Have an Amazing Day!

As I began to walk away from the ATM machine, I noticed the final message behind the screen in front of me.

“Have an amazing day!”

Not “Have a nice day,” – but an amazing day. Let ‘er rip. Go for all the gusto you can get.

Can you name an amazing day you’ve had in your life? 

I think of the day I got married. I have an amazing wife. That was an amazing day. When my kids were born, that was amazing. I have amazing kids. When I was a boy, seeing Willie Mays hit a homerun, that was amazing for a 14 year old. Or should I say A-Mays-ing. The first time I walked on the streets of Calcutta was amazing. It was a-maze of streets.

But most days are not amazing. I don’t usually say “Amazing, I paid the phone bill today.”

Or when I say, “Got the oil changed, honey.” My wife seldom replies, “Amazing!” (Although she might in this example)

Overstatement

We Americans, and maybe other countries too, I’m not sure, have the trait of overstatement.

“That was an epic fail.”

“Your front yard looks awesome”

“I am super hungry.”

“He’s an incredible artist.” (If not credible or believable that he’s an artist, when in reality he is, would that be good or bad?)

Suppose I did have an amazing day. Maybe I walked away from a head-on. Or we won $21 million dollars in the lottery. (I don't play the lottery) Or what if my income was doubled? Tripled? Or Obama invited me to spend the weekend in the Lincoln bedroom? Amazing!

What if every day was amazing? The unexpected, the spectacular, - school debts paid off, a promotion, that motorcycle you always wanted (or that I wanted), trip to the Bahamas, our loved ones were with us,  -  became a daily "routine." What a run of good fortune! Life would be amazing! My ATM machine's wish would be fulfilled.

Or would it? If every day was amazing, that would become normal. Then what would we call amazing? If the extraordinary becomes the ordinary, then extraordinary has no meaning. Maybe the ordinary then becomes extraordinary? Like any drug, the extraordinary would have diminishing effect with continued use.

So we overstate things. We use exceptional words for ordinary things. 

If someone’s hairdo looks "awesome," then what word do we use when we see something that really is awesome? I’m sorry, but hairdos are not really awesome.

What things really are amazing, epic, awesome, or incredible?

There are many. A sunset. A tsunami wave. A reception in football. The taste of your mother's lasagna. God.

The Bible refers to Him in superlatives. Consider: 

“Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.’”[1] He did. He knocked down the walls of Jericho with a shout. That’s amazing.

“Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”[2] He had parted the Red Sea… now that is awesome!

“And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’”[3] Healings that are not possible by natural means? Now that is amazing.

The ATM bids me to have a day like one that has  'never been seen...' If it happens, it would be great! But  it would be hard to sustain. That's one thing that's cool about Jesus, He is always amazing. Even when it' not an amazing day.

When Paul was running out of words to describe who God is, he said, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”[4]

There are some words that are only fit for truly special things or for God.

Have an amazing day!

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[1] Joshua 3:5 (NIV)

[2] Exodus 15:11 (NIV)

[3] Matthew 9:33 (NIV)

[4] Romans 11:33 (NIV)

Little Foxes Spoil the Vineyard

Recently I read the biblical account of Samson. In one part this incredibly strong man gets revenge on his enemies, the Philistines. He captures 300 “foxes,” ties them together by the tails in pairs, fastens torches to the pairs, and releases them into the Philistines standing grain to burn the crops. Sounds X-Men-ish.

I have to admit, I’ve always felt skeptical when I read that story. How can a guy catch 300 foxes, tie them in twos, burn the crops,  and still get home for Tebow’s weekly miracle? Is that possible?

The Hebrew word translated “fox” in the story means “jackal.” So it’s likely the animals were the Golden Jackals that proliferate in Southern Israel where the story occurred. They are apparently “more easily caught”[1] than foxes.  Jackals are more sociable and run in herds. They would more naturally run even bound to another.

Israel has jackals. One study shows, “From 2006 to 2009, the [Israel Nature and Parks Authority] culled the jackal population in the Golan Heights, shooting about 1,000 a year.” In spite of killing an average of 3 a day, “50 percent more need to be culled in order to significantly reduce the jackal population…”[2] In the Mateh Yehuda area each community with a dump supports about 50 jackals.

Did Samson work alone? The Bible seems to indicate this. But it’s possible he had help.

People catch jackals by baiting steel jaws, snares, or cages with food. A study that required the Golden Jackal to be trapped in the Modiin area of Israel reported a “high success rate in trapping”[3] 21 jackals. On average two nights with a trap set to capture each animal. New Hampshire trapper G. Malcolm Locke caught 200 foxes in 26 days in 1945.[4] If there is a record, it might be Pete Leggett of Maryland who took 1220 red foxes over 53 days in 2003.[5] That’s 23 a day. Less than two weeks to bag Samson’s quota.

Tying the tails together would have required restraining the jaws. Samson was pretty good with jaw bones.

In order to destroy the Philistine crops they must have been released over a wide area. The Palestine of today is more than 2400 square miles. Burning one or two fields wouldn’t have made much of a stir. The torches would have burned out soon, so the 150 pairs could not have been released all at once. I think it took time, but the Bible leaves us guessing.

In the movie “Evan, Almighty,” the animals just showed up at Noah’s Ark. God made it happen.

That’s the supernatural element.

In Samson’s case, God could have brought the jackals. He’s God.

But one thing we do know, there's nothing about the conditions in Israel or the ability to trap animals that rule out the biblical account.

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[1] http://www.bible-history.com/eastons/F/Fox/

[2] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-becoming-a-paradise-for-jackals-1.336310

[3] http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D9459.PDF

[4] http://www.trapperman.com/trapperman/TTGMalcolmLocke.html

[5] http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2007/08/trapping-and-cull-of-wild.html