Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was
leading Israel at that time. — Judges 4:4

Deborah show's us powerful leadership. That is
feminine leadership — nurturing and encouraging,
inspiring growth through love.

There is a story about a circus clown and an
elephant who sits on the clown’s hat. The clown
gestures wildly and yells at the elephant to move,
but the animal ignores him. Frustrated, the clown
kicks the elephant, but all he gets is a sore foot.
Finally, the clown ridiculously and unsuccessfully
tries to lift the elephant. After that, he plops down
defeated and eats a peanut. Upon smelling the
peanut, the elephant immediately gets up and
walks over to the clown, freeing the hat from
underneath him.

When we want to get someone to do something —
be it our children, our spouse, co-workers, or
friends — there are two ways we can go about it.
We can use force, or we can use love. As Deborah
teaches, and as the clown unwittingly demonstrates,
the softer touch is often a more powerful force for
change.

Whom might you motivate this week? More
importantly, how?

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein