My iPhone know me too well

This morning I heard a song on the radio that included the following lyrics:

"Was I Jesus to the least of those 

Was my worship more than just a song"

I had heard the song before.  I recognized the melody.  I wondered who sang it as the voices and music didn't sound like any of the bands/artists more commonly heard on Shine 95.1 FM in the Baltimore area.  So, I waited till the end of the song hoping that they would announce the artist.  They did.  The group was The Sidewalk Prophets.  The song was Live That Way.  

I wanted to get some clarification of the lyrics and typed Sidewalk on my phone.  What came up as an option to click on before I typed anything else?  Not "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein.  Not sidewalk chalk that my kids might use to draw.  But Sidewalk Prophets.  It would not be the most obvious thing, except for the amount of time I spend searching for song lyrics and religious references in general.  My iPhone knows me too well.

Why did I find the song so moving?  Well, those two lines, and the rest of the song are really about what I wrote about two days ago in some ways.  What does it mean to be a prophet? How can I brighten people's lives.  A good friend (a true smiler) told me today that I had been a positive influence on the group I run with in Back on My Feet and that whenever I'm ready to pull back a little it is okay.  So, maybe I do brighten people's lives, even if I'm not the biggest smiler.

But those two lines--was I Jesus to the least of those?  I try to be like Jesus.  I don't always do a great job. 

Is my worship more than a song?  Well, playing music is an important part of my worship experience.  And my songs will never be what Sidewalk Prophets or any other artist's on the radio songs are.  But I also think that my worship is more than a song.  The key question is--for whom.  For the kids I teach in Sunday school?  Sure. But is there anyone else for whom my worship is more than a song?  Can people tell how much I think that my God means to me?  And how do I share?

Low Impact

Another day.  Another workout.  More pondering.  Today, the theme is low impact.  Not surprisingly, I was on the exercise bike for 30 minutes and the elliptical for 30 minutes.

How does “low impact” relate to my life?  Do I try to make a low impact on the world?  In some ways, yes.  Recycling.  Careful use of the resources for which we are supposed to be God’s stewards. 

In other ways, no.  I try to have an impact on a lot of people through my work.  Heck, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s motto is “Saving lives…millions at a time”.  I don’t think I’ve saved millions.  I may not even have saved one.  While I have tried to have an impact on a lot of people in a lot of different research areas, I would say that my method of impact is “low impact” or perhaps “gentle impact”.

In what way?  I don’t say “It’s economics or bust!”  I don’t force my ideas on people.  I try not to come to any collaborative or teaching situation with preconceived notions.  Instead, I try to come at each opportunities with open eyes and an open mind and share ideas.  Share concepts.  Teach and learn.  Speak politely and listen.

Does it always work?  No.  No plan of mine has always worked.  No philosophy I’ve tried has ever turned out to be 100% foolproof.  Nothing in my life has turned out to work just the way it was intended 100% of the time.

However, there is plenty of evidence that taking a low impact or gentle impact approach does help to develop good collegiality, nice collaboration, and open doors. 

So, once again, my exercise of the day, a low impact workout not beating on my knees.  Low impact collaboration not “beating on” my colleagues.  Both work together in my life. 

And, tor bring it back to the spiritual, in the New Testament, even Jesus was “low impact” most of the time.  Of course, there was the time when he cleared the temple of those who were performing commercial transactions there.  Not so low impact, of course.  And there was the crucifixion.  Obviously, also not low impact.  However, most of his preaching, most of his teaching, and most of his doing were definitely low impact.  One of the best stories to illustrate this in my mind was the one where the woman was about to be stoned.  Jesus just sat in the sand and drew in the sand and challenged anyone sinless to throw the first stone.  Little more was said.  No one knows exactly what he was drawing or writing in the sand.  Then he forgave the woman and things went on.  Great example of a low impact way to have a high impact on the world.