Cousin Claudine's Calamity

    

Cousin Claudine's Calamity

Cousin Claudine is a take-charge kind of lady. Whenever there’s a task to be done, she steps up and charges forward! Cousin Claudine knows how to get things done. There’s only one problem…it’s usually done her way, in her power. Last year she was the chair of the church’s homecomin’ committee. That’s when she learned that glorifyin’ God is better than glorifyin’ herself.


You see, Cousin Claudine thought that we should keep things like we’d done ‘em for a hundred years. You know, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But some of the younger committee members thought we needed to do somethin’ different. They wanted to bring in a praise band and let people wear their blue jeans and t-shirts. Well, that didn’t set well with Cousin Claudine. Our meetin’ turned into a fight. Everybody on the committee stopped talkin’ to Cousin Claudine and Cousin’ Claudine decided she didn’t need ‘em anyway. She was gonna do it all herself.

She lined up the same preacher and people to sing that had come for years and years. On the Sunday before homecomin’, she got up and announced her plans durin’ the worship service. It was all ‘bout her and all she had done. When she shook the preacher’s hand on her way out of church, he asked her to drop by his office the next day. She was all excited thinkin’ he was gonna thank her for all the hard work she’d done.

Imagine her surprise the next day when the preacher, instead of congratulatin’ her, tells her that he’d been gettin’ a lot of phone calls from people sayin’ they weren’t gonna come ‘cause Cousin Claudine had turned it into her show instead of somethin’ for God. Then he reminded her of what Jesus said were the two most important commandments. 

Cousin Claudine left stunned, to say the least. That evenin’ when she was readin’ her Bible, she read what Jesus said in answer to the question, “What is the greatest commandment?” At that moment, she realized that she’d put herself before God and others. After askin’ God for His forgiveness, she called the committee members and asked for their forgiveness too.

What started out to be a Cousin Claudine homecomin’, turned out to be a blessin’ for the whole church. Not only was the preacher and singers Cousin Claudine invited there, but there was also a praise band and we got to wear our blue jeans and t-shirts.

Matthew 22:36-39 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Lord, teach us to focus on you and let you be in control, not us. In the name of Jesus, amen.


Things To Think 'Bout:

1. Have you ever been in charge of a committee event?

2. Do you need to control the situation?