Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
The detective arrived on the scene of the crime and consulted an eyewitness who saw the whole thing take place. Imagine the frustration that might result when the interview yielded the following information: “Well, he was about average height and had kind of a normal build. His hair was sort of regular length and in general just looked kind of ordinary.” Even if we aren’t a detective we tend to look down on the run-of-the-mill sort of person. After all, didn’t each of our mothers tell us we were special?
The Pine Warbler could easily slip into the median position on the bell curve. It just isn’t that distinctive. It’s one of the least migratory or the wood-warblers with most of the population wintering within the southern United States. Its name is a dead giveaway, for it is seldom seen away from pines except during migration. Even then it is often difficult to see as they spend much of their time high in the trees poking their sturdy bills into cones looking for food. And while the adult males do show some color, the females and immatures may lack any yellow, appearing more gray. As a result, many are classified as UFOs or Unidentified Feathered Objects. Even their song is indistinct, sounding much like other familiar birds.
Perhaps I’ve painted a bleaker picture than is deserved, but it serves my purpose. We all have the tendency, at least at times, to inflate our self-image. We’re part of the group that can’t believe that half of the population is below average. Paul seems to recognize this and seeks to bring us back to reality with these words: “Stop fooling yourselves. If you count yourself above average in intelligence, as judged by this world’s standards, you had better put this all aside and be a fool rather than let it hold you back from the true wisdom from above.” (1 Corinthians 3:18 Living Bible)