The very first episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood centers around Daniel’s birthday. He goes to get a special tiger cake from the bakery only to find out it got ruined on the trip home. His dad redirects Daniel’s disappointment by asking him to find something good about his cake. He asks, “What’s good about all cakes?” And Daniel decides that, even though his cake is in pieces, it will still be delicious. Something seems bad, and they turn it around to find something good.

There are so many negative things to dwell on in this life. We consistently hear bad news through the media. Tragedy strikes when we least expect. Friendships end. Jobs dry up. Times can get tough. It’s easy to dwell on the negative and let it eat us up, but we can’t let that happen. Paul says, in Romans 12:12:

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

How many times do we see disciples of Christ find the time to worship and praise God for his blessings in the midst of trials and persecution? Sometimes they even rejoice that they are persecuted, for they take joy in the knowledge that they suffer for God’s sake. I Thessalonians 5:16 simply tells us to rejoice always, and Psalm 31:7 reminds us that, even in affliction, we can be joyful because our Lord is mindful of us.

As Christians, we should never clothe ourselves in negativity. Yes, there will be times and events that will dampen our spirits, that will cause us pain, that will cause us grief. But these moments should not define us. Those times of sadness should be the exception, not the rule. We should be people of hope. We should be people who are looking for something better, people who exude joy and optimism. We should seek the good in this world and be forces of good as well. When something seems bad, turn it around and find something good. Then share that goodness with others around you.

Author Amy Hollingsworth wrote the following about Fred Rogers in her book The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers:

Every day he taught God’s message without preaching a word.

Fred Rogers is one of the very few celebrities in this world I still hold in high esteem. Whenever I’m down or frustrated, I watch an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. When I am angry at others, I watch interviews of him interacting with other adults. I try to channel his care and calmness in my classroom teaching. To me, he is one of the best examples we have had of Christian conduct in modern culture. While I understand we have God’s word to explain so much to us, Fred Rogers has had an effect on me in that I can see those teachings exemplified in the conduct of such a public figure.

Mr. Rogers took the moral of the good Samaritan parable – that we are all neighbors one to another – and turned it into a regular children’s show. Not only was he teaching children during his half-hour program, but he taught adults as well. He taught us how to be patient, how to listen, how to be both trusting and trustworthy. He imparted God’s message without so much as a scripture, all the time asking us to care for each other as neighbors. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Please won’t you be my neighbor? 

That legacy continues in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, which is one of the very few television shows my daughter gets to watch. (The other regular is Dinosaur Train, if you must know. Other than that, she occasionally watches YouTube videos of ballet and astronauts – separately. Okay, rabbit chase done.) And I have to say it is one of the most positive things on television today. Every episode demonstrates such care and kindness between the characters, it’s almost unbelievable. Every aspect of the show seems planned around providing the best example it can to children and parents.

Also, every episode features a short song snippet that gets repeated throughout the episode, reinforcing the lesson of the day. The characters may sing about taking turns, trying new things, sharing, helping, or dealing with anger. Over the next few posts, I want to take some of these songs and look at the lessons they teach and what we adults can learn from them in our Christian walks. In Matthew 18, Jesus says we should all become like little children, so I’m inviting you to join me over the next few weeks in shelving my jaded and sometimes frustrated adulthood and becoming more childlike. And perhaps some of these lessons from the Land of Make Believe will help us make a better reality for ourselves in this world.

Trolly, take us home!

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is quite possibly the most well-known figure to come out of India in the last century. He was an advocate of non-violent civil disobedience, a champion to the poor and disenfranchised, and he sought to bring India out from under the influence of foreign domination. He is the type of patriot that few Americans know what to do with, for he was unwilling to raise arms to defend his countrymen. He protested quietly. He discouraged outward revolution, and he left an indelible mark on the cultural development of the Twentieth Century.

To some, he is among the greatest men who ever lived. To others, he was simply misguided and wrong in in his attempts at nonviolence. To a few, he is the Antichrist. He is praised by the Left. He is ridiculed by the Right, but I think Martin Luther King, Jr. perhaps has one of the best summations of Gandhi’s life and legacy:

“Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics.”

– Life Magazine: “Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. 40 Years Later.” Time Inc, 2008. Pg 12

A fellow Christian once made the observation that he felt Gandhi was perhaps the most Christ-like individual to walk on the face of the earth while never himself wearing the name of Christ. This was a man who, in his youth, was put off by the Christian missionaries who seemed more interested in converting Indians to British culture than anything, but, when hearing the Sermon on the Mount in Hindu, said to have delighted in the teachings of Christ. What can we learn from this gentle soul?

