"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave". Matthew 20: (26-28).
"Haven't We Been Here Before?" That song by Styx reminds me of the game we're playing in America today. We are 23 days into a government shut down. People with good jobs are going to food pantries because they work for the government and they aren't getting a paycheck. While his workers are scraping for every dime, the president is spending millions on a ballroom for the White House. Everyone is sympathetic to the workers, but no one is willing to do anything about it. Democrats blame the Republicans and Republicans blame the Democrats. No one is willing to come to the table. No one is willing to take personal responsibility for their part in finding a solution. Everyone is waiting for the other guy to make the first move. No one is willing to compromise on anything and nothing gets down. It is a game called "Pass the Buck" and the American people are paying the price for it. It seems new because the stalemate has never gone on this long. It seems new because it has never caused so much pain and suffering, but haven't we been playing this game long before Trump got in office? This week I began to wonder if my cats are smarter than my leaders, as the cats began to show more initiative. Well, what can you expect from a week that begins with the release of an AI video of the president dropping poop on crowds of his own people? I have a story about poop, too - the literal and the figurative.
My striped black, brown and red tabby named Rusty is a neurodivergent cat. She not only has a bad case of epilepsy but its obvious from her behavior that her brain doesn't function like the brains of other cats. She doesn't play, she doesn't purr, she won't climb on anything. When she has to go to the bathroom she goes to the litter box and stands in front of it. While staring at the box, she poops. The only problem is that her rear end is facing the wrong way and the poop ends up outside the box. Last night I heard the sound of kitty claws scratching the floor next to the box. Was Rusty trying to cover her poop? She never did that before. No, it wasn't Rusty. It was one of my other cats, Snowflake. I never saw that, either. I forgot to clean up the poop before going to bed. In the morning Snowflake was up before I was, continuing to scratch on the floor, trying again to cover Rusty's poop.
"Snowflake," I said laughing, "You're trying to cover up somebody else's poop!" I immediately thought about how often we do that as humans. Turning on the news, there was a long press conference about an illegal gambling conspiracy associated with crime families. A prime example! How many people did it take to keep that covered up! I stepped out and came back ten minutes later. The details of the conspiracy were still being described. I finally cleaned up the poop. It was amazing. Somehow Snowflake managed to get most of it covered with litter. I don't know how he did it since the poop was outside the box. I don't know whether he took litter from the box or just scraped together some of the litter that had already fallen outside of it, but after working very hard, he succeeded at what he set out to do.
I was so proud of Snowflake! He saw a problem and he immediately tackled it. He didn't stop to ask who was to blame for the problem, or whether it was fair for him to have to be the one to solve it. He set his sights on what needed to be done and he did it. If only our leaders were as reliable. Perhaps I should add Snowflake's name to the election ballot as a "write in" candidate! Fortunately, leaders aren't the only ones who are called to serve. We all are. We can't sit back and wait for someone bigger and stronger to solve our problems. That is gambling with our future. When we see an issue that needs to be addressed, we have to step up to the plate and do our part. As Christians, the buck has to stop with us.
Just before I turned the TV off, I heard the US Attorney say to the defendants in the gambling case, "Your winning streak has ended - Your luck has run out. Violating the law is a losing proposition, and you can bet on that!" Wow! Dorothy Elliot would have loved it!
"Here I am, Lord! Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night! I will go, Lord, if you lead me! I will hold your people in my heart!" Lyrics from "Here I Am, Lord" by John Michael Talbot.
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