Two things today - The Mayor & God
July 10, 2007
You didn't really think I wouldn't comment on the Mayor now did you? This from Steve Lopez of the LA Times (just took this from LA Observed - if you want a pulse of LA, you really must read this site!)
"The column also says the affair has been good for the Valley — "it's not clear how often Villaraigosa visited Salinas at a Sherman Oaks condo and later at one in Studio City, but it's possible no other mayor has spent so much quality time in the Valley" — and talks about how Telemundo staffers wonder uncomfortably if they have said too much about the mayor around Mirthala Salinas.
Lopez also takes a brutal but probably deserved swipe at Villaraigosa: On Wednesday, I heard from a psychologist who took issue with my column suggesting that no one could love Villaraigosa as much as he loves himself.
"True clinical narcissism has nothing to do with self-love," said Victor Silva-Palacios, who explained narcissistic personality disorder. "Rather, it has to do with a severe lack of emotional development."
Very interesting. I AGREE!!! HOW MANY PLAYERS HAVE YOU MET THAT ARE SO LIKE THIS!?
"Underneath an apparent 'self-love,' one frequently discovers a fragile ego … and chronic emotional emptiness. It seems to me that Mr. Villaraigosa is trying to hide his insecurities with choices that are very destructive to himself and others." (HOW MANY OTHER PLAYERS SHOULD READ THIS AND SEE THEMSELVES? ONLY GOD CAN FILL THAT VOID.)
Makes sense, but I prefer the diagnosis by an 84-year-old Latina who called and asked me to pass it along to the mayor:
'Tell him that his brains are between his legs, and there's not too much there.'"
Poor Mayor, reduced to a horndog. Just goes to show you CAN'T have your cake and eat it too. Big bummer for him, but maybe now we'll benefit as a city because he'll need to earn our approval back and actually start working!
Now on to something a little more uplifting (which maybe if the Mayor reads will comfort him too seeing as he probably reads everything about himself all the time regardless of what we say about him.) I didn't write this, but if you like it and want more like this, go to www.proverbs31.org and sign up. I really like these!
When God Stoops
My four-year-old will often buzz by me in a flurry of motion usually running too fast while fleeing the scene of a crime or carrying a sharp object. If I yell after him some form of admonishment, he rarely hears it. I have found that for my discipline and instruction to have the most effect, I must stop what I am doing, stoop down on his level, and look him in the eye. When I do this, he and I can connect on a meaningful level.
The other day I came across Genesis 6:8, which says, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” A note in my study Bible informs me that the word “favor” in this verse is from a root meaning “to bend or stoop.” Basically this verse points out that God stooped down from His place on high to offer His favor to a lowly human who didn’t really deserve it and could never earn it. God was condescending, which means “to deal as an equal with one of inferior rank."
This idea is mentioned again in Zechariah 12:10, when God promises to “pour out… a spirit of grace and supplication” on the people. The image painted in this verse is of God, seated on His throne in heaven, pouring down His grace upon His people. Just like I must look down to see my precious child, God must look down upon us to truly see us. The God of the Universe is willing to stoop down to connect with us. I don’t want to lose sight of His willingness to do that for me. I don’t want to be too busy and active like my four-year-old to hear His voice.
How humbling it is to know that even when I do buzz by Him, unaware that He is calling out to me, He is still willing to pause in the midst of all His creation to offer me His favor - the grace and love He so freely pours out. The other day, as my son was running out the door for a visit with his grandmother, I stopped him to tell him goodbye. I stooped down and looked him in the eye. I drank in the sight of his precious face and focused intently on him as I told him I loved him.
This moment reminded me again that God loves me enough to stoop. I hope you will remember today that He loves you that much, too.
Dear Lord, help me to hear Your voice. Help me to remember how much You love me, and how much You long to connect with me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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