Rub-a-dub-dub

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Pride leads to disgrace,but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

Have you ever known people who think they know it all? No matter what the topic of conversation, they jump in with both feet, relating their superior or limited information. Sometimes they are right on target and the information they relate is helpful, but often their comments are completely off base and everyone else knows it. That’s when eyes roll and people yawn from sheer boredom.

Buddy was sure he knew it all and wanted everyone around him to enjoy the wealth of his infinite knowledge on whatever subject came up. He was the guy who, no matter what the subject, knew just enough to talk about it but not enough to know what he was really talking about.

That practice finally caught up with Buddy during medical school, when a requirement for one of Buddy’s classes was to observe people who had been institutionalized. At a visit to a mental hospital, Buddy, already “showing out,” as my mother would say, actually asked the director of the asylum what the criteria were that defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

“Well,” said the director, “we fill up a bathtub; then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.”

“Oh, I understand,” said Buddy, with great confidence. “A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than the spoon or the teacup.”

“No,” said the director, “a normal person would pull the plug. Do you want to be by the wall or near the window?”

The bad news, I’m afraid, is that sometimes we all have a little Buddy in us.

—Tanya Magnus

Lord, forgive my foolish pride. Help me not to allow pride to be my downfall. Teach me to be humble and to see that all my worth is in you. It is your wisdom I seek. Amen.