted down to the tribe. The plow would help the natives as they farmed. At
least that was the missionaries' intent. They were unprepared for what they found a few days
later when they arrived at the encampment. The natives had never seen a plow before. They
hadn't a clue as to what this strange-looking instrument which had dropped out of the sky was
used for. Not knowing what to do with it, they had put the plow on a pedestal and were
worshiping it!
Dear God, may my faith be lived not by the symbols I wear but through a faith that is truly lived
out. Amen.
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