Forgiveness

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

– “Interview to the Press,” published in Young India (April 1931)

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…

– Luke 6:37

Forgiveness is one of the basic foundations of Christianity, but too often we are like Peter in Matthew 18:21, looking for a reason to cut off our forgiveness. This quote by Gandhi was in context of a man judged worthy of the death penalty by his government, someone seen as a traitor. Would we be so kind? Forgiveness does indeed require strength, and Christ’s teachings make it clear that we are to be infinitely forgiving. It is a trait of our Father, and it should be a trait of ours too. It simply takes resolve and strength of character to realize that forgiveness is possible in all cases.

Nonvengeance

In the dictionary of Satyagraha, there is no enemy.

– Non-Violence in Peace and War (1948)

You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

– Matthew 5:38-39

As a species, we feel we have purpose when our enmity has a target. We say sin is our enemy, but it is so much easier to personify that enemy in human faces, seeking vengeance for their wrongs. That is not the Christian way. Gandhi didn’t even vilify Hitler, instead trying to seek the good qualities in that man hated and feared by so many. If Gandhi could see glimpses of good even in Hitler, why can’t we see the good in a telemarketer; in the President; in a homeless person; in our neighbors? Are we really that hard up for enemies? Do we desire a target for our vengeance so badly? Instead, we should be striving to live peaceably with all, as Paul writes in Romans 12:18.

Nonviolence

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.

– Satyagraha Leaflet No. 13

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

– Matthew 26:52

The politicization of Christianity is evident in this: we have allowed faith and violence to intermingle in a way foreign to the New Testament. Yes, God used violence prior to the perfect covenant of His Son, but something changes in the New Testament. Where does Jesus take up arms to resist assailants? Where does Paul hurl stones back at those trying to kill him? Why doesn’t Stephen defend himself against the Scribes and Pharisees? We have only one example of a disciple using violence to defend religious freedoms, and Jesus rebukes him for the action. We could learn much from Gandhi’s attitude toward violence if we wish to be more like Christ.

Humility

It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

– Harijan (17 February 1940)

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

– I Corinthians 10:12

When we think we are at our strongest, that is when we become most vulnerable. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, pleads for us to keep asking, seeking, knocking. Paul, in Philippians 3:12, claims he is continually trying to improve himself and push forward toward his goal. The most influential of the apostles never felt he could stop growing. Gandhi never felt his search for wisdom was over. Neither should we be content to stagnate in a sense of self-satisfaction on our Christian walk. We should always be testing, self-correcting, and improving ourselves so we may not fall.

Caring for Others

A man of truth must also be a man of care.

– An Autobiography (1927)

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

– James 1:27

Gandhi and Christ’s followers realized the same thing – to make a difference in the world, we must make a difference to individuals. How often can we read of Jesus or one of His disciples reaching out to an impoverished individual, a widow, a sick person, an outcast? Can the same be said of us? Are we so concerned with saving the world that we forget those closest to us? We often quote the Zen teaching that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The same is true of souls. If we want to make a difference to millions of wandering souls, it begins with those we can reach out to and care for within our reach.

Living the Message

My life is my message.

– Mahatma : Life of Gandhi 1869-1948

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus…

– Colossians 3:17

The end of the matter is this: live your message. You want to spread the word of Christ? Live it – and not only when it is convenient or when it agrees with your politics or your personal preferences. Live the message day in and day out. As Gandhi might say, “Be the change we wish to see in the world.” We may speak the words of the gospel, but our actions can drown out the message if they do not agree with those words of truth. If we are Christ’s, we have died to self, and it is He who lives in us. Our conduct should reflect that.

There are many in this world who claim to wear the name of Christ – conservative political leaders, TV personalities, radio talk show hosts – whose actions deny the name they so loudly claim to defend. They sell a gospel of violence, of greed, of hatred, and of anger. Christ was and is none of these things. Instead of letting people like these influence us, I’d encourage us to take a look at this humble man from India, a lawyer who gave up all to hold up the poor; a man who resisted injustice with peace; a man who cared that his words and his actions agreed. Though he never wore the name of Christ, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi gave us an example of what it means to deny self, pick up a cross, and live selflessly.