You may be good, but...

Early on, most of us learn that we're to strive to be the best at whatever we choose to do. Early in life, I thought that I would excel in some kind of sport...I practiced hitting game winning shots on my friend's driveway basketball goal... The point was, I was the best, the hero, and everyone would love me for that reason.

"Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent." Mark 3:4

During some recent down time, I have been catching up on television - I don't watch much during the school year and didn't have access to tv this summer. I watched a few episodes of Chasing Mummies. I'm a history nerd and I enjoy shows that explore ancient cultures, but there was something different about this show. It was more like a reality show than it was educational. The main character, Dr. Zahi Hawass seems to drive the drama of the show. As the man in charge and resident expert, it seems most of the rest of the crew and his coworkers concentrate on not setting off his quick temper. He is fast to scold interns for their mistakes and in the particular episode I watched, he even yelled at people for celebrating a discovery. I'm not sure how much is real and how much is for show- at times the interns seem to do some unbelievably absentminded things, and other times it seems Dr. Hawass is reaching to find something to yell about. It's obvious that he is both respected and feared, and he throws his weight around knowingly.

I like to do a job well and I'm not much of a fan of someone else messing things up for me. I'm also a pretty staunch rule-abider. However, when we begin to take ourselves, our jobs, or our rules too seriously, we create the possibility of valuing things more than people. Christ's message was simple on this subject- God's love is greater for people than for our rules. Dr. Hawass has some rules and ways of doing things that have made him successful. However, his way of doing things often results in interactions that are negative and further illustrate the inequality in the relationship. I don't mean to judge Dr. Hawass because I don't know what he is really like or what he believes...but seeing him in action makes me wonder how we (I) treat people when I am in task mode.