04-05-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 5, 2025
Yesterday morning, I pulled out my electric hair clippers as it was probably time for another haircut. Yes, as you’ve probably noticed, I cut my own hair… have for 20 years. Over those 20 years, I have purchased two clippers, around $30 each. I’m always trying to figure out ways of saving money, and this was one easy way. Of course, it might be time to buy a new clipper because halfway through the haircut this morning, it stopped working. That’s right—I had done the front and one side. Though my hair is never long, I looked in the mirror and thought I had a left-sided mullet. This was not good! Who could deliver a new one in an hour? Or do I just go to work looking foolish… more foolish than usual? I let the clippers sit for a while and then tried them again. They worked, and I was able to finish the job. But there was this short period of time in which my ego felt a bit threatened. Seriously, what would people think if I went into public looking as ridiculous as I did? Then I was struck by a divine intervention of words, “Who cares?” First of all, as odd as I might have looked on the Bruce scale of oddness, how many people would have really noticed? Let’s be real. There are plenty of haircuts that people purposely choose that would catch the attention of others more than my silly clipper fiasco. There are days when it’s good to be humbled, realizing that the universe doesn’t revolve around a haircut. And in a world full of immense suffering, where exactly does my perceived expectation of what people will think of me fit? Alongside the question, “Who cares?” maybe there needs to be an additional question, “What should I really care about?”

In my daily life, O Gracious God, I have limited time and energy. Grant me a humble spirit, so that I may use my resources wisely and focus on what truly matters, the things that deserves my care and concern. Amen.