Sometimes I can get my point across
And I do it rather well
You can see
What I think
About me
It's just my ego
It gets the best of me
It's just my ego
It's just my ego
It just won't let me be
It just won't let me be alone
It's not one of my most redeeming qualities
Still though it serves me rather well sometimes
It won't be easy to just let it go
It's just my ego
I take such great pride in what I do
Everyone should take some too
Don't you think
Pride in me
Not in you
There's a fine distinction between confidence and pride
There's a fine distinction that I'll never know
Cloaked with some discretion you emerge from the inside
I emerge in all my glory
What is there to hide
Mother said that I would never make
Any friends if I don't see
What I'm like
If I don't lose some pride
(from Howard Bess)
"Vic Kohring lives in Wasilla, Alaska, the city made famous by Sarah Palin. He served seven terms in the Alaska State House of Representatives. He was convicted of accepting illegal gifts. He served his sentence in prison and has completed his parole/probation without violations of any kind. All his rights as a citizen have been restored. He now wants to run for a seat on the Wasilla City Council.
Bob Filner is the mayor of San Diego, California. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served with distinction, but chose to leave Congress to run for the office of Mayor of San Diego. It has come to light that he has been a habitual sexual harasser of women with whom he worked. The charges are credible and there has been a loud cry for him to resign from his office of mayor. He has apologized for his behavior and has no intention to resign. He wants to be mayor of San Diego.
Anthony Weiner was elected to the U.S. House of Representative seven times. When he was charged with inappropriate sexting on the internet, he resigned from Congress and returned to New York City. When Weiner returned to New York City he continued his sexting activities under a different name. He has decided that he wants to be mayor of New York City.
He has apologized for his sexting activities and promises never to do such things gain. People are calling for his dropping out of the mayoral race. To date Weiner refuses to be a drop out.
I do not approve of Vic Kohring accepting illegal gifts. I do not approve of Bob Filner’s sexual behavior. I do not approve of Anthony Weiner’s sexting. However, if I dwell on the things that upset me, I will be a miserable human being. The Israelite/Christian tradition makes it abundantly clear that all human being are flawed and fall short of the potential of their lives.
Some well-intentioned human beings are hung up on cleaning up everyone’s flaws except his/her own. I am very skeptical about “clean up the mess” politicians and am even more concerned about “clean up the mess” religious leaders. I love the list of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul enumerates in his Galatians letter. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I find no reference to judging and whistleblowing. Judging and whistleblowing do have a spirit behind them, but it is clearly not the one that Paul calls the “Holy Spirit.”
What to do about what is wrong in the world is a major topic in the Bible literature. There is disagreement about what should be done. There were devout people who thought their God advocated killing or seriously penalizing the wrong doer. Several of the Old Testament prophets disagreed, and for Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, punishment was counterproductive. He was much more interested in restoring, reclaiming, and making the flawed persons whole.
Of all the stories that Jesus told, the one of first importance is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I would place the parable of the wayward son in the second spot. The son blew family money on riotous living and made a fool of himself with women. When he came to his senses, he went home where his father welcomed him and restored him to the family. To accomplish this, the father had to extend an abundance of grace. The extension of grace to the unworthy is an essential part of the Christian tradition.
Kohring, Weiner and Filner made fools of themselves, but that does not mean that their value as human beings has been discarded. It may be that Vic Kohring will be a good city council member. Weiner may make an excellent mayor of New York City and Filner may do a good job as the head of the government in San Diego. Is there a place for grace in American public life?
The United States is a nation of law. However, it does not mean that we cannot be gracious within the framework of law. Right now the mood of America is not to extend grace to anyone. We have taken discretion from our judges and substituted mandatory sentences and absurd laws such as “three strikes and you’re out.”
One of the great hypocrisies of Christians and their churches is their finger pointing and judging. The foundation of the Christian Faith is not being right and pure but being gracious. Our Faith calls us to be witnesses about a different way to live. That way of life is gracious and restores the fallen.
If grace is good for any of us, it has to be good for all of us. All of us must include Kohring, Weiner and Filner."
(The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives In Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net)
Expanding upon that, nor have I ever been any good at anything remotely competitive. For some reason competition always brings out the worst in me. I'm not sure if it involves some type of pressure, subconscious or otherwise or if in truth, I am just plain lousy at EVERYTHING. And this unique distinction of being the world's worst everything translates to cards. [and pool, bowling, tiddlywinks, jacks, old maid, hopscotch, marbles, you name it) or any type of card game, if I apply myself enough to learn it, is always a total disaster for me. And in addition, I shuffle and deal cards like I'm from Mars. Wait a minute, I'll bet even beings from Mars are better at cards (and competition) than me!
This accounts for my reluctance to enter songwriting competitions. Although in this area, I do feel that I possess some semblance of talent, if you will. And since all of my compositions are my 'children', I love them and I view them for what they are with all their warts but with their good qualities shining through.
Download your very own copy of ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak
. . . I take such great pride in what I do. I think you should take some too. I believe. Pride in me. Not in you. It's just my ego. It gets the best of me. It's just my ego. It's just my ego. It just won't let me be. It just won't let me be alone. It's not one of my more redeeming qualities. Still though, it serves me rather well sometimes. It won't be easy to just let it go though, it's just my ego.
Sometimes I can get my point across and I do it rather well. Don't you think? It's a gift. You can tell. It's just my ego. It's just my ego. It just won't let me be. It just won't let me be alone. It's not one of my more redeeming qualities. Still though, it serves me rather well sometimes. It won't be easy to just let it go though, it's just my ego.
There's a fine distinction between confidence and pride. There's a fine distinction that I'll never know. Cloaked with some discretion you emerge from the inside. I emerge in all my glory. What is there to hide?
Mother said that I would never make any friends if I don't see what I'm like; if I don't lost some pride. It's just my ego. It's just my ego. It just won't let me be. It just won't let me be alone. It's not one of my more redeeming qualities. Still though, it serves me rather well sometimes. It won't be easy to just let it go though, it's just my ego.
