What shall I say about you?

Matthew 11:16-19

“What shall I say about this nation? These people are like children playing, who say to their little friends, ‘We played wedding and you weren’t happy, so we played funeral but you weren’t sad.’For John the Baptist doesn’t even drink wine and often goes without food, and you say, ‘He’s crazy.’ And I, the Messiah, feast and drink, and you complain that I am ‘a glutton and a drinking man, and hang around with the worst sort of sinners!’ But brilliant men like me you Jesus' can justify your every inconsistency!”

Food for thought!

In today's gospel reading Jesus describes some people that are stuck. They just can't get moved; they are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry! These people are just stuck in something; nothing and nobody moves them; nothing and nobody inspires them; joyful songs don't inspire them; and neither do mourning songs. John the Baptist, with all his austerity, preached to them, and they said ‘He’s crazy.’ And Jesus came feasting and drinking, and they complained that he was a glutton and a drinking man, and hang around with the worst sort of sinners.

Yes, sometimes we too get stuck in life, unable to move forward or progress; unable to make a difference, not only in our life but also in the life of those we love. The basic question is do we know what we want, what we need, what we have to do? Do we know what will make us happy and alive and good?

The “little friends” didn't get inspired by the other children in the park; the people in Jesus' time didn't like both John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ. They just could not get inspired. Why? It is because, as Valorie Burton tells us, “What you say about your life and your circumstances is even more powerful than what others say.” It means, others cannot get you moving if you don't want to move; it means that others cannot inspire you if you are not interested in being inspired. What you say to yourself is far more powerful than what others say to you or about you.

How you tell the story of your challenges, the statements you make about yourself, what you say to yourself about yourself can either propel you forward or hold you back. Describe past challenges as events you have overcome, survived, or thrived in spite of. Refuse to make anyone who hurt you the centerpiece of your story. They do not get a starring role in your story. Give God the starring role. Describe the ways in which God grew you, enlightened you, protected you, or helped you through the situation.