Thursday

Help me!

Simple words and very descriptive, don't you think? Joni Mitchell wrote, "Help me, I think I'm fallin' in love with you." Paul McCartney of course wrote, "Help! I need somebody!" Help.

In this world we live in of machismo, bravado and some other "o" word I can't think of right now, asking for help is hard. You don't want to be seen as weak. And we think those who do ask for help, really don't need it, they just don't want to work. Help.

The Psalmists see it differently. They are working out their salvation and they never move past needing help. Not just from Him, but from others. Jeremiah takes a different slant on it saying, "Heal me and I will be healed. Save me and I will be saved."

You can not go further by yourself than you can go by yourself. You and I both need communion and community for help.

When Paul (the Beatle and maybe the apostle too) was younger, so much younger than today, he did not think he needed help in any way. Now? He is not so self assured.

So, as I spoke with a group of close friends yesterday, I said, "If you are struggling, tempted, in need of help, please talk to someone here. Talk to a friend."

I have had a few men (not in that group) come to me recently and say just that, "I need help." That is true manhood. So I encourage you to let your independence vanish in the haze.

Blessings.