One of my staff members said to me one time that he wished
that he could feel as deeply as I feel. He asked me for the secret.
I made it clear that one of the main secrets is practicing the
art of meditation. In these days of busy cities, busy activities,
and busy schedules, how neglected is this spiritual grace. In
the first Psalm we are reminded that meditation is necessary
for prosperity. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:8 that we are
to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely,
and of good report. In I Timothy 4:15 Paul admonishes young Timothy
to meditate on what God had done for him. When Joshua assumed
the leadership of Israel, he was reminded in Joshua 1:8 to meditate.
In Genesis 24:63 we find that Isaac was a man of meditation.
In Psalm 63:6 David reminds us that he meditated through the
night.
I have found it wise to have a set time and set place for
meditation. It is something that should be done on purpose. Meditation
is love's nourishment. No one can properly love unless his mind
dwells on the love and on the loved.
If one is to develop the depth of soul that he should have,
he must of necessity spend time in meditation.
In order to have proper gratitude, one must meditate upon
the things that God and others have done for him.
If improvement comes in our lives, it comes only after soul-searching
meditation which leads us to realize our weaknesses, imperfections,
frailties, and need of improvement.
Meditation enables us to escape the traps that Satan sets
for us in order to capture our minds. Drive down the average
highway and look at the signs that seek your mind's attention.
Add to this the television, the radio, the thousands of people
with whom you come in contact regularly, and the million other
things in life and you will find the mind has little chance to
be alone. Hence, it is wise for a person to set a time and a
place for meditation. This has been my policy through the years.
In the following chapters you will find some of these meditations.
Some have been during the night watches; some have been while
flying 30,000 feet in the air, but all have come through meditation.
May God bless you as we together "think upon these things."
Chapter OneWHEN TIME IS NO
LONGER
". . .that there should be time no longer." (Revelation
10:6)
Perhaps one of the hardest things to define is time. I have
often thought of time as being a yardstick with which to measure
deterioration. Could that be the reason there is no time with
God, and there will be no time in eternity? Nothing will ever
deteriorate there. There will be no depreciation; hence, there
will be no need for the measuring stick - time.
The older I get the more I realize that perhaps the greatest
gift that I could give you is my time. Actually, the only gift
that I can give is my time. If I give you money, I give you the
time it took me to earn that money. If I give you a gift, I give
you the time it took me to earn the money with which I bought
the gift. Perhaps, then, it is true that time is the only thing
that I can give to you. Time is probably the greatest gift for
several reasons:
1. When I give you my time, I am giving you my life, for time
is life. If one takes the life of another, actually he takes
only time from him. Murder is simply taking from a person the
amount of time that he would have lived anyway. So in a real
sense, when I give to you my time, I am giving to you my life,
for time is life.
How much more could I honor you than to give you my time?
How much more could you honor me than to give me your time? My
time with you is an investment. Your time with me is an investment.
Let us care for each other's investment wisely.
2. If I spend some time with you, I am giving you a gift that
can be given only to YOU! The moment that I give to you I will
never have again. Once it is given, it can never be given to
another. Such a realization should cause us to appreciate moments
spent friends, for a moment given to me by a friend is not only
his giving to me of his life, but also something which he can
give to no other person and which can never be given again.
3. For you to give me a moment, or for me to give you a moment,
is to exchange the only moment that we actually know we have.
We are only promised the present. When we share the present with
each other, we are giving to each other the only moment that
we have for sure. There may never be another.
4. The giving of a moment to a friend is a greater gift than
Heaven can give. If I spend a moment with you in Heaven, it will
not be subtracted from time, for there is no time there. In Heaven
I will not be giving you my life, for life is eternal there.
Here is an earthly gift that I may give you that I cannot give
you in Heaven, for to spend a moment there is not a sacrifice.
May I then never take lightly the time you give to me, and may
you never take lightly the time I give to you.
5. Time is a gift God cannot give. God gives us many wonderful
gifts. This is one thing that God cannot give you. God has no
time. He does not give up any of His life to fellowship with
you. To be sure, He gave His life on the cross to save you; but
since God will never die, the time He gives to you and the moments
you share with Him do not subtract anything from His life. In
other words, He loses no life to fellowship with you. However,
when I fellowship with you, I lose my life. When you fellowship
with me, you are giving of your life. Here is a gift we can share
that even God cannot give.
6. For me to give to you a moment is an honor that God cannot
give you. When we share a moment alone, we take that moment from
everyone else and give it to each other. God, however, is omnipresent.
For Him to fellowship with you does not mean that He must forfeit
fellowship with all others. Hence, when you give me a few moments,
I must pause to realize that you are honoring me above all of
the people of the earth for that moment.
Therefore, to give you my time is the greatest gift that I
can give. Since it can be given only to you and only to one person
at a time and can never be given again, please accept the moment
that I can give as my supreme gift, and as an expression of my
love to you and my interest in you.
Recently someone asked me this question: "Why do you
make everything seem so sacred? It seems that you make the least
little event such a sacred occasion."
I have given you my reasons. Every event of life uses up a
little more of the most precious commodity that I have on earth
- my life. The event may seem trivial and the occasion may seem
small, but the price that I am paying is the greatest price that
I have to pay. Hence, I do not measure an occasion by its greatness
or bigness, but by the price I pay for it - even my life.
Chapter TwoTHE ADVANTAGE
OF THE FRIEND RELATIONSHIP
Life is a series of human relationships. It is very important
that we develop each to its fullest. No one need magnify the
importance of the parent-child relationship, the husband- wife
relationship, the brother-sister relationship, etc. There is,
however, a need to magnify the importance of the friend relationship.
Many would never class it in importance with the aforementioned.
I think that it should be. Let us observe some advantages in
the friend relationship.
1. It is one of the few relationships that we choose. We do
not choose our mother, our father, our brother, our sister, our
son, our daughter. God chooses them for us. Because He does,
they are sacred relationships. There are a few relationships,
however, that should be akin to those mentioned above. These
are made sacred because they are chosen by us. One such relation
is that of a friend. If I am your friend, I chose to be your
friend. If you are my friend, you chose to be my friend. What
an honor we have given to each other. Of all the people in the
world we have given our friendship one to the other. How sacred
such a relationship!
2. It can be a completely unselfish relationship. The child
needs the parent. In usual cases, in later years the parent needs
the child. The husband needs the wife, and the wife needs the
husband. In each of these relationships there is, however holy,
a righteous selfishness involved. When I chose to be your friend,
however, I chose to give and not to receive .. I chose to help
and not to be helped. I chose to love and not to be loved. I
chose to care for you and not to be cared for by you. In being
your friend I ask nothing. I am willing to give everything, which
means that the object of such friendship may rest comfortably
in an unselfish relationship.
