We are facing a different type of pandemic than the current situation caused by COVID-19.
Its a bigger problem. More prevalent.
It’s one of arrogance.
It’s reeking in our society, country, state, and community.
See I watched a pretty great documentary on Disney Plus over the weekend. It’s called “Among the Stars’ and features an inside look at the life of American Astronaut Chris Cassidy.
As I watched the documentary, I couldn’t put my finger on what was so different about the guy. He just seemed different. It wasn’t until I was more than half way through with the show before it hit me that the guy was completely humble. He really and truly felt honored with his job.
Let’s think about that. He’s an American Astronaut. He took three trips to space and on his last mission spent six months as a commander of the International Space Station. We’re talking the most elite of the elite, but the guy didn’t let it go to his head. He might have the best excuse to be a tad arrogant, but he chose not to be. He picked the path of humility.
As a big juxtaposition, I thought about Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin pulling his mess just the weekend prior when the Rebels faced off against the Alabama Crimson Tide. He actually was cocky enough to say “Get your popcorn ready.” as he threw the headset from his face.
I don’t think that arrogance worked out too well for him.
Honestly, when does it ever work to our advantage? When do we ever walk away with a win when we’re arrogant? When has it ever not blown up in our faces?
Moving back to the space program, there is a story about the astronauts that isn’t widely known.
I’m sure most people know Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. We’ve all seen the images of him standing on the surface of the moon with the lunar lander behind him, but did you know that’s not actually Neil in the pictures?
All the images we see are actually of Buzz Aldern. See, Buzz was upset that Neil drew the lucky straw and got to be the first man on the moon. So in his anger, he decided to “phone” down to NASA and tell them that his camera wasn’t working on his headset. Meanwhile, he’d simply switched it off.
So there ya have it. The most iconic images we have of the American Space Program were taken by Neil of Buzz on the moon. No images exist of the first man on the moon all because of the arrogance of a man chosing to put himself first.
I once again look to the guidance of the Bible. Personally, I believe all the answers we need are in that book.
Arrogance is mentioned over 200 times in the Bible and is a behavior detested by God. In fact, arrogance is listed by Jesus himself as being up there with sexual morality and murder.
So why do we allow it in our lives? Why do we follow posts on social media with people arrogantly reacting to things? Why do we support sports leaders who exhibit this behavior? Why do we sit back and do nothing?
With COVID-19, we can get vaccinations. We can wear masks. We can social distance, but this pandemic is one that affects the heart and soul. It’s going to take an altogether different type of medicine to get it under control.
It’s time we take a good hard look at what we want and if we can truly call ourselves a Christian nation. I think our arrogance might be affecting our vision.
