Feb | 05 | The Louisville Lip

Key Word:- BECOME

Title:- The Louisville Lip

Acts 12:22 And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

 
I remember for a time living in the birthplace of Muhammad Ali and driving down boulevards named after him whilst staring up at the largest of photographs of this smiling pugilist. It brought back childhood memories of watching the ‘king of the ring’, float and fly, steel and sting and even rumble in the jungle! Unlike some other super bowl celebrities, the only thing this fighter and entertainer flashed at the audience was his skill and his wit. I said wit, and it was more than enough to entertain you most thoroughly!

Marianne Moore, modernist poet, winner of the Bollingen Prize, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, died today in 1972. Here are some of the words she wrote for the record sleeve of “I am the Greatest,” a dedication to Muhammad Ali. It’s very entertaining, and one hopes, was very tongue in cheek. Listen:-

“Might-muscled and fit, he is confident, he is sagacious; even so, he trains, he fights; he is not ring-rusty. He acquires a title, a crown, a purse; a king's daughter is bestowed on him as a fiancée--a princess. He is literary--in the tradition of Sir Philip Sydney. His verse is ornamented by alliteration. An official voice calls him: ‘Come forth, Cassius Clay.’ A knight, a king of the ring, a mimic, a satirist, he calms his opponent: ‘Of course you're tired and irritable. Control yourself!’ He has a fondness for antithesis, will not only ‘give fighting lessons but falling lessons.’ Admittedly the ‘classiest and brassiest,’ when asked, ‘How do you feel about the British calling you Gaseous Cassius,’ his reply is one of the prettiest in literature: ‘I do not resent it.’ He is neat, spruce; debonair with manicure; his brow is high. If beaten he is still not ‘beat.’ He fights and he writes. Is there something I have missed? He is a smiling pugilist."

The ravages of Parkinson’s disease sunk this floating fighter down to life’s oceans bottom. While his reign and the running mouth of the ' Louisville Lip' lasted, it was wonderful, it was entertaining but it was in the end, found only to be the voice of one mere man. A man amongst men maybe, but only a man never the less. Let me ask you, which supposed god are you listening to today then dear friend? Who’s your idol made of clay? Put them away today, today!

Listen:- Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

Pray:-Teach us O Lord to number our days and so to gain a heart of wisdom. Lord today, we cast down our idols! Amen and amen.