3. Friendship is one of the few relationships that never changes.
The child grows up and leaves home. The parent grows old and
passes away. Brothers and sisters move away from home. At first
the child needs the parent; later the parent needs the child.
Even in marriage the needs change with the passing of the years.
In friendship it need not be so. Many parents will admit that
about the time they learn how to be parents, the children are
grown. The same is true with many relationships in life, but
the friend relationship is one of the few, if not the only one,
where one can spend years becoming an expert and still have time
to use what he has learned, for the relationship may remain the
same.
4. The friend relationship is one that needs not the acceptance
of another. To become a husband means that another must accept
the proposal. To become a wife means that there must be a proposal
by another. True friendship is not, however, based upon this.
I can be your friend, even if you are not my friend. In other
words, friendship need not be reciprocated. This means if I am
your friend, I have chosen you from a wide field of possibilities.
I did not choose you because you accepted, for I became your
friend before you accepted. In some cases, I am your friend even
if you never accept, but what an honor it is to have a friend!
6. One need never give up one friend for another. In some
relationships of life there can be only one. In the friendship
relationship the one relationship need not be traded if another
is acquired. This relationship is never lost to another. You
may be my friend and someone else's friend. When I become a friend
to another, I may still be your friend.
7. The friend relationship is one that can be completely spiritual.
Most of life's relationships are based upon physical needs. To
be sure, there are spiritual needs also. In any relationship
of life the spiritual should be uppermost. I can become your
friend, however, without there being one physical need for you
to supply. Our souls may be knit together, and our relationship
need not be based upon the satisfying of physical appetites.
8. A friend may be chosen at any time of life. Parents come
at birth; children come to us in young adulthood; brothers and
sisters come to us during childhood. People at a certain age
are unable to have children, but a friend may be chosen at eight
or eighty, nine or ninety, ten or one hundred, sixteen or sixty.
Friendship is a high and lofty relationship. Few ever know
its depth. Most never know a friend, and certainly, most never
are a friend.
Hence, the great relationships of life are husband-wife, mother-daughter,
father-son, brother-sister, and . . . friend. Happy is the man
who has a friend. Happier is the man who is a friend. Happiest
is the man who has a friend and is a friend. Oh how happy I am!
Chapter Three
THE IMPORTANCE OF LITTLE THINGS
Sometime notice in your Bible the many little things that
were of great significance: the little gift of the widow, the
water pots in which Jesus performed His first miracle, Shamgar's
ox goad, Moses' rod, etc.
There is no doubt but that one of the great differences between
success and failure is the importance placed on little things.
There has to be a reason why men of equal talent do not have
equal success, and oftentimes, men of less talent have greater
success than many- talented ones.
Often a successful person will be called a perfectionist.
He will even be criticized because of his overemphasis on seemingly
"trivial matters." It might be wise, however, for less
successful people to examine the methods of those who are successful,
and in so doing, not criticize the differences but rather pattern
after them. The differences between people is composed of their
differences. Our differences cause our difference. Hence, it
might be wise for one to emulate rather than criticize a so-called
perfectionist.
1. The only way to excel is to do the little things. Everyone
does the big things. They are the things that challenge each
of us. Consequently, the difference between us must be our attention
toward little things. I have noticed very carefully successful
people from every walk of life. The so-called trivials mean something
to them. The nonessentials seem to be essentials. Everything
seems to be big. They have found that "little drops of water
and little grains of sand make the mighty ocean and the pleasant
land."
2. The one who cares for little things will be misunderstood
by those who care not. "He is too particular." "He
is hard to work for." Similar statements are often made
about those who care for details and to whom punctuality, neatness,
and thoroughness are important. Hence, when one comes to the
place where everything is important and there are no such things
as trivials, he is oftentimes misunderstood by his contemporaries.
3. The big is the little. We have found in our generation
that the most powerful force is the splitting of the smallest
thing. In the splitting of the atom a succession of explosions
can be set off to cause the biggest explosion the world has ever
known. This has taught us that the power is not in the big but
in the little. The spoil lies to the person who counts the little
as big. Oftentimes I have said to my staff. "If a task is
worth doing, it is worth doing right,. If it is not worth doing
well, it is not worth doing." If something needs to be done,
it is big. If we have a job to do, it is big. If it is worthy
of our attention, it is worthy of our best.
4. When one does the little thing well, he will automatically
do the big thing well. Someone has said that a preacher should
preach to the back row. If the folks on the back row can hear
him, certainly he will be understood by those on the front row.
When a person does a little job well, he will certainly do a
big job well.
Truthfully, who among us is able to discern between the big
and the little? So often we come to the conclusion of a task
only to find that it was one of the biggest tasks we had ever
attempted. None of us can be sure about the size of a task. It
should behoove us to do every task well, thereby insuring ourselves
of always doing a good job on the big tasks.
5. The little often becomes the big. Someone has said, "Be
nice to your paperboy; you may try to borrow some money from
his bank some day." Someone else has said, "Be kind
to the boy who plays in your yard. You may be on trial in his
court some day." The safest thing to do is be nice to the
little man, do well each little task, preach your best to the
little crowds, prepare well for the little jobs, and you will
certainly corral the big ones. Remember, the little often becomes
the big and the big is often the little. Who is able to judge
the difference?
6. Do not measure a task by its size. Just do what there is
to do. The other day I was parked in front of a big business.
I was not surprised when I saw the owner of the business sweeping
off the sidewalk. This is the way he got to be a big man. He
was a good little man. The way he got to do the big tasks was
by doing the little tasks well. Greatness is often wrapped in
simplicity. A person who is unwilling to do the little will not
have the opportunity to do the big. The person who is not challenged
by the little will not be presented the challenge to do the big.
A person who has not done well the little is not prepared or
qualified to do the big. Do not weigh a task. If it is before
you, do it and do it well. Even if it is unworthy of you, you,
nevertheless, are setting principles by which you will live a
life. One who is not diligent in little tasks will not develop
the diligence necessary to do the big tasks. Even if the task
is not worthy of you, diligence is; and even if what you do is
not big, the way you do it can be big. Someone will see how you
do it and realize that you are qualified to do something bigger.
Then too, in doing the small task diligently one is preparing
himself with the methods necessary to succeed in a big task.
7. Always make a check list of little things. Never trust
your memory. You will remember to do the big, but you must remind
yourself to do the little. If possible, the little should be
done immediately. Fix little things when they break. Most houses
become run- down because of the neglect of repairing little things.
Many cars lose their value because the little things are not
attended to. Make a check list of things to do that are little.
This article is being dictated on a jet plane between Chicago
and Seattle, Washington. There I will board another jet for a
speaking engagement in Tokyo, Japan. Just a moment ago a little
thing was called to my attention. I made a note of it, put the
note in my pocket, and will be reminded to do the task and do
it well. 8. In doing the little things one becomes Christlike.
