Dickens is good to read for reminders of what all you have to be grateful for and for reminers of the plight of the working poor.<\/p>\n
The Chimes<\/em> is not as good as A Christmas Carol<\/em>, but has some similar themes and ideas (man shown his future, warned by ghosts).<\/p>\n One of the more striking passages provides a portrait of a very common but very poor approach to comforting people in grief. A poor woman with a young child has just watched her husband die, and her landlord and landlady approach comfort in different ways.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Tugby tried to comfort her with kindness.\u00a0 Mr. Tugby tried philosophy.<\/p>\n \u2018Come, come!\u2019 he said, with his hands in his pockets, \u2018you mustn\u2019t give way, you know.\u00a0 That won\u2019t do.\u00a0 You must fight up.\u00a0 What would have become of me if\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0had given way when I was porter, and we had as many as six runaway carriage-doubles at our door in one night!\u00a0 But, I fell back upon my strength of mind, and didn\u2019t open it!\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is a reminder of one reason it is helpful for pastors to read good fiction- good fiction provides truthful snapshots of the human condition. Too often men, in particular, try to comfort the way Mr. Tugby did. In the story we are shown also that Mr. Tugby speaks this way because he thinks too highly of himself and really does not care for those in need. This is not the pastoral heart and not proper pastoral comfort. Tugby sounds a bit like Job\u2019s friends. We must weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dickens is good to read for reminders of what all you have to be grateful for and for reminers of the plight of the working poor. The Chimes is not as good as A Christmas Carol, but has some similar themes and ideas (man shown his future, warned by ghosts). One of the more striking …<\/p>\n