Mark, Chapter 12, Verse 12
They were seeking to arrest
him, but they feared the crowd, for
they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and
went away.
It is natural to fear
something you cannot control. Christ could not be controlled by the men in charge
of the Temple system; so they feared Him and they feared the crowd that
followed Him. Christ’s message was good news to the crowd who were but pawns in
the Jewish Temple system of wealth and power.
Yesterday we examined the
effects of fear on the crowds in Rowanda at the time of the genocide. We can
see that when rabid fear infects the masses and there is a shortage of
righteous men utter chaos can follow.
We in times of trouble should
be like Tobit and seek to walk all the days of our lives in paths of truth and
righteousness. It was Tobit who defied those in power to do an act of mercy by burying
the dead. While his neighbors mocked him and saying to one another:
“He is still not afraid! Once before he was hunted down for execution because
of this very thing; yet now that he has scarcely escaped, here he is again
burying the dead!” (Tobit 2:8) Love makes sacrifices. He (Christ) laid down His
life for us. We should also lay down our live for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)
Most of us by the grace of God are never confronted with such
terrors as Tobit and the Rwandan’s. Yet, we too in our quiet lives can lay down
ourselves in service to our brothers.
John McCain in his book Character is Destiny
highlights the life of John Wooden who in his own quiet way as a Basketball
coach made a huge difference in countless lives of young men growing up
teaching them the power of COOPERATION.
Coach Wooden was a modest man who inspired young men under his tutelage,
leading by example; teaching them wisdom and decency to become both winners and
good men.
McCain states Wooden:
He cared about his players, and paid strict attention to
teaching them the small and big things that would help them become the best
basketball players they could be, and, most important, the best men they could
be. He would bench a player for using profanity or for criticizing a teammate
or for treating an opponent disrespectfully. He expected his players to dress
appropriately, be courteous to everyone, acknowledge their other teammates when
they scored, and to refrain from showing excessive emotions on the court. He
taught them dignity, based, as dignity is, on self-respect and respect for
others. And he taught them not only the usefulness of teamwork, five men all
playing their assigned roles, but the virtue of cooperation, and the sense of
satisfaction it provided to an individual.
Coach Wooden taught that success is, “peace of mind that is the
direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the
best that you are capable of becoming.” Coach Wooden developed a Pyramid of
Success which he taught his players which not only help them win at the game of
basketball but also in the game of life.
McCain, John and Salter, Mark. (2005) Character is destiny. Random
House, New York