You must remember that Jesus never pastored a large church. He
was never a president, governor or mayor. He took time for little
children. he told simple stories. He spoke of a flower, a bird,
a gardener, a husbandman, a lost coin, and a boy who ran way
from home. His Father and our Father takes note of a bird that
falls. He clothes the lilies of the field. He is even interested
in each hair on our heads. Hence, if we would be Christlike,
we must notice the little things and do them well.
9. The degree of unhappiness you have with yourself over not
doing the little things well will determine the amount of growth
you experience. For one to improve himself he must realize his
inefficiencies and weaknesses. Usually the big things will be
accomplished. When one has accomplished the big things, he may
then think that he has arrived. The growth he experiences in
the future will be determined by how dissatisfied he is in the
present. Hence, he must find unhappiness over the failure to
do well the little things.
This is true in every field. The baseball player who is in
a hitting slump may find he is jerking his head at the wrong
time. The football player may find that he is not charging low
enough as he blocks. The track star may find that his failures
are caused by holding his arms too far from his body or standing
too erect when he starts to race. In every walk of life this
is the case. Once one has become successful in a field, his continued
improvement is dependent upon his mastering, not of the big,
but of the little. Remember nothing is unimportant. No task should
be taken lightly. Every job is a big job. Every day is a big
day. Every sermon is a big sermon.
When I was in college, I took a course called Pastoral Theology.
It was taught by the president of the college and was attended
by the preacher boys. Each Monday we were asked to give a report
of our weekend activities. On this particular Monday I was so
happy to give my report. You see, I had just accepted my first
pastorate the day before. It was one hundred miles from our college
town. Mrs. Hyles and I drove there each weekend in our old Dodge.
I was the first preacher asked to give his report on this particular
Monday morning. I stood and said, "Dr. Bruce, I would like
to report that I had a wonderful weekend. I was called as Pastor
of a little church in the country . . ."
Dr. Bruce interrupted me and said, "Sit down, Mr. Hyles."
I could not for the life of me understand why he told me to
sit down. Every other young preacher gave his report, and there
was not another single reprimand given by Dr. Bruce. Finally
when the reports were all given, I raised my hand and asked,
"Dr. Bruce, what did I say that was wrong?"
Dr. Bruce replied with an answer I shall never forget, "You
said, Mr. Hyles, that you had been called to pastor a little
. . . church . . .Mr. Hyles, there are . . .no . . .little churches!"
I then stood to my feet and said, "Dr. Bruce, I would
like to give my report. Yesterday I was called to pastor a big
church up in the country with nineteen members at a salary of
$7.50 a week."
The class roared with laughter, but I had been taught a lesson
I shall never forget. There are no little churches. There are
no little preachers. There are no little people. There are no
little tasks!
Chapter FourSACRED THINGS
The Jews had many holy days, special seasons, feasts, etc.
Colossians 2:14-17 reminds us that these were nailed to the cross.
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to His cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers,
He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let
no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect
of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which
are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Colossians
2:14-17)
Paul said in Galatians that he was afraid of the Galatian
people who had lapsed back into legalism and the observance of
days and seasons lest he had bestowed labor upon them in vain.
In his writings the apostle gives much space to the fact that
in Christ every day is a holy day and every season a holy season.
Places were also sacred to the Jews. There was the Holy of
Holies in the temple as well as other places that became known
as sacred. Jesus was talking to the woman at the well when suddenly
she interrupted him by suggesting that the Jews worshipped in
Jerusalem but the Samaritans worshipped on Mt. Gerizim. He then
reminded her, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the
true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:
for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. (John 4:23) Hence,
there are now no sacred places - only sacred relationships.
Someone would say, "Pastor, how about the place where
you were saved, the spot where you were married, the place you
became engaged, etc. - are these sacred places?"
No. The place is not sacred. It is the relationship that is
sacred. The place and date are simply made dear because of the
sacred relationship. Hence, the Christian should have no sacred
places, but many dear places; no sacred days, but many dear days.
He should however, have sacred relationships. The spot should
be only a reminder, not the object. There are several such spots
in my life, such as the place where I was saved, my father's
grave, etc. These spots, however, are not sacred spots. These
are only places held dear because of relationships and events
that are held sacred. Because of this, we should make many of
them. With the passing of the years they will be even more dear
to us. In order to make such dear places we must find how to
do so.
1. Think now how you will feel later. One of the tragic things
of this depraved human race is that we have to wait until an
experience is ended before it has been made dear to us. If the
spot will someday be a treasured one, let us make it such now.
Character enables one to appreciate the present as those who
have no character will appreciate it in the future. The chair
in which a loved one sits, the pulpit behind which a dear pastor
speaks, the organ bench on which an organist sits, the desk of
an office worker, and other places will someday become hallowed
spots. If this be true, we should appreciate and see them as
such now. The things that one is now doing will some day become
dear and hallowed things. The rearing of the children, the living
of a normal home life, and even youth itself will some day be
looked back upon with reverence. Why not look upon the enjoyment
as such while it is in progress? As the pastor walks to the pulpit,
he should realize that someday this spot will be very dear, so
it should be very dear now. When the office worker sits behind
his desk, he should realize his privilege while he sits there.
It is sad that so many of us have to wait until days are past
to really appreciate them.
2. Remember that the usual will someday become the unusual.
Everything is temporary. Because it is, the usual should be treated
as the unusual. That which will someday become the unusual should
be treated as the unusual today. A trip to the zoo, a night with
the family, the eating of hamburgers at a drive-in sandwich shop,
etc. will someday be precious memories. The person with character
will make them precious experiences now.
3. Use the same place. People who have close ties are happy
people. In order to make those close ties there must be familiarity.
Some people who love each other meet at the same spot year after
year. Others pray for each other at the same time day after day.
Others eat at the same restaurant, etc. As an experience takes
place at the same place, or at the same time, it becomes more
dear and sacred. Man is a creature of habits. Proper habits can
make, not only for treasured memories, but treasured experiences
now.
4. Measure the relationship now. One of the sad things about
us is that we wait until the tree is fallen before we measure
it. Anybody can measure a fallen tree; character measures the
tree while it is still standing. Do not wait until you lose him
to know how much you love him. measure that love now. It isn't
death that makes something sacred; it is life. Character makes
it sacred now. If you work for a good employer, realize it now!
Do not wait until he is gone. If you have a good husband or wife,
realize it now. Do not wait until that one is taken.
5. Make gifts what they ought to be. A gift is a shrine where
the recipient meets the giver and an altar where he thanks God
for the giver. Choose what you wear carefully. A certain tie
can be worn as a reminder of the one who gave it. This chapter
is being dictated in the Atlanta, Georgia, airport. The cuff
links and "tie tac" that I wear are gifts from dear
friends. Hence, I am now thinking of them and praying for them.
