Church Bats

Sunday’s guest preacher had to cope with a bat flying overhead and a congregation of bat gazers.

Each unique moment becomes an opportunity to learn more about humbleness. With every event the humble person ought to ask, “How can I think and act humbly in this situation?” The quickest way to answer that is to determine if we are responding with selfish or selfless motives. If we are reacting selfishly then we are not acting humbly. If we are thinking about how circumstances are bothering me, upsetting me, inconveniencing me, worrying me, disturbing me, costing me, damaging my image, or making me look bad, then we will not be acting humbly. If we are thinking about how circumstances will affect others, harm others, discourage others, worry others, or humiliate others, then we may act out of humility. If, however, we act in a situation, out of concern for others, but hope to gain something for ourselves in the process, then our response is probably not going to be a very humble one still. It is very difficult to remove consideration for self from our thinking and acting.

As I sat in the audience completely horrified at what I was witnessing, my first response was to pray, “Please dear God, give that bat a massive heart attack. Now!” I then did that thing where you stare intently at the object of ire expecting your glare to work like a magnifying glass, causing the bat to burst into flames, or something. It didn’t. Next, I imagined myself running across the top of congregate’s heads like a China-man in “Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger” until I soared upward and snatched the bat out of thin air. It would be awesome if I could do something cool to fix our bat problem. It wouldn’t be very humble though. Living for Christ isn’t about being cool or awesome. It is about being a bond-servant for Jesus and loving those whom God created and loves.

In my desire to destroy the bothersome bat, I failed to recognize the flying interference as a work of wonder by Almighty God. An humble reaction to this unusual happening might be to absorb the sermon, while appreciating all God’s creatures to include the only one present with the gift of self-levitation. After all, if I destroy this distraction, what happens next week when I am the cause of the commotion? Humility involves valuing life regardless of how that life may interfere with my plans, my path, or my peace. Our pride wants to dismiss some life as unworthy of our love. Our humility enables us to reach out to the most detestable, despicable and distasteful lives around us, and care about them . . . even if they should fly over and poop on our head. That would be another opportunity to learn more about being humble.