Which Of You By Taking Thought Can Add One Cubit Unto His Stature?

Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

My oldest son loves basketball. Unfortunately he has two disadvantages. First, he’s had health issues that make it hard for him to do sustained physical activity. Second, and more importantly, he’s not very tall. In fact, he’s decidely short, just barely over five feet. But, he loves to play.

My second oldest son, only four months his junior, is 6’5″. Tall enough, obviously, to be a force on any team. The only issue for him is that he doesn’t like basketball. I cannot remember the last time I saw him pick up a ball.

In fact, life is somewhat inconvenient for someone who is taller than six feet tall. Clothes are hard to find. Cars don’t fit. Beds are too short. People expect things from you. They ask you to reach things on top shelves. And, of course, they think you play basketball.

I’ve often thought on my sons roles and the scripture from Matthew. One son would add to his stature given the choice, and his brother would remove from his.

I remember an old Twilight Zone episode, The Last Night of a Jockey, starring Mickey Rooney as a 5′ tall former jockey. He’d been banned for cheating. As Twilght Zone episodes do, it introduced a mythical element. The jockey gets a single wish, although based on his past life of crime, he doesn’t really deserve. In a flash of insight he makes his wish.

I want to be BIG.

The jockey falls asleep and on waking realizes his wish has granted. He’s now eight feet tall. He’s estatic. What he’s longed for his whole life, or so he thinks, has been granted.

Just then the phone rings. It’s the racing commission. He’s been reinstated. He can race horses again.

There’s just one problem. He’s now too big to ride a horse. He grows to be ten feet tall. A giant, but an ungainly one. Twisted and hunched, he is no longer fit for his former employ nor any new one.

He wasted his wish. He could have wished for a victory at the Kentucky Derby. He could have wished to perform a heroic act. Instead he wasted his wish on himself. And his short-sightedness cursed him.

I trust my sons, if given the gift of a wish, wouldn’t waste it on shrinking or growing their stature. Instead, I expect them to go out and achieve their own wishes.

And I hope all of you find yours.

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.

Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com

(c) 2018 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved