THE WISDOM OF BUMPER STICKERS
Anyone who regularly drives a car knows that traffic jams simply are a way of life. When you are in a traffic jam, it is helpful if the car in front of you has interesting bumper stickers. I saw some bumper stickers recently that I found interesting and challenging,
BUMPER STICKER #1: BE PATIENT WITH ME; GOD ISN’T FINISHED WITH ME YET.
It is a good motto to remember: Be patient with other people AND be patient with yourself. God has a plan for you -and everyone- and one of our challenges is to discern what is God’s plan for me – and then to live out that plan.
BUMPER STICKER #2: HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS, STILL DIES
This bumper sticker was in response to another bumper sticker that was very popular in the 1980’s. That bumper sticker in the 1980’s read: He who dies with the most toys, wins! The bumper sticker challenges us look at our values.
We write our own obituary. If you were eavesdropping at your own wake, would you like to hear: “I loved her outfits; he had a great car; she had the best house in the neighborhood; I wish I could go on his vacations,” OR would you prefer to hear: “She was a great mom; he was a devoted husband; she was the best grandmother; he was a good man.” The bumper sticker is correct: He who dies with the most toys, still dies! Do you want to leave behind a legacy of “stuff” or a legacy of loving memories?
BUMPER STICKER #3: TOGETHER, WE CAN DO SOMEHTING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD.
Mother Theresa was a Catholic nun who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1978 for her work with the “poorest of the poor” in Calcutta, India. At that time the BBC asked one of their journalist, Malcolm Muggeridge to spend 6-monthd with Mother Theresa and produce a documentary on her and her religious community,
Malcom was an agnostic and did not want to do the documentary but a job is a job and off he went. He was so moved by the work of the sisters that he converted, was baptized and was a practicing Catholic until the day he died. He wrote a book on his experience with Mother Theresa and her sisters. The title of the book is the title of the bumper sticker and it was in response to a question he asked her. He asked Mother Theresa to summarize the work of her sisters in one sentence. Mother Theresa responded, “Together, we can do something beautiful for God.”
I think it a nice way to describe our time in the service. I like to think we are doing God’s work. Let’s do God’s work together and, in doing so, do something beautiful for God.