Henry Warren sees the big picture. His challenge is being in all the cameos calling for his attention. Busy is an understatement for Henry. Perhaps it’s his big picture that allows him to ignore any internal voices calling telling Henry how he treats people matters. Perhaps his vision is just far enough out of focus that he can’t see the chaos created by his lack of ethics.
There’s a lot of Henry’s out there. Big picture people who conclude life is a competition where the golden rule and fair play is for losers. For some, their motto is do to others before they can do something worse to you.
Henry was miserable. But his busyness distracted his attention just enough to convince Henry he had little choice but to stay on track. It was like he was spinning too many plates and there was always one plate teetering, ready to stop and crash.
Henry thought he was building success. Instead, Henry was more like a teetering plate about to crash. But his focus on the big picture caused him to miss the details that make a big picture worth seeing.
We each choose how we’ll spend the precious hours and days of our lives. Henry made choices with each phone call, each worker he shorted and each promise he made he didn’t intend to keep.
According to a 2022 Gallup poll, the vast majority of Americans are pessimistic about the moral fiber of our country. While the results of their morals polls vary by political party affiliation, there is a consensus that improvement in the future seems bleak.
The number one issue cited as evidence of moral decline is a lack of consideration for others.
Three years before the Gallup study was released, anthropologists at the University of Oxford released the results of research identifying seven universal moral rules. The common rules discovered among 60 cultures they surveyed included help your family, help your group, return favors, be brave, defer to superiors, divide resources fairly, and respect others’ property. The research concluded these seven cooperative behaviors are considered morally good in all cultures.
Lead author and senior researcher at the Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, Dr. Oliver Scott Curry noted, “All agree that cooperating, promoting the common good, is the right thing to do.”
Your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise God.
Matthew 5:14-15
According to Matthew, in His Sermon on the Mount, after Jesus listed numerous blessings for His listeners, He reminded them not only do they matter a great deal, but everything they do matters. People notice even the smallest acts of kindness.
We impact the moral fiber of our community by treating others with kindness and respect.
You can join us each Sunday in person or online by clicking the button on our website’s homepage –Click here to watch. This button takes you to our YouTube channel. You can find more information about us on our website at FlintAsburyChurch.org.
A reminder that we publish this newsletter that we call the Circuit Rider each week. You can request this publication by email. Send a request to FlintAsburyUMC@gmail.com or let us know when you send a message through our website. We post an archive of past editions on our website under the tab, Connect – choose Newsletters.
Pastor Tommy
Parts of our series was inspired by Andy Andrews. The Noticer: Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective. Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2011.
Megan Brenan and Nicole Willcoxon. “Record-High 50% of Americans Rate U.S. Moral Values as ‘Poor’.” © Gallup, June 15, 2022. Retrieved from: link
“Seven moral rules found all around the world.” © Oxford University, Feb 11, 2019. Retrieved from: link