Thought for September 13

 History:

• 122: Construction of Hadrian's Wall begins
• 1501: Michelangelo begins work on David
• 1845: Faraday effect of magnetic field on polarized light discovered
• 1902: First appearance of Tinkers, Evers and Chance together
• 1955: Patent granted for Velcro
• 1971: 11 guards and 31 inmates die at Attica State Prison
• 1977: First TV "viewer discretion warning"
• 1985: First appearance of Super Mario Brothers game
• 1990: Law and Order premiers
• 1997: Elton John releases "Candle in the Wind"
• 1997: Mother Teresa's funeral
• 2008: Hurricane Ike hits Texas
• 2019: Felicity Huffman sentenced in college admissions scandal
• Born: Daniel Defoe, Walter Reed [mosquitoes transmit yellow fever], Milton Hershey, John Pershing, Claudette Colbert, Bill Monroe, Roald Dahl [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory], Mel Torme, Barbara Bain [Mission Impossible], Peter Cetera [Chicago], Nell Carter, Tyler Perry, 
• Died: Titus [destroyed Jerusalem],  Ambrose Burnside [sideburns], Tupac Shakir, George Wallace, Dorothy McGuire, Ann Richards [Texas Governor], Moses Malone, 

Thought:

Continuing to look at those verses and passages I have marked in my Bible over the years. Today, I am pondering Deuteronomy 18:9--"you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations." Moses is warning the Israelites that when they enter Canaan, the people around them will have actions and habits that are detestable to the Lord. The Jews are to imitate God and not the people around them. WOW! This is one of those verses that I read and say--this is really all I need to know---conform to the character of God as lived in the life of Jesus and to do not imitate the things of the world. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery--so if I want to honor and praise God, I imitate Him. 

Paul may have had this verse in mind when he wrote Romans 12:1-2--don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you can prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. God knows my nature and my tendencies. Our parents did too. They would tell us not to hang around with certain people and when we asked why, they would tell us their bad habits would rub off on us. And the opposite is certainly true, when we hang around people of God, their good habits, attitudes, speech and deeds rub off on us. 

And many of us experienced this truth with our children--we would tell them to do as I say and not as I do because we realized the habits and ways of the world had rubbed off on us and we were not modeling God's ways. 

I am smiling as I write because I recall one of my former law partners speaking to clients from Germany. We could hear him on the phone in his office speaking to the German clients using his interpretation of a German accent  He was trying to imitate their accent, often unknowingly. Then I realize I do the same thing--I adjust my accent or vocabulary to my audience. I adjust my joke tolerance to my audience. I just want to get along, not rock the boat, be a buddy to everyone. So I imitate their conduct, their attitudes, their preferences. Nothing has changed since Moses' day--and neither has God--Larry, do not imitate the detestable things of the world.

Blessings

Larry