Metamor4Sis

I was scrolling through some blogsites. Came across this one from Heartlight. Thought it was worth sharing. I had heard a sermon last Sunday about “Love God, Make Disciples and Transform Communities.”

When you hear of someone being “above the law” or “above the rules,” what comes to mind?

Perhaps the person who cut in front of you in traffic; she must think she owns the road. Maybe the white-collar crooks who poked holes in your retirement; they knew the rules about insider trading and honest bookkeeping but simply decided to violate them. Yes, there are people who break laws and breach the canons of ethics. They don’t care who gets hurt. They’re only looking out for themselves. But, there is another way of being “above the rules.”

One can function at a level higher than the rules demand. Maybe we’d say “above and beyond” or “going beyond the call of duty.”

The person who borrows your car to run a quick errand fills a near-empty gas tank before bringing it back. A stranger stops to help when you are stranded beside the highway. You put a quarter in a parking meter for the car next to yours because you see the time has expired.

You can spot the difference between the two attitudes a mile away. The former won’t help with rush or crisis situations at work because “it’s not in my job description.” The latter never bats an eye about pitching in or staying late because the good of the company trumps convenience and protectiveness.

Couples determined to work things out by the rules of fair play are a counselor’s nightmare. She doesn’t think she’s getting what she deserves. He is convinced he is doing everything anybody could expect. So the battle over rights and duties, expectations and demands is on.

Few couples wind up in that same office or in divorce court when he is looking for ways to surprise her with kindness — only to be outdone by her creativity in showing how much she loves him.

Churches are afflicted with the same problem. The term is “legalism” for trying to fix, place, and set in order by laws. Its opposite is not liberalism but “grace.” By the rules of time and place, Jesus should not have prepared food on the Sabbath or stood in the way of a mob intent on stoning a woman who had been caught “in the very act” of adultery.

Jesus was above the rules. He wasn’t arrogant, self-centered, and willing to break the laws of heaven or earth. But he knew that law’s higher purpose was always to protect, empower, and love people. Thus he associated with, showed kindness to, and made disciples of people who had been rejected by most

We must guard against making the rules hateful by losing sight of people.

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself”

Recently I read this article about a British man who posted praises of himself on a website, pretending to be someone else. You can read about it below. This is in total contrast to what I read here

Mystery author who heaped praise on hard-working councillor is revealed… to be the councillor himself

A bungling councillor has been revealed as the mystery author of internet postings that praised his own work. Ben Grower has been logging onto a website under an unidentifiable username and leaving messages congratulating him on his tireless work. On the issue of the expansion of a dental surgery, the author, using the pseudonym ‘Omegaman’, wrote: ‘Just shows the area does have councillors who care …well done Ben Grower.’ On another issue of a housing plan, he said: ‘I have friends who live in the area. They say councillors Ted Taylor and Ben Grower fought hard against the proposals.’

Labour councillor Ben Grower admitted he had been logging on to a website and leaving messages praising his work

The revelation comes after the husband of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was unmasked as the author of a series of letters in his local newspaper defending her. Richard Timney failed to declare in the letters that he was Ms Smith’s husband.

Investigations showed ‘Omegaman’ was registered to an email address containing Mr Grower’s name.

When confronted with the evidence, the Labour councillor for Bournemouth Borough Council tried to blame somebody else for the postings before coming clean.

‘It could be anybody. It could be me, it could be Santa Claus’, Mr Grower said.

He later confessed to being the author but insisted it was within local government rules.

He said: ‘I have done nothing against the law and probably next time I will just use a different pseudonym.’

Mr Grower, a Bournemouth councillor, claimed many of his town hall colleagues used the same tactics to make them look good to the local electorate.

He added the comments were ‘only fun that no-one took seriously’.

But Mr Grower’s opponents described the stunt as ‘tragic’. Claire Smith, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: ‘I think it’s quite funny and tragic when you have to start praising yourself online.

‘Your work should stand on its own.’

Stephen MacLoughlin, the Conservative leader of Bournemouth council, added: ‘Councillors need to be above reproach and they need to be very careful to avoid anything that could be seen as deceiving the public.’

The postings Mr Grower made were left on the website of the local newspaper, the Daily Echo.