[244 words]
One day, in England, a “gentleman of the road” (we’d call him a hobo) stopped by a restaurant named “St. George and the Dragon.” He knocked at the back door and asked if he might have some leftovers to eat. A very stern lady looked the fellow in the eye and said: “I’ll not give you one crumb. You’re a fit fellow. Get yourself a job, you bum!” And then to punctuate her point, she slammed the door in the fellow’s face. The shabbily dressed fellow stood looking at the establishment’s sign for a moment and then knocked, again.
The door opened and the same stern lady asked in a hateful voice: “Well, what is it you want, now?”
“I was just wondering,” he said, “could I please talk to St. George, this time?”
Unfortunately, we all face “Dragons.” Sometimes we work for them. Sometimes they are relatives. But let’s face it, sometimes we are the dragons! (Not you, right?). So I look for a dragon slayer I can count on. It’s called love.
What makes the dragon in you appear? Petty problems, real or imagined slights, jealously, insults, someone cheats you? Do you really like yourself when the dragon appears? I know I don’t like it when it is me.
So let’s try this formula from the Bible:
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).
“… show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2).
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn church of Christ
Abilene, TX