A simple thing such as a cuff link has become a shrine where
I meet the giver and an altar where I thank God for the giver.
Gifts should be purposely used in order to remind us of those
whom we love.
6. A disciplined schedule makes for sacred times. The person
who does the same thing at the same time will find it a precious
time. Wise is the person who schedules his time. In so doing,
he is building up memories of things that happened at a certain
hour so as to make that hour dear and precious in the future.
One of the secrets to life is the discipline of time. This and
other things make for close ties and sentimental people. People
often say that they are just not affectionate and sentimental.
The simple truth may be that they are not disciplined. Proper
discipline of time, mind, and life will make for regular activities
that may be looked upon in the future as dear ones. With character
these can be treasured now.
7. A route can make sacred places. There are many such sacred
trails. The child who takes the same way to school each morning
is making the route a revered one. The man who drives the same
way each day to work may do the same thing. Just a few months
ago we visited a city where I pastored for seven years. How dear
to me was the route between my home and the church because I
took the same route each day. It became almost sacred to me.
Hence, how happy I was to retrace my steps once again.
8. Enter into close relationships. A few years ago as a young
man I read a book that had a very vital influence on my life.
It was called Try Giving Yourself Away. I do not recall the contents
of the book; I do recall its title. I decided then and there
to give myself away in human relationships. I decided not to
be afraid to enter into close relationships. I have never been
sorry. Hence, my friends are sacred. My relationships are sacred.
I have known intimate ties that I have treasured, do treasure,
and will treasure all my life.
No place is sacred in itself. No time is sacred in itself.
Hence, if a place or a time becomes sacred, it is so because
of relationships and disciplined lives that make it possible.
Such discipline and such relationships can make life more meaningful
and more worthwhile. They can make every gift a shrine, every
bush a burning bush, every spot of ground holy ground, every
building a temple, and every day a holy day.
Chapter Five
JONATHAN AND DAVID
One day while conducting Staff Devotions, I was asked by one
of the staff members concerning the subject of friendship. The
devotion for that day had pertained to the relationship of friends.
The question asked was something like this: "Pastor, do
you know of any such friends in the Bible?" Immediately
my attention was directed toward Jonathan and his relationship
to David. This, of course, was one of the most beautiful relationships
in all the Bible and is worthy of careful inspection.
1. ". . .the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul
of David. . ." (I Samuel 18:1) Notice that it does not say
that he knitted himself, but that the soul was knit. True friendship
is a gift of God, and a person who has a true friend should count
him as such. We hear much about "falling in love" in
our day. I doubt if anyone can really define such a condition,
but there is such a thing in the Bible. God knit the soul of
one to the soul of another. The words "made one" could
be used in the relationship of Christ and the church as well
as in the relationship of the husband and wife. In other words,
when God gives one a friend, he knits their souls just as really
as Christ was knit to the church and as the husband and wife
are knit to each other.
It is worthy of note that Jonathan's soul was knit to David's.
David needed a friend. God gave David such a friend. Happy and
blessed is the person who knows such knitting of his soul to
that of another.
2. Notice the words in I Samuel 18:1 and 3, "as own soul."
In other words, Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul.
This could mean "one soul in two bodies," or it could
mean "another self." When God gives such a friendship,
He gives a love for the friend that is akin to a love for self.
The friend's welfare is my welfare. In other words, we prefer
our friends to ourselves. How sacred, how wonderful is such a
relationship.
3. Jonathan gave up the kingdom for David. (I Samuel 18:4)
Jonathan was the son of Saul. Saul was the king. No doubt he
was the heir apparent to the throne, but his friendship led him
to give all to his friend. David's Welfare meant more than his
own. True love and true friendship knows no bounds of sacrifice,
love, and giving. True love gives to be satisfied, but finds
dissatisfaction. Again, it gives, but again it wants to give
more. Yet again it gives, and again it is unsatisfied. Nothing
can satisfy true love but giving all. Such was the case of Jonathan.
4. This friendship was not necessarily earned. The word "Jonathan"
means "God has given" or "given by God."
Apart from salvation itself, God has no more gracious gift than
the gift of a true friend. If there is one such person in the
world to you, thank God daily for him and do your best to nurture
this relationship to its fullest.
5. The friendship was closer than blood. (I Samuel 19:2) In
Proverbs 18:24 we find that there is a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother. In John 15:13 we find that the greatest love
is one laying down his life for a friend. True friendship is
often closer than blood ties. this is the way God would have
it. No doubt many readers will think of some such relationship
that they enjoy. How sweet it is when the bonds of Jesus Christ
and the bonds of Christian friendship exceed even the ties of
blood.
6. They made a covenant between them to die for each other
and to help each other's relatives. I believe that people should
develop friendships so close for which death itself would not
be too great a gift. Jonathan proved the sincerity of his heart
when he risked his life again and again for his friend David.
Each of us would like to have such a friend. It is more important
that each of us become such a friend. Ask yourself: "Would
I die for anyone?" Make a list of people for whom you would
die. Once this list is made and you have made a covenant with
yourself to offer such friendship, then go to the person or persons
involved and tell them of your devotion. Enter into this covenant
with them. Of course, do not expect reciprocation. Happy is the
person who has love for another deep enough to die for him. It
is certainly important that such relationships be expressed one
to another when such friendships develop.
7. Jonathan was willing to be in the shadows. (I Samuel 23:17)
True friendship is willing to be second. It is willing to exalt
the other in place of self. It steps in the shadows and pushes
the friend into the limelight. It finds its satisfaction in loving
and not in being loved, in helping and not in being helped. It
rejoices in the success of a friend.
8. It seems that Jonathan expressed his friendship to David
every time he saw him. Again and again he took care to tell David
of his love, devotion, and friendship. This is very important
in a friend relationship. To be sure, there is an assurance in
perfect love. Yet, we are only people, and we need to be assured
again and again. There should be an excess of "I love you's"
rather than a scarcity of them. How sweet it is when friends
express devotion one to the other.
9. As far as we know, David was the only one to whom Jonathan
was such a friend. One must not assume such deep relationships
lightly. A friend should be as carefully chosen in the will of
Goad as husband and wife. It is not a lesser relationship. Hence,
too many such friends would cheapen the union. Also, because
friendship bears with it tremendous obligations, one should not
assume more friends than he is capable to fulfill the obligations
involved. The word "friend" means far too little in
most circles and should certainly carry with it a willingness
to give all. This, of course, would narrow considerably the number
of friends that any one person could have.
10. Jonathan gave to David his every desire. (I Samuel 20:4)
True friendship seeks for the needs of its object. As I have
said elsewhere in this book, THE DESIRE OF A FRIEND IS A ROYAL
COMMAND!
