Marriage Before Love
A man went to his pastor for counseling. In his hands were pages of complaints against his wife. After hours of uninterrupted listening, the pastor couldn’t help but ask, “If she is that bad, why did you marry her?” Immediately the man shot back, “She wasn’t like this at first!” The pastor, unable to hold back his thoughts, asked, “So, are you saying that she is like this because she’s been married to you?”
Savor The Flavor
America has often been called “a melting pot.” But obviously that is not the case. Politicians tend to fuel sensitivity to class and color divisions for their own gain. Gender tensions abound. Generational differences are more marked than ever. In fact, cultural observers are starting to say that the “melting pot” metaphor is outdated—that the goal should be a cultural “stew” in which the distinct taste of each ingredient is enhanced by the contribution of the other ingredients.
Don’t Let It Grow
In June 1966, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a celebrated boxer, along with an acquaintance were convicted of murder in a highly publicized and racially charged trial. The boxer maintained his innocence and became his own jailhouse lawyer. After serving 19 years, Carter was released when the verdict was overturned. As a free man, he reflected: “Wouldn’t anyone under those circumstances have a right to be bitter? . . . I’ve learned that bitterness only consumes the vessel that contains it. And for me to permit bitterness to control or infect my life in any way whatsoever would be to allow those who imprisoned me to take even more than . . . they’ve already taken.”
A Church That Cares
While traveling together, my wife and I started talking with a delightful young woman we met. The time passed quickly as we chatted about lighthearted topics.
The Time Machine
In 1896, H. G. Wells published a book titled The Time Machine, an imaginative tale of a scientist who builds a machine that can transport someone through time. The time traveler is preoccupied with the future, not the past. Like many scientists, he believes “progress” will enable the human race to build a better world. Yet in Wells’ book, this science-fiction story does not have a happy ending.
Fatal Frame Of Mind
When Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, thousands of innocent Egyptians died because of his stubborn will. Perhaps the knowledge of what was about to happen to Egypt’s firstborn on that first Passover night caused the great anger Moses felt as he left Pharaoh (Ex. 11:8). It was going to be a night of devastation and sorrow because the ruler was in a fatal frame of mind.
Why Bother With Church?
Winston Churchill once said that he related to the church rather like a flying buttress: He supported it from the outside. (A flying buttress is an external support that reinforces the walls of old cathedrals.) I tried that strategy for a while, after coming to believe Christian doctrine sincerely and committing myself to God.
Finders Keepers
People who find something of value are generally eager to keep it. In such cases, the notion of “finders keepers” seems like a good thing. But what if the thing we find is a problem? In that case, we’re eager to give it up.
The Unpayable Debt We Owe
Our gratitude is deepened when we remember the price others paid to help obtain freedom. In the United States, one such person was Richard Stockton.
