At the beginning of the war in Iraq, I had an idea of building a million man/woman prayer army invoking our living God to provide direction and protection. The goal was that God be glorified even in the center of this earthly struggle. I wrote out the request for others to join this prayer team and sent it to several asking them to forward it on. I'm convinced the request circled the globe repeatedly within the week and such a target was struck.
One forwarded note landed at the desk of a local television reporter. She contacted me asking to do an interview. I obliged and shared with her enormous and hopeful expectations. The reporter was gracious and, as interviews go, I felt this would be a good story.
However, the newsreel was terrible. It was all about me; my office, my idea, my.... There was nothing in the report about God. How can a reporter miss the central theme when it was so thoroughly discussed? How can God not get into a story about God? I was ashamed of what came out. She had to deliberately go to great pains to squeeze Him out.
Two weeks later the same reporter wanted to do another story reflecting something coming out of the governors office. I refused her request explaining my great disappointment in our recent interview. She didn't get it. We did a story about God blessing people and she left Him out.
While we each tackle strenuous and overwhelming tasks, be certain the work is all about God. Yes, He uses people like us to shine. But our shining is to glorify God. Otherwise, we simply glare.
1 comment:
For six years I was chaplain of a small town police department in Central Florida and had inside information on numerous situations that were printed in the paper. Seldom did the reported news come close to the actual event.
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