11. Bodily absence does not mean that friends are apart. Jonathan
and David were not together as much as one would think, yet their
souls had been knit. There is a fellowship other than physical
fellowship. How beautiful it is when the souls of two people
are so knit together that they cannot be "separate"
from each other.
There are some people in this world for whom I would die.
I have them listed, and each day I pause to thank God for them
by name and to fellowship with them though miles may separate
us. Paul said in Philippians 1:7 that he had the Philippian people
in his heart. In verse 8 he expressed his longing for them. True
friends should have each other in their hearts and should have
such soul fellowship that nothing can separate them.
12. It is interesting to note what happened to David after
Jonathan died. Not long after Jonathan died, David had his terrible
affair with Bathsheba. Then he lost the baby from this unholy
union. A son raped a daughter. One son murdered another son.
The murderer son then rebelled against his father, fought to
take over the kingdom, and was soon killed in a battle against
the forces of his own father. None of this happened to David
while he had his friend. Could it be that it was Jonathan's friendship
that helped keep David right?
I have known the inspiration that is given by having a friend.
Such relationships can make my preaching better, inspire me to
write more, and even keep my life cleaner and more dedicated
to God. A true friend leads one to righteousness. A true friend
enables his friend to become a better Christian. Such was the
case with Jonathan and such should be the case with us.
13. Perhaps David never really understood the depth of Jonathan's
love. To some, the relationship seems one-sided. To be sure,
David did not have the opportunity to be a friend to Jonathan
that Jonathan had to be a friend to David. However, the statement
in II Samuel 1:26 that Jonathan's love exceeded that of women
seems to me to be a little shallow. It is doubtful that David
ever knew the depth of the friendship for Jonathan that Jonathan
knew for David. We must remember, however, that David needed
a friend more than Jonathan did. Perhaps it could be that God
gave David a stronger friend because of his need. God's promise
is that He will "supply all of our needs according to His
riches in glory." This God did for David and likewise for
Jonathan. There has always been some doubt to me, however, if
David knew the depth of friendship that Jonathan knew. This should
alert each of us to do this best to have sufficient love to reciprocate
the depth of a friend's affection.
14. David gave to Jonathan after his death. All relationships
on earth must end for a season, and so did David and Jonathan's
earthly friendship. Jonathan died, but David's friendship lingered.
In II Samuel 9:1 we see that David did a favor for Jonathan's
son in honor of Jonathan and his life. He brought Mephibosheth,
the son of Jonathan, to the king's palace (though the son was
crippled) to live as one of his own sons in honor of Jonathan.
There are those who think that David should have done something
for Jonathan earlier. Perhaps he waited too late to express his
friendship. Whether or not this is true in this story, it is
nevertheless the case in many lives. We should do now what we
plan to do later for our friends. Let us tell of our love now!
Let us show our appreciation now! Let us sacrifice now! Let us
give now. Let us share now. It is good to give to one's descendants
after his death. It is better to give to them during his life.
How sweet it is when God miraculously imparts friendship to two
people. There are many close relationships in life such as parent-child,
husband-wife, brother-sister, etc. Along beside these relationships
must go a true friendship - the kind of friendship that exists
between Jonathans and Davids, the kind of friendship which is
a gift from Heaven and which will last forever.
Chapter Six
DANIEL'S SPIRIT
"Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents
and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the
king thought to set him over the whole realm." (Daniel 6:3)
In this verse we find that Daniel had an excellent spirit.
There is more to this statement than meets the eye. Perhaps it
would be better translated, "the spirit excelled in Daniel."
In other words, the spiritual was more important to Daniel than
the physical. The unseen was more important than the seen. The
intangible was more important than the tangible. The spirit excelled
in him.
When Jesus speaks of the end time, He says that one of its
characteristics will be that people will be buying and selling,
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. Now there
is nothing wrong with buying and selling. There is nothing wrong
with eating and drinking, and there is nothing wrong with marrying
and giving in marriage, except it is a picture of our day when
people excel in the flesh.
Daniel excelled in the spirit. He placed his physical appetites
secondary, and the spirit became the chief thing. Here is the
reason that Daniel could interpret dreams and obtain spiritual
insight which few others did. How tragic it is that even good
Christians spend so much time on the seen and so little on the
unseen; so much time on the physical and so little on the spiritual;
so much time on the tangible and so little on the intangible.
in Daniel, the physical did not possess a spirit, but the spiritual
possessed a body. This is why he could purpose in his heart that
he would not sin against God or defile his flesh with the king's
meat. This indicates that he gave much thought as to his purpose
in life. He found his duties, found the will of God for his life,
and built all else around it in a world of materialism and physical
attraction.
Let it be said of us that the spirit excels in us as it did
in Daniel. Let us major on the spirit. Let us think of and find
our purpose in life. Then let us purpose in our hearts that we
will do nothing that will steer us from our goal and purpose
in life. The only way one could properly do this is to have the
spirit excel in him.
Chapter SevenDO RIGHT
When I was a high school lad, a dear Sunday School teacher
named Dr. Rutherford gave me a New Testament. On the inside of
it he wrote, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou
not." (Proverbs 1:10) This became my motto for life.
Billy Sunday used to say, "Do right. Do right if the
stars fall, but do right." Such was the case with Daniel.
Let us notice several things about Daniel's doing right when
he refused to eat the King's meat or drink the King's wine.
1. It is always right to do right. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego would not bow down to wrong. Later Daniel was put
in the lion's den, but this decision was made a long time before
at the dining room table when he decided that he would always
do right. It became a part of his character. It is always a good
idea for people just to say, "I will always do right."
Let principles make decisions. A person should decide early in
life the principles by which he plans to live. These principles
can become an IBM machine letting every decision fall where it
will according to one's principles. As I look back on my life,
I can see several principles that I set as a child and as a young
person that have guided me in the making of decisions for a lifetime.
2. It is always right to do right away from home. Someone
has said that the "real you" comes out away from home.
What do you do when away at college? What do you do in the army
when temptations come? The real test will come when there is
a temptation to do wrong and Mother does not know, Father does
not know, Pastor does not know, and friends do not know. Let
it always be said that we do right away from home. Many people
go places during vacation to which they would never go at home.
Many people gamble at Las Vegas who would never gamble anywhere
else. How sad.
3. It is always right to do right regardless of the results.
Always make the decision apart from the results. If right turns
out wrong, it is still right to do right. Right needs no vindication.
Right is its own reward. Do not even consider the results when
deciding whether to do right or wrong.
4. It is not right to do wrong in order to do right. There
is a popular untruth going around: "As long as you have
a chance to do good, anything goes." This is not true! Right
should rise and fall on its own self, not upon the opportunities
it presents. The doing of right is an opportunity. The doing
of right is its own result, gives its own reward, presents its
own satisfaction, and should be done even if it causes one to
lose his job, lose his popularity, lose his friends, or lose
his all. Right will always turn out right in the end.
