Oh, God!

Is Councilmember Carolyn Tucker right, or does God actually have bigger fish to fry than her house or the city of Nashville?

Despite--or perhaps because of--my own devotional life, I had a very valid and "faith-based" reason for skipping the "National Day of Prayer," which reared its ugly head in Downtown Nashville yesterday:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" [Matthew 6:4-6, The Christian New Testament; emphasis: my personal red-letter edition].

I hope I don't lose my YMCA card for this one, but I would have to say that Ms. Tucker has received her reward in full: prayer produced positive press plus publicity.