The Turtle on the Fence Post

The late Alex Haley, who wrote Roots, had a unique picture on his office wall of a turtle sitting on top of a fence post. Whenever someone asked about it, Haley would say, "If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know that he had some help. Any time I start thinking, 'Wow, isn't this marvelous what I've done?' I look at that picture and remember how this turtle, me, got up on that post."(Leadership as cited in The Best of In Other Words, 1996, 135). 

The Gospel Excludes Pride and Boasting (Rom 3:27-31)

Romans 3:27-31; 3:28

"So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law" (Rom 3:28, NLT). "Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law" (Rom 3:27-28, NIV).

I love to boast about my uniqueness. I'm an introvert. Though I love engaging and interacting with others, I also love my time alone time of solitude, reading, meditation and contemplation. I'm autonomously driven. Though I will listen to what others say, ultimately I'll make my own decision, even if it is unpopular. I'm an agent provocateur. I simply love stirring things up. I even love annoying my cats and my wife in fun and jest. Incidentally, my cats are often annoyed by me and swipe at me in response, but my wife has accepted my highly annoying idiosyncrasy as part of our complex marital intimacy and joy...most of the time.