Do you remember what happened to Daniel? He was promoted to
the top. Nero did wrong and Paul did right. Now people name their
boys "Paul" and their dogs "Nero." Stephen
did right and died, but he looked up and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. John did right and
was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, but it turned out right because
he saw the great Revelation. The Hebrew children did right, and
it looked bad for awhile until the fourth Person came into the
fiery furnace and Jesus walked with them.
There is absolutely no thrill comparable to the thrill of
doing what is right. Do right if it is unpopular. Do right if
it looks bad. Do right if it turns out wrong. Do right when opportunity
is lost. Do right if nobody thinks you ought to do right. Do
right if nobody else does right. Preachers, do right. Businessmen,
do right. College students, do right. Children, do right. Teen-agers,
do right. Let everyone that has breath, do right!
Of course, it is not always easy to say "NO"! to
wrong, but we must remember that it is always wrong to do wrong
and always right to do right. Looking back over my youth I recall
three vital times in my life when, thank God, I said "NO!"
"No" to Drink One night I was with the wrong crowd,
I was a senior, I thought I was popular, but I wasn't really.
I found out later what it was. I was just the boy that hadn't
been with the girls yet, and I was in the wrong crowd. I had
never been out past eleven o'clock except to sit and think across
the street from our little apartment.
Six of us in a car stopped in front of the Texas Theatre at
one o'clock in the morning. The driver got out a bottle of whiskey
or wine, took a drink, and passed it to the second person, etc.
Each of them took a drink. I was behind the driver so it got
to me last. Yes, they passed it to me! That was the test. What
would I do with it?
(Now right there, young friend, when that decision comes,
the road you take will largely determine what you really are
and what you will do in life.)
I didn't want to be a stick in the mud. After all, suddenly
I was in the gang. I had never been in the gang before. The girls
were taking a second look at me, and all of a sudden (I didn't
know why) they wanted to go with me. I didn't want to lose the
popularity that I had gained. I reached out and accepted the
bottle of wine. I put it an inch from my lips. An arrow stuck
through my heart and I threw the bottle to the floor! It spilled
on everyone in the car. I shouted at the top of my voice, "TAKE
ME HOME!" I was within one inch of an awful night.
They said, "What? Take you home? Why?"
Never mind why, I am not going to drink it. I promised God
that I wouldn't and I won't."
They said, "Oh, you want to go home and knit, do you?"
I said, "Okay I will go home and knit, but take me home."
"Little Sissy wants to go home and embroider and crochet."
I said, "Okay, I will go home and embroider and crochet,
but take me home!"
They took me to 2632 Idaho and let me out, laughing at me.
By that time it was one- thirty. I walked up the sidewalk, ashamed
to walk in. We lived in a little apartment with two big trees
out in front. The screen door was shut and locked, and the main
door was open. We had a wood stove in the front room. We had
a linoleum floor with very simple, poor furnishings.
My mother was kneeling beside the stove. I stopped and listened
to her while she prayed. This was her prayer: "Dear God,
I have tried to rear Jack to be a good boy. I have had to be
a mother and a father to him. I don't know where he is tonight.
He has never been out this late. Dear God, keep him clean. Keep
him pure. Help him to remember what I have taught him."
I said, "Mama."
She jumped up, ran to the door, and embraced me.
I said, "Hi, Mama."
Mama said, "Son, you didn't do anything wrong, did you?"
I said, "No." Then I told her that shortly before
the bottle was just an inch from my lips. (By the way, thanks
be to God, a bottle has never touched these lips, nor has there
ever been a cigarette in these lips.)
My mother said, "Son, what time was it?"
I repeated, "Mother, it was one o'clock."
She said, "It was one o'clock when I knelt beside the
stove to pray."
Mothers, you can't beat the old-fashioned way of rearing kids
by saying, "No-No-No-No! Bad-Bad-Bad-Bad!" Then after
you have done all you can, stay on your knees and ask God to
help them do right. You can't beat that!
"No" to a Movie My senior year in high school was
a year of decisions. I had a pal who had been my best buddy for
quite some time. He and I were together all of the time. We took
every course in high school together but one. In 39 classes out
of forty he sat right beside me. We were about the same size,
and maybe we even looked a little alike.
When graduation time came, my pal and I planned a double date.
The four of us attended the baccalaureate on Sunday morning.
It was held in a church building. (This was back in the days
when we had some religion and decency in America.) After the
baccalaureate service we went out to eat and then attended an
Open House being held in honor of two of our classmates. However,
after we left the Open House there was nothing to do.
My pal said, "What are we going to do tonight?"
I said, "What church shall we go to?'
He said, "Church?"
I said, "Yea."
He said, "Not church! This is Senior Day."
I said, "It is also Sunday."
He said, "Now look, Jack, we have been to church all
of our lives. I go to church as much as you do, but this is not
the day to go to church." He continued, "let's go to
a night club. Let's not drink, but let's just go to a night club."
I said, "GOOD NIGHT, NO!"
He said, At least let's go to a movie." I said, "No,
I am not going to go."
My date looked at me and said, "Boy, what did I draw?"
I said, "I guess you drew a dud."
My pal said, "Okay, we will just take Jack home."
They took me home. I called my date's mother and told her that
I was no longer responsible for her daughter, and I told her
where they were going. The three of them went to a movie, and
I went to church. (That is one reason why I make a big to-do
about young people who do what is right!) My pastor was so proud
of me. My mother was so proud. She would look at her friends
as I sat beside her and pointing at me,. she would whisper, "He
is here."
I felt like I had discovered America. What I didn't know then
was that I chose to be a preacher that night. My pal and I had
never been apart before. My heart was broken. He went to the
movies, and I went to church. I became a preacher. He became
a Hollywood actor and producer. I am still in church, and he
is still in the movies.
You don't know, young people, what the decisions you make
will do to your life. When you say to some boy that is about
to put his wicked, vile, sensual paws on you, "Take me home,"
and you slap him across the face or get a shoe and knock him
in the head with it, you never know but what that may be the
thing that changes your whole life.
"No" to the Sunday Evening Ball Game Sports have
always interested me greatly. I loved to play ball. I played
softball on a city team. I was the only teen-ager on the city
league team. The other players were grown men and some were even
professional players. A firm gave me a job just so I would play
ball for them. I was their pitcher, and they did not have another.
We advanced to the championship game. This was a tremendous honor.
We always played our games on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday,
or Saturday nights, but they announced the state championship
game would be played on Sunday night at seven o'clock. I had
a battle. I will never forget it. It was the biggest thing in
my life. For days I battled. What would I do?
The team said, "Why, you have to play. We do not have
any other pitcher."
The coach of our team said, "Jack, I am going to go.
What is wrong with it? This happens just once in a lifetime.
