Daily Topic for August 14, 2012
All of us lack wisdom. In fact, without God, we are as foolish as the little boy who shaved his pet dog. In simple terms James tells us where we can find wisdom: from God. But we must have faith in order to receive it (see the next two verses). Faith has become a vague term. There must be an object of faith, or it isn’t faith at all. If our faith is in ourselves, our own abilities, or a false god, then we will not receive wisdom from above.
Pray that the Hindu peoples like the Managalas will seek and find the One who gives wisdom to all who seek Him. Pray that they will have faith in Him alone.
“Is that good Papa?” the four-year-old Managala boy asked his father. “Um,” his papa said, engrossed in reading a newspaper, not yet noticing his son’s activity. He heard a whimper. Startled, the father looked down to see a pile of dog hair next to a naked dog. He spoke slowly. “Son, you shaved the dog.” The wide smile on the boy’s face quickly melted. “It’s not good then,” the boy said, looking down. Trying to hold back a laugh, the father said, “It’s okay. But we’re supposed to shave people.” Lying on the floor, its paw over its shaved face, the dog whined.
Barbering is the traditional occupation among the Managala people of southern India. Boys are taught the art of hair cutting at the young age of eight years, but not on dogs. Instead the boys are trained to cut hair by turning an old earthen pot upside down and smearing it with damp mud. When the mud is dried, the boy shaves it off under the direction of an experienced barber. Among the Telugu speaking Managala, music is a secondary occupation, and they play the flute at marriage ceremonies.
In Telugu the word “mangalam,” from which this people group’s name is derived, means “happiness” and “cleansing.” India’s high castes do not accept food or water from the low status Managalas, and they look down on them.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netPray that the Managala people will get to hear about the God who loves them equally with everybody. Pray that they will find their eternal happiness in Him.-CN
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