Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 2415 June 13, 2015
Thought for the week: "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." – Dr. Martin Luther King
A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 AM by a loud pounding on the door.
The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.
"Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!"
He slams the door and returns to bed.
"Who was that?" asked his wife.
"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.
"Did you help him?" she asks.
"No, I did not, it's 3 in the morning and it's pouring rain out there!"
"Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people, too, you know."
The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pouring rain.
He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?"
"Yes," comes back the answer.
"Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband.
In dealing with "issues" I have had a bad habit of trying to prove I am correct and the other person is wrong. What did I win? Many times, I've ended up hurting someone's pride and feelings.
Making others feel dumb doesn't work to our advantage. Most times, the discussion isn't even that important. I wonder what would happen if we said nothing when someone makes a statement we know is wrong. Would it really matter? Would it affect our lives in a bad way? Yes, there are times when it would have a negative impact and we have little choice, but when it is nothing more than "outsmarting" the other person, we should be smart enough to hold our tongue.
There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist
who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists
tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there
were only two he really liked, and he had to choose
between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a
perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around
it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.
All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect
picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest—in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."
I grew up in much simpler times. Television was in its infancy, and the idea of a hero was exemplified by a white-hatted cowboy. There was a clarity and simplicity to this hero's moral code that left no doubt there is a right and wrong.
As I became more sophisticated, it was easy to ridicule these simplistic approaches to ethics and living. Yet the more I've learned, the more I've come to think there's just as much danger in muddying our choices into endless shades of gray.
Sure, there are extenuating factors and exceptions that challenge the validity of every ethical principle, but on balance we need clear prescriptive benchmarks of virtue. Such guidelines are provided in the quaintly old-fashioned Cowboy Code promoted by the late Gene Autry:
Don't shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
Don't go back on your word or a trust confided in you.
Tell the truth.
Be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
Don't advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
Help people in distress.
Be a good worker.
Keep yourself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."1
After Jesus said these words, He went on to say, "This, then, is how you should pray..." and He taught them the Lord's Prayer—a prayer that has only 66 words!
I have read that the Gettysburg Address has only 286 words. The Declaration of Independence has 1,322, and the government regulations on the sale of cabbage has 26,911 words!
The point that Jesus is making (when we pray) is that we need to get to the point—and not use empty, vain repetitious words that come only from the top of our head and not from the heart.
It's the meaning of the heart that God wants to hear—which, of course, is the heart of all meaningful, intimate communications—with God or man. As the simple ditty expresses it:
I often say my prayers,
But do I really pray,
And does the meaning of my heart
Go with the words I say.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me when I pray to share with You what my heart is saying and what I am truly feeling—good or bad—and in so doing be ruthlessly honest with myself and with You. Always. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."
1. Jesus (Matthew 6:7-8, NIV).
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