Once, our church (Trinity) was planning community outreach. At a planning session Anne Hines was there and gave advice that struck me as having wide applicability. She said that we should not try to do everything, but to do a few things well. Often we are tempted to become scatterbrained. I feel that way when I sit at my desk in the evenings. I have a computer monitor/TV combination. At the push of a button, I can go from the internet to over 100 TV channels and back again. Additionally, to my right sits an internet radio. Like at a buffet, I want to get my money’s worth—I want to try portions of everything. I become emotionally spastic as my attention bounces from one thing to the next. Anne’s advice comes back to me—do a few things well. Christianity has long claimed exclusivity—it is the only way to salvation. As narrow minded as this claim can seem, I find myself at home with the idea that man is better off being faithful and thoroughly versed in one religion than trying to be expert in a dozen without being solidly grounded in any. I am thankful that throughout my life I have been anchored in the Judeo-Christian tradition. From childhood, I have shared biblical heroes with the youngest and the oldest in our congregations. I have believed that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life. Surely this background, like being raised on a Midwestern farm, becomes an inseparable trait in one’s character. An appreciation of pluralism may bring wide knowledge, but can lack the provision of spiritual power requisite for life.
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