“You have got to be kidding me.”
A friend of mine says that often, with
an emphasis on the “got”. Of course, she
uses the phrase to express a sense of disbelief over some unexpected occurrence.
It’s never an expression of delight,
only an expression of dismay (or anger or hurt or disappointment). In a culture of over-used expletives, it’s
actually quite a polite saying.
“You have got to be kidding me.” That thought went through my mind on the last
day of a recent vacation. Now, it’s
important to point out that I have never mastered the art of “packing lightly”;
no, I come from the school of thought that begins every packing experience
with, “What if . . .?” I can imagine
multiple scenarios that could happen (and which almost never do) and so I wish
to be prepared for every eventuality. (I
have a wide imagination.) Additionally,
my mother was with me and while she packs much lighter than I do, she arrives
at the destination with some luggage.
So on the last day, I grab a luggage
cart from the lobby and bring it up to our room—6th and highest
floor. I (over)load the cart and go wait
for the elevator. I push the button and
wait . . . and wait . . . I wasn’t overly impatient because I knew the two
elevators were always busy in the morning.
Finally the little light goes out on the down button (there is no “up”
button, of course) and I know the elevator is set to open. It opens and there in the elevator is a whole
group of people (and one full luggage cart).
Since this is the 6th and highest floor, I expect them all to
disembark, allowing me to enter with my luggage cart. That would be the logical happening.
However, as is so often the case,
logic doesn’t rule the day and no one moves.
Then I hear: “Push the ‘G’ button.”
(‘G’, of course, standing for “Ground Floor”.)
“You have got to be kidding me.”
All those people got on an ascending
elevator when they actually wanted to descend!
I mean, I know it happens because I’ve done it, but a whole group of
people?! What were they thinking? That’s just it—they weren’t thinking; they
just followed the misled leader.
I, of course, had to wait for the next
elevator.
It does seem to be a human
characteristic to blindly follow a leader.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
We listen to doctors, lawyers, contractors, coaches and financial
planners (among others) because we know they have expertise in areas we do
not. We follow blindly because we trust
them (to a certain extent). Children
blindly follow their parents out of trust (until they reach that rebellious
stage). Some of us blindly follow the
teachings of the Church because we believe in the gathered wisdom of the ages,
realizing some of it is beyond our comprehension. Again, not a bad thing.
I do believe, however, that God does
want us to think for ourselves to some extent.
Human error has shown that blindly following is at times unwise. The first disciples weren’t called to blindly
follow Jesus. Jesus taught them and made
them think through the parables; He challenged them to understand that being a
disciple wasn’t an easy undertaking; He chided them for thinking like humans
rather than like God.
There are many human leaders who have
much to offer and to whom we ought to listen, but there is only one Jesus; He’s
the One Who leads us to eternal happiness.
And I’m not kidding!
Have a blessed week . . .
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