Thought for the Day – Friday 28th August
‘So
Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their
garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.’ (2 Samuel 10: 4)
Can you tell it
is Friday again?
What exactly is
going on here in our text, why would Hanun behave in such a way?
Well what he is
actually doing is insulting these men and insulting them in a very serious way!
Normally in the
culture of that time a beard was shaved only as a sign of mourning and to cut
off someone’s garments in such a way was seen as a way of degrading them rather
like the way prisoners of war would have been treated at that time – so this
action of Hanun’s is indeed a truly serious insult.
Nobody likes to
be insulted. Insults are never pleasant – how can they be when we are being
treated disrespectfully or abused verbally. Insults thrown at us if taken to
heart have the potential to make us feel worthless and truly offended.
I know some
comedians have made loads of money out of hurling insults at their audiences
but generally being disrespectful is not appreciated by many folk.
So how do we
deal with them if they come our way?
Well let me
tell you a little story which might help us to understand:
There was once
a student of a renowned Greek philosopher who was given a very odd assignment
to fulfil. He was told by his master that he must give money to everyone who
insulted him and he must do so for a period of three years. Wishing very much
to study under this philosopher the student did exactly as he was told for
three years. Now when his trial period was over the master summoned the student
to his quarters and said to him that he could now go to Athens because he was
ready to learn wisdom.
Well the
student was elated and set off for Athens and just before entering the great
city, he saw a certain wise man sitting at the gate insulting everybody who
came and went. Naturally on seeing the student approach he began to insult him
too.
‘Hey!’ he cried
out to the student, ‘How did you get to be so ugly and stupid? I have never before
seen anyone as ridiculous looking as you.’
But, instead of
taking offence at the insult, the student just burst out laughing.
‘Why do you
laugh when I insult you?’ asked the wise man.
‘Well’, said
the student, ‘for three whole years I have been paying for this kind of insult
and now you give it to me for NOTHING!’
‘Enter the
city,’ said the wise man. ‘It is all yours.’
I think our
little story helps us to understand that we should try with all our might to
ignore them, maybe even laugh them off.
Now I know that
is not always easy to do for sometimes an insult is so harsh it cuts us to the
bone and so is so very difficult to ignore but I think that is what the master
was trying to teach his student by making him pay to be insulted so that when
he no longer had to pay, the insults became more meaningless to him.
Of course, not
only do we have to make sure we try not to let insults affect us but we also
need to remember how it feels to be insulted and then make sure we never let
someone else feel that way by insulting them.
Prayer
Loving
Lord,
Give us an
awareness of the worth of all, help us in our lives to be compassionate,
caring, encouraging, nurturing and loving. Make us mindful of our words and the
way we speak them to others, make us mindful of our actions and the way might
be perceived. In all we do and say may we reflect you and your ways to all we
meet. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Friday Fun
Time:
Here are your
trivia questions for today!
1. What’s been
your longest ever phone call?
2. What’s your
least favourite place to visit?
3. What’s your
least favourite thing to do in the rain?
4. Who is or
has been your favourite comedian?
5. Have you ever felt like
insulting someone (even though you know you shouldn’t!) and who and
why?
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