Saturday, January 5, 2013

How Do You Want Your Eggs?

What follows is imaginary.

Amy was waiting on tables. It was breakfast time, her feet were sore already. Her little boy had a fever. A neighbor was watching him. She needed to call and see how he was. Her customer couldn't make up his mind. He looked out the window as if for help in deciding. It was a partly cloudy day, the sun would come out, then disappear again.

He guessed he would have eggs, scrambled like his mind. He had considered them sunny side up. But didn't Freud say that represented a desire for his mother's bosom? Jung said it was an archetype representing mankind's need for nurture. He needed to look into it some more before he could make up his troubled mind.

Meanwhile Amy waited, pad and pencil in hand, watching his pinched face, making a monumental decision.

I talked with a wealthy man about his Bible teaching. He had no gift for it, not even a desire, but the church needed a teacher so he volunteered. "I run into a passage I don't understand so I look it up in a commentary. Just to be sure I look at another commentary and it completely disagrees with the first one, and I'm back where I started."

I used to laugh at such people who did not have the patience to work with scripture and get to know it. Now I don't laugh, I feel sorry for them. There are liberals who take pride in never declaring that they know anything for sure. They seem to feel superior to those who know. They have read 5,000 books and they are more confused than ever. Instead of reading the Word, they read books about the Word, or philosophy.

I found that many of these people try to lift themselves above others by endless learning. They always seem to need more data, but they are not sure. Others are afraid to commit and be proven wrong. I have known such people.

Let's go back and rescue our waitress.

Amy's customer had a bright and sunny disposition. It was like the day's weather, clear and sunny. "I'd like two eggs over easy, two sausage patties, and hash browns. Black coffee." He smiled as he passed the menu back.

"If a few more people could order so quickly," Amy thought, "I'll have time to check on my son. It sure is a pleasure to work with people who are sure of things."

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