Daily Devotionals

Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life

Devotional: October 21st

Pot shots. Yeah, pot shots. Those zingers that people fire about other people. Nasty little remarks that are intended to capsulize the very essence of another person in a pithy and neat mini-essay. Most of us have let them go from time to time. Most of us have been on both ends of them as well. Famous people seem prone to let them fly most often. Evidently they think theirs are more worthy of print and, therefore, more worthy of being spoken. As for the verbal abuse which almost has to elicit the phrase, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," here are a few.

Let's face it Barbra Streisand will probably never win any beauty contests. One comic, whose name escapes me, once quipped that the diva had a face like a foot. Evidently he was not alone in his appreciation of Ms. Barbra. Kris Kristofferson once said of her, "Working with Barbra Streisand is pretty stressful. It's like sitting down to a picnic in the middle of the freeway." Streisand was once interested in dating tennis great Pete Sampras. His reply? "She's what I call a pitching wedge. She looks good from about 150 yards away."

Other actresses have received some rather harsh barbs from their co-workers. Actor Sterling Hayden once remarked, "There is not enough money in Hollywood to lure me into making another picture with Joan Crawford, and I like money." Robert Mitchum, whose leading lady list is an impressive one, gave this pot shot; "I gave up being serious about making pictures around the time I made a film with Greer Garson and she took 125 takes to say no."

Advertising maverick Jerry Della Femina, when asked as to why he rejected the opportunity to work on Ronald Reagan's reelection campaign, said, "I don't sell products that wake up grumpy in the morning and press a button and kill everybody." Then there was this carpenter's son in Israel who was called a wine bibber, a glutton and eventually put on trial for being a blasphemer. His life was a constant barrage of pot shots until they finally executed Him. Even at his execution he received more pot shots.

"And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, 'He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ, the chosen of God.' " Luke 23:35 This good man's own people were hitting him with pot shots when He was totally defenseless, nailed to a cross. But the last word for this man was spoken, not as a pot shot, but as an assessment of the man's claim. A Roman soldier watching from nearby said, "Truly this man was the Son of God," Mark 15:39 Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, suffered much in life and death. But the soldier was wrong. Jesus IS the Son of God given for our salvation. That's the last word.