DO IT ANYWAY

 

Friday, February 17, 2023

 

DO IT ANYWAY

 

Luke 11:5-9

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: (like yesterday) the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

 

          I like balance in my life and, since yesterday’s devotional may have sounded a bit like a rant, today I want to offer some contrast. Immediately, I thought of a poem I had attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta. But she did not write it.

 

          It was written by Kent M. Keith as “Paradoxical Commandments”. Mother Teresa promoted it by hanging a framed photo of this poem on the wall of her home. The following is Keith’s poem.

 

The Paradoxical Commandments

 

by Dr. Kent M. Keith

 

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

   Love them anyway.

 

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

    Do good anyway.

 

3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.

   Succeed anyway.

 

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

   Do good anyway.

 

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

    Be honest and frank anyway.

 

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the       smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

   Think big anyway.

 

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

    Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

 

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

    Build anyway.

 

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

   Help people anyway.

 

10.Give the world the best you have, and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.

     Give the world the best you have anyway.

 

Dear Lord, like the householder whose neighbor needed bread, let me rise and help him anyway. AMEN