| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net I was going to give you all a mini sermon on bullies. How to spot one; how to deal with one, and how not to be one. But the following is a true story by a friend of mine that lives in Nampa. Her name is Marilyn, and she is your basic working mom who takes care of her children as best she can, and now some grandchildren. What makes her special to me, is that she is one of those zealots. She views everything in her life through the lens of her relationship with God. Here is an example. Perhaps if we took it to heart there wouldn't be many bullies: “So, I lost my cell phone last night. Most people, unless they have had this happen before would imagine it irritating or inconvenient at the most…not so with me. I was so upset. The entire day-to-day workings of my life were stored in that phone: numbers to important contacts…family numbers that I never memorized…dates and reminders of important dates…my alarm clock that gets me up in the morning…and all the photos I took before I had my camera. Yes, I suppose I can figure it all out and reconstruct everything I lost. Financially, I can afford to go get another one. Inconvenience…pain in the rear…? No, much more than that. I stored my everyday life in that phone and I got careless…I took it for granted. Everyone has one, no big deal…I can get another…you, know, “do-overs”. Hmmmm? Someone just called….they found my phone. I am so relieved, but why? Why did I start crying from relief? Then the Lord spoke to me and that is why I am writing. Am I that careless with other things/people in my life? I think we are. We take things for granted and rarely stop to think what the loss would do to us…our lives…our future. Surely a cell phone really is no big deal, but what about the people in our lives? In this microwave world we live in, it is easy to get into the mentality of “no big deal…but we need to be careful and consider what the loss of even one person in our lives would do to us. I know, you all think I’m getting old and a little weird…don’t care. I was supposed to share this with you all…and so I have. Count the cost before making decisions that will change you life forever…even those seemingly little decisions are just one step toward a destination you will not want to arrive at. Our lives are not our own…everyone God has put in our lives becomes part of the fabric that keeps us together as a person. Be careful…any “tear” can alter that fabric completely. Hold each other close…take special care of each other. Don’t be careless…be care full. I love you all.” |
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