Green (93/02/25)
Green, the color of grass and leaves, is a symbol of life,
especially young life. Since green is the color of unripe
fruit, we may call an immature person "green" and an inexperienced
worker a "greenhorn". Greenhouses are glass-enclosed structures
where plants are grown under controlled temperature and humidity
and a person who has a knack for making plants grow well is said
to have a green thumb. It is important for large cities to have
areas of greenery where residents may relax and enjoy the beauty
of nature. Parks, farmland or uncultivated land around communities
is sometimes called a green belt. A green light gives permission
to proceed ahead and green tea is the traditional beverage in Japan
made from leaves that are not fermented before being dried.
The term, green-eyed, meaning jealous, comes from the warning of
Iago in Shakespeare's drama, "Othello," to beware of jealousy,
"green-eyed monster". Finally, we come to "greenback", which
denotes American paper money, printed in green ink on the back.
During the Civil War, on February 25, 1862, 130 years ago today,
the U.S. Congress authorized the issuance of bank notes which
were immediately called "greenbacks". In recent years, the value
of greenbakcs has been declining in relation to the turquoise-,
lilac-, and brown-backed Japanese paper money.
--Clark Offner (4230)
An Old Medicine Jar (93/02/26)
On February 26, 1872, 121 years ago today, the following
unusual story appeared in the 'Tōkyō Nichi-nichi Shinbun'. A
foreigner, walking along a street in Osaka, dropped into a
second-hand store. His eyes fell on an old medicine jar. He
asked the price and was told "800". He said he wanted to buy it
and would send a servant with the money later. The servant came
as promised, paid the money and received the jar. But the
shopkeeper was astonished to be given 800 'ryō' for the jar when
he had expected only 800 'mon'. He expected the foreigner to
return to complain, but after a couple of days had passed, he
thought he should notify the police to avoid any possible
trouble. Before he did so, however, he received a summons to go
to the police station. He went there fearfully, thinking he
would be charged with overcharging a foreigner. He was surprised
to be handed an extra 200 'ryō' and asked to sign a receipt for
it. The foreigner had informed the police that the old medicine
jar, made of pure gold, was worth much more than he had paid for
it and he wanted to treat the shopkeeper fairly. The man who
bought this golden jar was simply following the Golden Rule,
found in Luke 6:31: "Treat others as you would like them to
treat you." -- Clark Offner (4231)
The Laundry Room (93/02/27)
Beside the furnace room with a coal bin and a trash bin
nearby, the tiny pump room and small fruit cellar, the basement
of my parents' home included other important sections. One was
a special workplace for my mother and sisters and the other a
workplace for my father and his sons. The laundry room
contained two large, permanent tubs and a large washing machine
on legs with wheels so it could be moved to either of the tubs
where the clothes were rinsed. The ringer attached to the
washing machine could be swung to a position between the two
tubs. Water was rung out of the clothes before they were hung
up to dry. In my younger days, there was also a wood-burning
stove on which buckets of water were heated, but later a large
hot heater was installed and faucets over the tubs and the hose
into the washing machine provided either cold or hot water.
There was a large laundry box on a stand under the clothes chute.
This chute extended up into the first and second floors of the
house. In the bathroom on the first floor and in the hallway of
the second floor there were small openings in the chute through
which dirty clothes were dropped into that laundry box in the
basement. The opening in the bathroom had a small door that slid
up and down while the little door in the hallway opened out.
-- Clark Offner (4232)
Judge (93/02/28)
The word "judge", spelled j-u-d-g-e, may be used as either a
noun or a verb. As a noun, it means one who judges, but the verb
may have either a neutral or a negative implication. It may
simply mean to make a decision after careful thought or to
criticize and condemn. In the Gospel of Matthew, at the beginning of
chapter 7, Jesus taught that we should not judge others, adding
that we will be judged in the same way that we judge other
people. Here, "judge" implies a critical, condemnatory spirit. It
is very easy for us to make superficial negative judgments about
the attitudes or actions of others even when we do not know all
the facts of the matter. In fact, no human beings, including the
judges in the courtrooms, know all the details of complicated
situations. We can only approximate the perfect knowledge
required for truly just decisions. Therefore, instead of
criticizing others, we should leave judgment to God who not only sees the
actions of people but perceives their motives as well. According
to 1 Peter 2:23, this was the example that Jesus left for us to
follow. When he was insulted, abused and unjustly condemned to
death, he did not condemn his enemies but "committed his cause to
the One who judges justly."
--Clark Offner (4233)