It’s like life, you’re on the elephant. You’re riding it, but it’s gonna
Craig Ferguson on Larry King Now
take you where it wants to go. And it might throw you off…
Maybe you’re just a hat.
In your 20s, life feels manageable, well-maintained and like a big amusement park, where the fastest rides bring the biggest thrills. I got this! Helmets? Those are for sissies! In your 30s, the rides sound louder, our nerves heighten, and timidity starts uh creepin.’ No thanks, no shots for me, how about a Michelob Ultra. By our 40s, we’re asking for those little floaties we give our kids in the pool. Whuh!? You want me to go off the 4-ft high dive!? Are you bat-shit crazy, I could lose a tooth from impact!
Maybe that’s what Craig Ferguson alludes to in the Larry King interview, and his book Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations, and Observations. (I know, please Craig, we love paragraphs as subheadings.) The Scotsman shows how life has seasoned him beyond the cue cards on late night; and how kicking the sauce helped him find his way. Even if booze doesn’t steer us down a dark alley, the elephant of life will. We can pull the reins, offer peanuts to the Gods, kick and scream all we want, but life will take you on the ride. Which leads to an interesting worldview: a question of are we steering, or has the course been set and we’re a decorative hat on the great beast? It seems the more the elephant feels out of control, the more life is actually on course. Looks that way in scripture.
Is He Safe?
God rarely uses common sense, but seems to prefer brash absurdity to keep us on our heels. Read up on Gideon reducing his army to 300 and their weapon of choice for victory. Or God’s choice of David to fight Goliath and eventually become King of Israel. And what about that Jesus character? No army, no political power, no wealth. Doesn’t seem smart or safe if I’m running the show. In other words, should life work the way we desire, or should it be a series of unexpected surprises, some of which are favorable? I know I fall into bad theology when I begin viewing God as my Executive Assistant to help execute on my agenda. If MY agenda is on point and looks sorta like success on the world’s terms, I get a wee bit nervous. Life shouldn’t be all safe and cozy. The narrative of scripture reflects what C.S. Lewis says in his classic Narnia series when discussing Aslan as God:
“Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia
God ain’t safe… but He is good. Woo doggie, that’s a pill to force down. Yet what choice do we have? God is moving the chess pieces, AND the elephant, AND the hat. Another favorite scripture of mine:
You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
Psalm 139:5-7 (NASB)
Now let’s hop back on that big ol’ elephant and get tossed around.
See ya next time. ML