I’m reading Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’. Mowgli’s been brought up in the jungle by a pack of wolves. He’s captured by monkeys who, ‘…began twenty at a time, to tell him how great and wise and strong and gentle they were… ‘We are great. We are free. We are wonderful. We are the most wonderful people in all the jungle! We all say so, and so it must be true…’’
Yesterday Norwich City announced that they’ve appointed the Belgian Philippe Clement as their new head coach. Sporting director Ben Knapper said, ‘Philippe is an incredibly experienced and prominent head coach, with clear values and beliefs that align with ours. He will bring a strong leadership presence and an impressive background having coached some of the biggest clubs in Europe.’
I have a friend. I’ll call him Andy. Andy’s travelled the world and achieved much but has very low self-esteem. He has two children from different relationships who he’s lost contact with. He’s never been married, but desperately wishes that he could be in a stable, loving relationship. He’s lonely, suffers with depression and thinks that he’s a failure.
Harry Secombe used to sing:
If I ruled the world
Every day would be the first day of Spring
Every heart would have a new song to sing
And we’d sing of the joy every morning would bring…
Mowgli’s monkeys thought they were wonderful; the rest of the jungle thought otherwise. Ben Knapper thinks that Philippe Clement is wonderful; Norwich City fans will draw their own conclusions. Andy thinks he isn’t wonderful; his low self-esteem affects the way others perceive him. Harry Secombe implies that he’s wonderful; we know he’s a good man singing a good song.
Last night, in our church home group, we read: ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ Am I wonderful? I’m content to leave that assessment to my God.
malcolmsmusings.org 