A dance, and bad directions …

I was sitting in Starbucks, doing some work on my laptop, when the young guy across the room suddenly exclaimed, “I made the final cut for my Mensa membership!” then he stood up and — literally — danced a “happy dance” in front of everyone.

The stranger was ecstatic that he was a step closer to becoming a member of Mensa International, the society for people who have an IQ tested to be in the top two percent of the population. It’s a club for really smart people.

This guy was happy that his intelligence was being acknowledged!

Shortly after his happy dance, he received a call from a friend he had talked to by telephone earlier. As it turns out, he had given his friend inaccurate directions on how to get to that Starbucks.

So much for human brilliance! We delight in being lifted up for our greatness, but can’t give simple directions clearly.

That’s the human condition. So bright, so capable, and yet so finite in our capacity.

The Apostle Paul gave us a good way to look at ourselves:

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us,” Romans 12:3.

Measuring ourselves by the faith God has given us is the truly smart way to evaluate ourselves. It won’t lead us astray, like a bad set of directions.

What do you use as a measure for yourself?

Scotty