Ed, my neighbor next door, shows musical talent with his guitar, but I didn't know he considers himself a great dancer as well. There must be truth to his bragging, for even Ruby his wife admits, "He can dance with the best of them!" Even so, I was a little surprised to learn that Ed watches "Dancing With the Stars" with the same kind of passion that he displays when watching a hockey game.
"That judge Len Goodman is as blind as some hockey referees," Ed recently complained. Ed has been dancing since public school and is good at the fox trot, the waltz, the two-step, the jive, the twist, the polka, and the chicken dance. Ed makes no bones about saying that if he were a little more famous, he could be picked to be on Dancing With the Stars.
I'm sure not arguing with Ed about his dancing ability, since the only place for me to dance is in total darkness. My dancing is best described as stiff, awkward, and out of both step and time. When I dance a polka, it is a foot-stomping disaster not only for my partner, but anyone near us. There is a song with words, "I can't dance - don't ask me," which is a perfect theme song for me.
I have been told a good dancer needs to be both confident and relaxed. If I were confident that I could dance, I would then be able to relax. Speaking before people also calls for the public speaker to be both confident and relaxed. I told Ed the other day that politicians need to be good dancers spinning around contentious issues without missing a beat. When addressing people, they need to be confident in handling hecklers and still remain relaxed before the crowd. Ed has routinely said he could run the province and the nation better than those who have been elected to do it so far.
Confidence is a good thing. I suggested that Ed should run as a candidate in the election. I told him we need those who can lead us better. Maybe, I suggested, it was his duty to get elected and help us out by being the best elected candidate we have ever experienced.
Ed informed me that he is not a gambler. He is not putting his time and his hard earned money into an election campaign he has no guarantee of winning. "Besides, I have never wanted to get elected. I'm satisfied just pointing out what the elected politician has failed to do or has done wrong," Ed added.
It seems to me Ed would be great in parliament as an opposition member, as he has a real talent for being critical toward others. I could see him as being both confident and relaxed when criticizing the government. From my perspective, being a leader such as an elected politician is a very difficult task. Solomon was anointed as king, but he was not confident or relaxed about it. He told the Lord "I don't know how to carry out my duties so give (me) your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong."
May God give us wisdom in electing our politicians and may those we elect have discerning hearts to govern us and distinguish between right and wrong before us.
