Ebenezer Scrooge

Read an article yesterday morning, during my quiet time, that included some information on "good old" Ebenezer, and it got me to thinking. Now the gentleman that wrote the article, a mister Bill Crowder of RBC relived his memories of the old man, Scrooge. Just about the same memories I have of the famous Christmas character. But in the end, he (Scrooge) asked forgiveness and vowed to be "very good" for evermore and immediately swung the pendalum to the exact opposite of who everyone thought him to be.

Now if you look up the word "scrooge" in the dictionary, admitting that my dictionary is probably older than most of you who might read this muse, the only discription it gives is the proper noun reference to the Dickens' character from A Christmas Carol. It does mention a description of the character as hard and miserly (stingy or greedy).

The other thing that Mr. Crowder mentions is where else you might find the given name of the person I am wondering about. This reference, the Holy Bible, has a real jump in time for being first. Plus it is in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. 1 Samuel 7:12 NKJV

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us".

The Bible dictionary tells us that the name Ebenezer means Stone of Help. I found all of this very interesting. Don't you? There are at least 26 other mentions of this name in the Bible. Aren't you glad I just stayed with one? Well, let me tell you a little more about my thoughts or maybe they are just "brain links".

The regular "old" dictionary said Ebenezer was hard. Aren't most rocks hard. Fastenating wouldn't you say? Well, maybe not, keep reading. But if you pound it hard enough, or do the Chinese water torture of drip, drip, drip long enough it can be changed, just as Dickens' Ebenezer was changed with traumatic fright.

To rationalize miserly you have to stretch just a little. If the rock of the Bible was a rock of help, and remember the rock didn't actually do anything, it just sat there. Pretty "stingy" doings, if you as me for all that credit it got. It was only just a symbol as to remind the people of how God had rescued them from their enemies. It just sat there greedily soaking up the sun, silently reminding folks as they passed by. Kinda like I do when I just greedily soak up all the good things that God gives me, and then silently remind folks that I am Christian when I chose to show up for church at an appointed hour, or wear my church tee shirt to non church functions. Oh, and if do speak, it probably is to let someone know what God didn't do for me, I believe it's called "whining".

Now back to our original Ebeneze, he was reportedly, a "rock" of the community, just so happens that he was a much disliked rock. People had very little to say good about him. But a rock just the same. Even when he wasn't doing something dastardly, he just wasn't doing period.

But he changed (with a lot of help). What kind of rock (stone) do you want to be?

The last point I would like to make that I found interesting for me, was the name of one of the places mentioned in this story. Mizpah. For me that is quoted prayer that is attached to my past soroity life, and truly has a life and history all its' own.

"May the Lord watch between me and thee until we meet again."

It is in this season, the perfect season to change that I hope I may I learn to share less greedily and with a less stingy attitude. May my miserly intentions turn to a better good steward of my available resources. May I choose to be a helper within or outside my comfort zone. May I be more than a silent reminder of all that God does for me, and less whiney of the things I don't get my way. God is not my personal "Whataburger". And finally, may I remember the prayer above for each and every person I come into contact with this season. This change should enhance my prayer life considerably and keep me out of a lot of other troubles.

I may wear a tag to church tomorrow that says "My name is Ebenezer Scrooge, what's yours"

Good conversation starter at the very least.

Mizpah from the rock.