Show I Abundant Living i. i Are You a Man or a Menagerie B By E. E StanJe Stanley Jones Matt trait 29 We Ve continue our study of divide id ties tics A poet says Im not a man Im I'm a menagerie Im I'm a zoo And he expressed what many vaguely feel To have a menagerie menagerie menagerie me me- inside one is to say the least not nota a comfortable feeling And it keeps one worse than busy to have to throw chunks L of meat to opposing temperaments to keep them pacified And yet that is some peoples people's peoples people's peo peo- ples pies life Jie work One can see the outer fortunes of Israel go up and down with the inner divided loyalties Aaron erected an altar in front of oC the calf and proclaimed a festival next day for the Eternal Exodus Moffatt Mo- Mo fatt faU Worshiped a calf today and the Eternal Eternal Eternal Eter Eter- nal tomorrow Note which was the now and which was the next day The reason for this turning to the near- near hand at immediate thing is that God becomes becomes becomes be be- comes vague vague if if you lose your freshness in the land Jand and deprave e yourselves by carving an idol Deuteronomy Mo- Mo I fatt We e make local idols because God is 18 not fresh to us us God fades out and idols barge in Then we ve tr try to put the two to together together to- to gether and reconcile them silver silver you solemnly devoted to the Eternal as your our own gift to make a carved metal idol Judges 17 3 Moffatt Devoted to the Eternal to make an idol That sentence is isa isa isa a transcript of a muddled soul expressing itself in a muddled purpose A minister expressed this division when he said Im working in too many tons Another put it this way I need to tobe tobe tobe be at one with myself On the notice board of oC a church I saw sawan sawan sawan an announcement of the morning and evening evening evening eve eve- ning subjects which ran together The Church at Work Vork Playing Second Fiddle Not only is the church at work playing second fiddle to something else that is first fiddle and leading the tune but in our own 11 lives our Christianity is playing second second sec see ond fiddle to something else Christianity is subordinate not supreme O 0 Christ in whose life only the authentic tic notes of eternity could be heard leading the music of Thy daily living help me to play second fiddle to Thee and to Thee alone For otherwise othen I shall be out of harmony with the eternal realities Amen From From the book Abundant Living published published published pub pub- by Cokesbury Abingdon-Cokesbury Press |