A Lesson From A Leftie

We think nothing about people being left-handed, other than crime shows teach us to notice these things since the Boston Strangler and Jack the Ripper were lefties. But with ten percent of the population being left-handed, it’s not a major concern to us. But there was a time when being a leftie was seen as a physical abnormality.

The French speak of a socially awkward person as “gauche”--the person who doesn’t know which fork to use or the water glass from the finger bowl. The word literally means “left.” And in Latin, “dexterous” means right, and “sinister” means left. Piano teachers in the 19th and 20th centuries would chide left-dominant pupils believing right dominant playing was better.

But according to the “Book of Lists,” we’ve had a number of prominent left-handers including Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Ringo Starr, Rocky Balboa, Bart Simpson and a string of presidents: Garfield, Truman, Ford, Bush 41, Obama and Clinton. And President Reagan had the distinction of writing with both hands— “amphibious” as Yogi Berra reportedly said!

It’s intriguing that one of the heroes of the Old Testament was Ehud, a man specifically described as left-handed.

The period of the judges was some 300-400 years. These were leaders filled with the Spirit of God who battled Israel’s oppressors. Scholars speak of the “Deuteronomic cycle” since Moses warned about this. “Serve God and he’ll bless you, but turn aside and he will curse you,” he said.

This cycle of disobedience/oppression/deliverance is mentioned six times in the book of Judges.

God called Ehud as the second judge. We’ve perhaps heard this name before since Ehud Barak was elected prime minister in Israel in 1999, succeeding Benjamin Netanyahu, who interestingly, was elected to office twice again.