Curmudgeonly

From My Perspective - - - 

This past week a person of notoriety – Andy Rooney – died at the age of 92. In recent years, he was known for his brief commentaries on 60 Minutes that covered a wide area of topics. He was referred to – whether earned and deserved or not - as being a “curmudgeon.” The strict definition of a curmudgeon is: “a bad-tempered, difficult and cantankerous person; one who is surly, miserly, a grouch; a person who complains a lot. The Synonyms for Curmudgeon include: “fault-finder, griper, grumbler, malcontent, whiner.” In the case of Andy Rooney, it seems as though he had a finger on the pulse of many fellow-citizens, so that after his commentary, many would find points of agreement and be glad that someone gave expression to the oddity or absurdity of what was passing as acceptable. 

There are an array of comments by others who aspire to be known as being curmudgeonly, such as this statement by Dick Cavett: “It's a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn't want to hear.” That statement could be construed more as “tongue in cheek” rather than a curmudgeonly observation. Some other examples include: “Write a profound saying and your name will live forever.” – Anonymous; and - “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.” - Bertrand Russell. 

A person who could fit in the curmudgeon classification is Peggy Noonan. She has a style of writing that which many are thinking. An example is her recent column – “Happy Days Aren’t Here Again.” In it, she writes: “…Party brand don’t dictate outcomes…A brand is a reputation. Here both the Republicans and the Democrats face challenges. What is called the tea party…became angry that they had trusted the Republican establishment during a Republican presidency, only to see that establishment run up huge debt, launch foreign wars, contribute to the surveillance state, and refuse to control America’s borders. What made the anger deeper is that they were angry at themselves. They felt complicit: They had not rebelled, they had trusted the party: They’re the GOP establishment, they must know what they’re doing. What the conservative base had learned by 2008 is: Don’t trust the Republican party…The old loyalty was over. It may or may not come back. The Democrats’ challenge? They’re living on faded glory, and Mr. Obama has done nothing for the brand. In January 2009 it was bright and shiny. He has murked it up pretty good. The cascade of government-private sector scandals, from Fannie Mae to Solyndra, has dulled the brand further. Party of the working man? Party of the guy who kited the mortgage deals, got bailed out, and left the working man living in his car. The Republicans’ challenge now: holding together, and breaking 20th-century stereotypes. They should distance themselves from government even as they prove they can govern, and not only oppose but propose. They should put themselves apart from the rigged, piggish insider life of Washington. And try not to look nuts while they’re doing it….” This is good curmudgeonly stuff! 

From a Biblical point of view, several of the prophets (also apostles) could’ve been understood as being grumpy, frumpy and grouchy, that is, a type of Curmudgeon. In Isaiah 57:3-5, “But you - come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags…” This type of curmudgeonly rhetoric would be construed as being very confrontational. Another example is the prelude to the Seven Woes (judgments) pronounced by Jesus. In Matthew 23:1-7, “Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see…” The pronouncement of judgment by Jesus was upon the hypocrites of His day. Jesus was pointing out that the “leaders” were misrepresenting the message and were not Taking A Serious God Seriously. They are similar to those mentioned in Hebrews 4:2 (NKJV), “…the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” But – what about you? Have you “mixed with faith” the instruction you have received from God’s Word? Are you Taking A Serious God Seriously? Consider these things with me!