LESSONS LEARNED FROM HARD WORK ANDA LONG LIFE

The story is told of an old prospector who shuffled into a dusty little town, leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town to clear his parched throat.  He walked up to the saloon and tied his mule to the hitch rail.

As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.  The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey, old man, have you ever danced?"  The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance . . . Never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet.  Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied. When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.

The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barrel shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.  The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and turned around very slowly.  The silence was almost deafening.

The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin 10 gauge barrels. The shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed the rear end of a mule?" The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir ... But ... I've always wanted to!"

There are some lessons here for all of us:

* Never be arrogant.

* Don't waste ammunition.

* Whiskey (and alcohol in general) makes you "smarter" than you are.

* Make sure you always know who has the real power.

* Don't mess with old folks.  They didn't get old by being stupid.

Good lessons to take with us all through life. 

Hugh Fulford

February 28, 2012

DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR NIKES?

 Those who are into walking, jogging, running (I only "indulge" in the first), golf, basketball, soccer, even skateboarding and snowboarding, are well acquainted with a brand of athletic shoes (and other sports equipment) known as Nike.  That is an interesting name.  According to an article in Wikipedia, the company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight.  It officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978.  The company takes its name from Nike (pronounced Nee-kay, with the accent on the first syllable), the Greek goddess of victory.  Whoever (whether Bowerman, Knight, or someone else) decided on the name pulled off a great commercial coup in so far as the significance of the name is concerned, whether the users of Nike products are aware of the meaning of the word or not.  The word (and its derivatives) passed into common Greek usage to mean victory, victor, conquest, conqueror, etc.

A recent "News & Views" referred to the fact that the apostle Paul in his writings frequently alluded to athletic events, especially races (see 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:6-8).  He also frequently employed the word nike in its various forms.  For example, in his extensive treatment of the resurrection—both Christ's and ours—Paul speaks of death being swallowed up in victory (nikos). He asks, "O Hades, where is your victory (nikos)" (1 Corinthians 15:55b)?  He concludes his dissertation with a burst of praise to the Heavenly Father by saying, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ" (verses 56-57). 

In his letter to the saints in Rome, Paul enumerated a whole host of obstacles a child of God may face in this world: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword.  (From where does the modern "health and wealth gospel" of many televangelists come?  Not from the word of God!)  But while not denying the possibility of these things, Paul gives confident assurance to the people of God: "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors (hupernikao=hyper-conquerors) through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:35-37). Paul's message is that through Christ the child of God is pre-eminently victorious over anything that the devil and his forces might throw at him!

The apostle John also used nike. He wrote: "And this is the victory (nike) that has overcome the world—our faith" (1 John 5:4b).  We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).   We become children of God by faith when we are baptized into Christ and put on Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). We are exhorted to take heed against developing "an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12).  We are urged to "continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:13).  This belief, this faith is the means of our ultimate victory (nike)!

In a great passage detailing the kind of conflict in which Christians are engaged and the "tools" necessary for winning the conflict, Paul wrote: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (deceit, cunning devices, snares, traps) of the devil"(Ephesians 6:11).  A few sentences later he identifies the various pieces of that suit of spiritual armor which we are to put on: waist girded with truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (verses 14-17).

Yes, Christians are in a battle in this world.  Because of that, it is of utmost urgency that we be equipped for the conflict.  But we can be assured of the final victory!

Do you have on your Nikes?

A GOOD SAMARITAN

A few months ago I was preaching in a gospel meeting (some readers will better understand this by the term "revival") in a small Tennessee town and staying in a motel in a larger town some ten or twelve miles away. I was aware that my car was in need of a new set of tires and I planned to install a new set as soon as I returned home.  One evening, driving to the motel following the evening church service, I heard a "flap, flop, flap, flop."  I thought, "Uh-oh, I've got a flat tire." 

While the stretch of road I was on was sparsely populated, there nevertheless was a feed and seed store just to my right.  I managed to pull my car into the small patch of paved parking area in front of the store and park under a security light.  I thought, "Now what?"  I had never used the spare tire and had never even had the jack out of the trunk of the car.  I was not at all sure where the jack was located or where under the car I needed to place it in order to lift the car and replace the tire.  Additionally, I was wearing a new suit that I had only worn a time or two, dress shirt and tie, and dress shoes—attire hardly conducive to changing a dirty flat tire.  But I shed my coat and tie, rolled up my shirt sleeves, retrieved a flashlight from under the front seat, opened the trunk, and began the frustrating task of trying to figure out how to get the jack and spare tire out.

About that time a Jeep went along the highway in the opposite direction from which I had come.  The driver went down to the next road that turned off the highway, turned around, and came back to where I was and asked, "Do you have a car problem?"  I explained my situation.  He said, "I think I can help you."  He was a young man in his mid to late twenties.  His girlfriend was with him, and they were out for a late summer's evening drive.  Both were dressed in shorts and tank tops, and he had a number of tattoos on his arms and shoulders. For some "reason," at that moment his outward appearance really did not matter all that much to me.  He said, "Here, let me take care of that."  In a matter of minutes he had the spare out of the trunk, the car jacked up, the flat removed, and the spare on in its place.  As he worked, his girlfriend talked with me, and I kept repeating that I could not begin to say how much I appreciated them stopping to help me.  She said, "He's an expert with cars.  He does all of his own auto repairs and takes care of all of mine.  He just loves to work on cars and help other people with theirs."

I had pulled a couple of twenties from my wallet to give to the young man to pay him for his trouble.  He absolutely refused to take them. When I tried to get him to take at least one of them he still refused.  He said he was glad to help out, saying something about how that was what life was all about—helping others. Since I was to be in that town a few more days, I asked him if he could give me the name of a reputable tire dealer where I could buy a set of the brand of tires I used on my car.  He gave me the name of a dealer, and the next day I went there and had a new set of tires installed on my car.

There are some lessons to be learned from this incident.

1. There are many good-hearted people in this world.  Be thankful that there are people who are willing to stop and lend a helping hand.

2. Don't judge a person's heart by his or her outward dress and appearance.  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteousness judgment" (John7:24).

3. The next time you see a person in some difficulty stop and see if there is something you can do to help.  "Pay it forward."

4. Plan ahead.  Don't wait until an emergency occurs to get acquainted with the equipment (and how to use it) you will need in order to deal with the emergency.

5, Perhaps it's time for me to enroll in Triple A or switch to a General Motors vehicle with all the OnStar features.