It is the state championship game!"
So I went out and sat under the tree in our yard all Sunday
afternoon. I had not made my decision during the previous week.
Someone said to me, "Jack, it won't hurt you."
To this I replied, "It won't hurt you, but it will hurt
me if I play."
I made my decision on my knees under the shade of that tree
to go on to church that night. When I got to church, the manager
had the entire team dressed in uniform and sitting across the
street from the church. They tried to talk me into going with
them. I was the only hope they had. They didn't have another
pitcher. I had pitched three or four no-hit games. Often I would
strike out ten to twenty batters a game. They didn't have another
pitcher.
They got out of the car, got around me, and said, "Jack,
we just have to have you. If you played short stop, it would
be different. If you played left field, or center field, or if
you were catcher, it would be different, but we do not have any
more pitchers. We will be swamped!"
As I walked into the church, two or three of the players were
cursing me. (By the way, they lost the game, 10 to 0.)
My, how I thank God that I had a mighty good mother, a mighty
good preacher, and some mighty good Sunday School teachers who
cared about me and gave me some principles by which I could live
or die!
Years passed. I became a pastor of one church, then another,
then another. I was preaching one night at the Junius Heights
Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. When I finished, a middle-age
man walked up and said, "Jack Hyles, put `er there."
I said, "How do you do, sir."
He said, "Do you know me?"
I said, "No, I don't . I am sorry, but I don't"
He said, "You are a pastor now. My, I heard you preach
a while ago, and that was great! I used to play for the professional
teams, and I was the second baseman on the team for which you
pitched."
I said, "You old rascal!"
He said, "Jack, do you remember the time that we played
the championship game?"
I thought, "Oh, oh, here it comes right now."
He said, "I cursed you when you walked into the church
building, but as I drove to the game that night, I said to myself,
`I wish I had what that kid has.' Jack, I never got away from
it. I got what you had in just a few days. I was saved because
you didn't pitch that game." Then he said, "I am chairman
of the board of deacons at this church."
It always pays to do right!
Chapter EightMARY MAGDALENE
Who loved Jesus the most? I guess it is impossible to be dogmatic
about this, and yet I would like to nominate Mary Magdalene.
Oh, the argument could be presented concerning John, the beloved.
Others would vote for the impetuous Peter. Perhaps votes would
be cast for James, Andrew, and others. To this author, however,
no person during the personal ministry of Christ had the devotion
and love for Him as Mary Magdalene. She seems to have been more
loyal and more faithful than the others, and our Lord seemed
to hive her privileges that others did not enjoy.
Why this great devotion? Of course, the answer must lie in
the fact that God gave it to her. How was it developed and nourished?
No one knows. There are those who think that she was a fallen
woman, yet the Scripture gives no verification of this fact.
She was possessed of seven devils, the Bible says, but what devils
are bigger than malice, envy, etc.? There is absolutely no proof
that she was a woman of the street, a prostitute, or a harlot.
Perhaps she was; perhaps she wasn't. Who knows? Yet one thing
is certain: She was really devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Let us examine her and her devotion.
1. She became more than saved. How tragic it is that so many
just get saved and that is all. We should want to have the most
devotion possible for our :Lord. Nothing but our best should
be offered to Him. Mary Magdalene could not stop at just being
saved or just being a good Christian. she wanted complete devotion
given to her Christ.
2. Her devotion happened suddenly. She spring on us in the
Bible without warning. Those who have true friendships know that
this is often the case. The kind of friend that would die for
another finds that it often happens suddenly. The soul is suddenly
knit. The tie is suddenly made. It is inexplainable, yet it is
there. This, no doubt, means that God does it. How sacred this
makes such devotion, such friendship.
3. She cared for the physical needs of Christ. Luke 8:1-3
finds her being a servant. No sacrifice is too great; no gift
is too precious; no task is too difficult when such devotion
exists. Let us follow Mary Magdalene and examine her devotion.
When Jesus died on the cross, we find she is still His servant,
administering to His needs. It was Mary Magdalene who leaned
against the sepulchre after He was buried. She came to the garden
to pay respects to her Master. For references notice Matthew
27:55 & 61; 28:1, and John 20:11.
It is also interesting to know that our Lord appeared to Mary
Magdalene first after His resurrection. why did Jesus appear
to her first? Your imagination could fancy that it was because
she would be the happiest to see Him, and happy she was. Why
was not this honor reserved for Peter, James, John, or another?
It is the opinion of this writer that Mary was His most devoted
follower. How beautiful that the supreme devotion should be given,
not by the chosen twelve or one the favorite few, but by a humble,
grateful lady who simply would not be denied and who stayed by
her Master to the end and even after the end.
4. She knew His soul. It is a very interesting thing to know
this story concerning Jesus and Mary Magdalene immediately following
the resurrection. She supposes she is talking to the gardener
as she converses with Christ. He then says one word, "Mary."
She then said, "Master." There was something about
the way he said, "Mary." There was a soul relationship
that existed. Remember that the disciples on the road to Emmaus
walked for miles and recognized Christ only when He opened their
eyes. The disciples fished for a long time and conversed with
Christ at some length before they recognized Him. Leave it to
Mary to know Him first. She did not recognize Him by His resurrection
body, but her soul had experienced too much fellowship with His
not to recognize Him by the way He said, "Mary." How
beautiful.
5. Her devotion did not stop at death. Her devotion was too
great for that. It continued on past His death, and we find her
leaning against the sepulchre of her buried Lord. In these days
of selfishness and coldness, it is wonderful to stumble occasionally
across a relationship that is built upon the spiritual rather
than the physical. Nothing, not even death, can stop such a relationship.
6. She was as close as His family. "Now there stood by
the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the
wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." (John 19:25) When
Jesus came to death, His mother and his closest friends gathered
around the cross. They were not all members of the family.
See Mary Magdalene. She is true to the end. Maybe she knew
Him better than others. Maybe she loved Him more. Who knows?
Votes for the most devoted follower of Christ would be cast for
many different New Testament characters. I vote for Mary Magdalene.
Chapter NineFOR SALE
One's degree of character may be determined by what he would
do wrong, for so many are so prone to "sell out" so
soon. Politicians, preachers, and others find the temptation
to sell out to be a great one. Some sell for much and some sell
for little.
The tendency to be for sale starts in childhood. If the child
is not taught that wrong is punished, and if he gets no spankings,
wrong is not made distasteful to him. He oftentimes gets his
desires by doing wrong. If he cries long enough, he gets the
candy, and oftentimes he is even rewarded when throwing a tantrum.
He does not have to mind his parents. To say "no" to
Mama is considered cute. Then he will say "no" to the
teacher, "no" to the Sunday School worker, "no"
to the law, and "no" to God. He then dies and goes
to Hell because the parents thought it was cute for him to say
"no."
