'Bobbleheads'
I Was Thinking…
The newest craze in baseball promotion are ‘bobbleheads’. I have several of these little statues of present and past Atlanta Braves baseball heroes. There is even a bobblehead Hall of Fame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
A bobblehead, also known as a nodder, Hannah, or wobbler, has a long history dating back to the seventeenth century. By 1960, Major League Baseball produced a series of papier-mache bobblehead dolls, one for each team, all with the same cherubic face, and few select players over time. The World Series held that year brought the first player-specific baseball bobbleheads, for Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Willie Mays, still all the same face.
A bobblehead’s head is connected to the body by a spring or hook in such a way that a light tap will cause the head to bobble, hence the name, ‘bobblehead’.
“Ok”, you say, “why all this ‘bobblehead stuff’?” I was thinking how much like a ‘bobblehead’ I can be (maybe you too). Someone can say the simplest thing about the simplest subject and my head starts ‘bobbling’. This bobbling can come from my desire to be liked, approved or affirmed. My head bobbling can be because the subject matter is of great interest to me. Or my head bobbling can simply occur because I want the person who is speaking to know that I am engaged and listening to them…nonetheless, I can be a ‘bobblehead’.
There is a danger in being a ‘bobblehead’. There can be a misunderstanding of agreement. Just because I ‘bobble’ my head doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with what is being said. It was our fore-parent John Wesley who in a disagreement with George Whitfield said, “We’ll just have to agree to disagree.” And they did.
I can ‘bobble’ my head with you even if I disagree because I understand that you are child of God as well. I can ‘bobble’ my head with you even if we passionately see things differently because I desire to love you as Christ has loved us. I can ‘bobble’ my head with you even if you might categorize me in a demeaning way because we all stand in need of God’s grace. I can ‘bobble’ my head with you because I hope you can ‘bobble’ your head with me as well…we are siblings in Christ.
Friends, we have more in common than we do in division. It concerns me that our country, world and church seem to measure its status by ‘sides’. I’m for the heart of God sweeping the world, how about you? For this, surely, we can all ‘bobble’ our heads in agreement.
“… strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a more excellent way.” Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 12: 31)
Always Thinking…
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