February 26

Day 259: Call Me Eli

First Samuel begins with a lady named Hannah. She is married to a nice guy, endures a "sister wife" (never great), and is not a Mom.

The sister wife has a pile of kids. And she daily reminds Hannah of what she has, and what Hannah has not. Hannah prays, begs God, asking that she too could be a Mom.

When praying one day in front of the House of the Lord, she is interrupted by the head priest, Eli. She is silently praying, but her lips are moving. (Some of us do that too.)

So he rashly assumes she is drunk. He even begins the conversation with, "How long will you go on being a drunkard?" This was not his best day as a pastor. This is poor bedside manner.

This little exchange reminds me of myself. As a pastor I can be entirely too quick to determine a cause. I can speedily make an assumption about what is behind someone else's words or actions or behaviors, even opinions. I can easily come up with what I think is the cause and the cure.

And I have been wrong, dead wrong, on more than one occasion. Waiting a little longer, listening more intently, asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom, not jumping to initial diagnosis would serve me and especially the other person far better.

Back to Hannah. After receiving the accusation of drunkenness, she tells Eli the priest the real deal. She wants to be a Mom.

And as Eli undoubtably feels what I have felt many times before, foolish. He says the only thing left to say. "May the Lord answer your prayers."

And God did so. He gave Hannah a son, Samuel. And Hannah gave him back to the Lord, as a thank you. She was later given a full quiver of children in short order. God is good that way.

I'm fairly certain I am not the only one who comes to quick assumptions about someone else. We can look at someone who has a nice boat or takes cool vacations, and assume they're selfish and greedy.

We can look at someone who works way beyond 40 hours per week, and assume they're a workaholic. We can look at a strong-willed child, and assume the parents are not good parents. We can look at a depressed person, and simply assume they're not motivated.

We humans are complicated creatures. That being true, it must then be that there are complicated, multifaceted things that contribute to our decisions, words and actions.

And if that is true, then it requires that I slow down, close my mouth, open my ears, and engage my heart to allow the Holy Spirit to tell me what's really going on, and how to help. Actively listening, instead of immediately forming a plan of action.

Otherwise, you can call me Eli. And it won't be a compliment.