A girl from the Midwest made a trip to Hollywood, California to see the sights and hopefully to catch a glimpse of a real move star.One afternoon, she visited Beverly Hills and went into an ice cream shop to get an ice cream cone. She put in her order and then suddenly realized that the person standing next to her at the counter was none other than Paul Newman. She couldn’t believe it! Her heart leaped.
But she tried to keep her composure. She didn’t want to act like an ignorant hillbilly. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of someone like Paul Newman. So she tried not to stare or show any emotion. She paid the cashier, turned, and walked calmly out of the store.
When she got outside, she took a deep breath and suddenly realized that she had walked out of the store without her ice cream cone. Oh no! She must have left it on the counter. Now she was going to have to go back in and get her ice cream cone in front of Paul Newman! She just couldn’t do that!
So she decided to wait outside the store until Mr. Newman had left the counter. When she noticed he was no longer there, she walked back into the store to retrieve her ice cream cone. But when she got to the counter, she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind. She turned around…It was Paul Newman!
Flashing his famous smile, he said, “Miss, if you’re looking for your ice cream cone…you put it in your purse.”
No matter how hard we try, we all end up looking pretty foolish from time to time. We can try to look “cool” or totally in control, but down deep we struggle with fears, worries, lack of confidence, low self-esteem. And sometimes we let those things drag us down and keep us from experiencing all that God wants for us.
Scripture encourages us to let go of our pride and to humble ourselves–to become a servant (which can be a pretty embarrassing thing for some people). Peter was embarrassed when he saw Jesus acting like a servant and wanting to wash his dirty feet. But think of how Jesus felt. He was God, yet he was kneeling down and doing the job of a slave.
We may look pretty foolish sometimes as Christians, but “we are fools for Christ!” (1 Corinthians 4:10).
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