Dave's Deep Thoughts

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.


There's the story of the man driving at breakneck speed while lost,
as his nervous wife begs him to stop and ask for directions.
The man snaps back at his wife......
I might not know where we are going,
but you have to admit,
we are making great time!

I jog 6 days a week.
It's a great stress releaser.
Plus it serves as an opportunity to think about things.
It's also good since I am part of a family
with a history of heart disease.

Most of the days,
I take the same route.
It is a route filled with hills
and scenic views.

For the last year,
I have noticed a gentleman
at one of the houses which I jog by.

At first I didn't think too much of it.
He is always out on the walkway in front of his home.
I thought I just happened to jog by as he was headed to his car.

As the days passed,
I saw him almost every day.
He would always be on the walkway.
I began to realize that he wasn't headed
to any particular location,
but he was simply pacing back and forth.

The odd thing is that I don't jog
at the same time every day.
Sometimes it is in the morning,
and at other times afternoon
or early evening.

No matter the time of day,
I realized that at least 80% of the time that I jogged by,
this man was out in front of his house
pacing.......back and forth.

I could be jogging by during a snow storm,
or running in a rainstorm.
It could be 20 degrees or 90 degrees,
it didn't matter.

There he was,
pacing back and forth.

One day as I was jogging by,
he happened to be pacing towards me
so that he could see me.

Though we were not within talking distance,
I decided to wave.

Not only did he not return the gesture,
he lowered his head and avoided eye contact.

That is strange, I thought
Perhaps he didn't see me.

In subsequent days,
I waved again and again and again.
No response.

One day when he saw me coming,
he stepped into the doorway
so to be out of sight from me.

He wants to be left alone,
I realized.

From time to time,
I think about him.

I wonder why he spends so much time outside,
pacing back and forth.

I have conjectured all types of scenarios...
perhaps he has mental illness,
or maybe he has nervous energy.
Maybe he is struggling with a traumatic event.

Then a thought struck me.

What does he think,
when he sees me?

He sees a man
running in circles.

He sees a man out there
no matter what the weather conditions.

He sees a man
taking a break from the rigors of his daily schedule.

He sees the same thing in me that I see in him.

We aren't that different.

It is so easy
to make judgments about others.

We might not like a personal habit.
We might disagree with behavior.
We might take offense to choice of language uttered.

We are prone to judging.

The reality is that the things we object to in others,
we are often guilty of ourselves.

Ever catch yourself screaming at another motorist,
for a driving choice that you have done yourself?

Or think poorly of someone who has made a bad decision,
as if you have never done the same.

We are more alike, than we are different.

Sometimes, we are like that lost driver,
refusing to acknowledge our lostness,
while racing through life.

Jesus, offers a simple solution.....

Stop judging.

All it does is sends you into a cycle of critical thought,
instead of down a path of mercy and grace.

Back and forth,
over and over,
convincing yourself that others
don't have their lives as well ordered as you.

And that is indeed, a path to nowhere.......fast.

Do not judge, lest you be judged.
For in the same way you judge,
you will be judged;
and by your standard of measure,
it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2
.