How To Get Things Done In Russia
The BBC reports,
Moscow residents say they have found that the only way to get the council to clear snow is to write the name of opposition leader Alexei Navalny on it. Mr Navalny is Russia's best-known critic of President Vladimir Putin.
Posts on Facebook and Twitter have received thousands of likes, after disgruntled residents took to social media, saying that they tried spray-painting "Navalny" on the city's deep snow out of frustration at the authorities' slowness in removing them.
One user said the move prompted immediate reaction and that council workers removed the graffiti "within hours".
If you want to get a problem taken care of in Russia, spray paint the name of an opposition leader on it and it will disappear. Apparently, the Russian government is more motivated by the fear of opposition than it is by the idea of serving its communities.
How about you? What motivates you, self-preservation or service?
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).
Meek Is Not Weak
I remember hearing about a well-known preacher that was walking with his son. A man approached them and started talking to the preacher. At one point the man asked the preacher his opinion of another man that had been at great odds with him. The preacher said something along the lines of “I think that he is a good man.” Not long after that the man went on his way. Once the father and son were alone again, the son looked up at his dad and said “I thought that man hated you and couldn’t stand you. Why were you so complimentary toward him when you were asked what you thought of him?” To which the preacher said, “Because son, I wasn’t asked what his opinion was of me, but what my opinion was of him.”
What a great example of meekness! Many people think that meekness is weakness, but it couldn’t be further from what the word means. Meekness is controlled strength. A horse hasn’t lost its strength when it gets harnessed, it has gained usefulness, and not lost one ounce of strength. When we choose to direct our power to be constructive rather than destructive, that does not display weakness but meekness – controlled strength. Did not Solomon say in Proverbs 16:32 “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”?
Helicopter Moms
Look! It’s a bird…It’s a plane…No, It’s a Helicopter mom!
According to Wikipedia a helicopter mom is “a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. Helicopter moms are so named because, like helicopters, they hover overhead.”
There are some notable examples of helicopter moms in Scripture.
Sarah, for example, was so enmeshed with her son Isaac that she orchestrated the banishment of his step-brother, Ishmael, to ensure that he’d have no competition.
Rebekah was so enmeshed with her son Jacob that she orchestrated the reassignment of his father’s blessing away from Esau to Jacob instead.
God had already ordained that Isaac was the son of promise through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This was inevitable whether Sarah had intervened to banish Hagar and Ishmael or not. Who knows, perhaps there’d be fewer tensions in the Middle East today had she not subjected them to such cruel treatment.
God had already ordained that Jacob should receive his father’s blessing. He didn’t need Rebekah’s help in fulfilling His will and promise.
Moms, you don’t have to hover overhead, attempting to micro-manage and control every detail of your child’s life in order to secure their favor and success. Remember, God loves them even more than you do, and He is quite capable of ensuring that their lives play out as they should without any intervention from you.
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).