This tendency to sell out continues in youth. It is found
in the youth who does right only if it turns out right. Right
needs to be vindicated in such a life. Every action is determined
by its reward or results. According to this opinion, nothing
is right or wrong in itself, only in how it turns out. Hence,
anything can become right if it turns out right. Popularity,
gaining a new boy friend, good grades, etc. become the main end
rather than principles and character. How sad! Such people stand
only until the price is big enough. They are not taught to live
by principles. Their convictions last only until the selling
price reaches their desires.
This tendency increases in adulthood. From such young people
we have our police scandals, our crooked politicians, our compromising
preachers, our loafers, lawbreakers, and homebreakers.
Early in childhood our youth should be taught the need for
conviction and that right is its own reward and needs no vindication.
They should be taught never to sell out for convenience or fair
price, but rather to place a sign over their souls, "Not
for Sale."
Chapter TenPERSONALITY PRIORITIES
One of the most important Scriptures in the Bible for a Christian
is found in II Peter 1:5. "And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge." Here
the Holy Spirit inspires Peter to list for us some virtues necessary
for character. Notice in verse 5 the words "add to."
These words come from the singing of an old Grecian song. The
custom was for the people to join their hands as they sang. This
means that the following virtues are to "join hands"
in the Christian's life, and they are to do so in the proper
order.
1. Diligence. This word could be translated "hastening
to do a thing well." It is doing the job well, and it is
doing the job swiftly. There is a false teaching going around
that people who do things swiftly do not do them well, and that
people who do things slowly are of necessity thorough. This is
not true. We should be diligent; every task should be done well;
but we should do it in the least time possible so we can do more
for God. Hence, we have the first stone laid. This is the stone
of diligence.
2. Faith. Once the stone of diligence has been laid, faith
should be placed on top of it. Notice there is no need for faith
without diligence, for faith without works is dead. Just to have
faith in what God is going to do is not enough. We are to be
willing to do our best. God will not do what we can do, but He
will do what we cannot do after we have done what we can do.
What is faith? Faith is the belief in what God has done, what
God can do, what God will do, what God is going to do, and what
God is going to use me to do. I have said so often that a Christian
should make no provision for failure. Faith is basically "I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
3. Virtue. Next in line we have this trait. Now it is interesting
that so far nothing has been mentioned about kindness. That will
come later. Far more important than kindness is diligence, faith,
and virtue. Honesty is better than courtesy. It is better to
do right wrongly than to do wrong rightly. Position is more important
than disposition. Integrity is better than popularity. Being
a right fellow is more important than being a "regular"
fellow. Do not misunderstand. It is important to be kind. Courtesy
is important. The right spirit is important. Disposition is important.
Being a nice person is important. However, these should never
be placed above such traits as virtue.
Many years ago when I first began preaching I faced a big
decision in my ministry. My heart was broken. My face was against
the wall. I then made five promises to God and established five
principles that have governed my life ever since.
a. If I have friend, I will stick with him. b. I will base
my decisions on right or wrong, not on how right or wrong turn
out. c. No one will tamper with my preaching. I will ask only
God what I shall preach and where I preach. d. I will never seek
a raise or talk money. e. I will treat the rich and poor alike.
One should live by principle, not by convenience. When principles
are established early in life, fewer decisions have to be made
later. The principles make the decisions for us, and hence, frustration
is averted and avoided.
4. Wisdom. For many years my prayer list has been topped with
power, love, and wisdom. wisdom is certainly one of the great
personality priorities. Notice it comes before self control,
godliness, brotherly kindness, or love. Remember that God has
given us a divine order. The bricks are laid one at a time on
top of each other. First should be laid diligence, then faith,
then virtue, then wisdom.
Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge. It is available to
all. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall
be given him." (James 1:5)
5. Self control. This is the next brick in the wall. It precedes
godliness, kindness, and love. Self control means discipline.
It means discipline over body appetites such as eating and sex.
It includes the disciplining of one's schedule, mind, disposition,
emotions, frustrations, etc. Nothing will take its place. It
is vital to the life of the Christian.
6. Godliness, Kindness, and love. Now we are coming to the
traits that show. God starts on the inside and works out. He
starts with the foundation and works up. No one can see wisdom,
virtue, and faith; but we cannot have true godliness until these
stones have been laid. We cannot have Bible kindness until these
stones have been laid. We cannot have real love until these stones
have been laid. Love is one of the great attributes a Christian
can have. Kindness, of course, is important. Godliness is vital,
but a godliness, a kindness, or a love that is not built from
the inside will not last. It will be superficial. If one gains
diligence and adds to it faith; to faith, virtue; to virtue,
wisdom; to wisdom, self control; then godliness, kindness, and
love will of necessity come.
Let us teach our children and teach ourselves the proper order
of character and its priorities. Let us use God's order. To teach
them to be kind, and yet not make them obey is folly. To teach
them to be loving, and yet not teach them self control is foolishness.
Let us exercise care in trying to place all of these things in
our lives. Let us give the proper emphasis where God gives the
emphasis. All across our country we find a bankruptcy of character.
We are more interested in "nice guys" than "right
guys." We are more interested in being friendly than being
a friend, and in having a good disposition rather than having
the right position.
In politics, in the ministry, and in business there is a desperate
need for people who have character. Personality is important;
talent is important; but a good personality with talent will
oftentimes run from character. The motto of some seems to be,
"Why work hard? I have it made. I can talk my way out of
it." On the other hand, a child that is taught to have character
will get the necessary talent. Talent oftentimes flees character.
Character will always seek talent - that is, the talent necessary
to fulfill the task. How vital it is that we stress character
and place each of its qualities in the proper order.
Chapter ElevenI CORINTHIANS
10:13 - ALL THE SAME
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common
to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make
a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (I Corinthians
10:13)
The other day a question was asked which often is directed
my way: "Why don't you get mad at your enemies? How is it
that you are sometimes able to avoid retaliation and revenge?"
My answer invariably is I Corinthians 10:13. Such thoughts as
these that follow are a constant source of help in overcoming
bitterness, vindication, retaliation, and revenge.
1. All people have the same attributes. Yes, I certainly think
that the Apostle Paul had the same temptations that I have .
Our temptations are common to man. If this be true, I have in
me what I don't like in you, and these same ingredients are found
in the life of every person. To be sure, different amounts of
certain sins or temptations may exist in different people, but
the fact remains, I have in me what I don't like in you. Hence,
I must be tolerant toward you.
2. Each asset has a liability, and each liability has an asset.
In other words, with the asset of purity, often comes the liability
of Phariseeism. With the asset of friendliness often comes the
liability of compromise. With the asset of leadership often comes
the liability of pride. This philosophy levels each of us with
his neighbor. It eliminates pride. A characteristic which is
good about us carries with it the temptation for something bad.
Negatively, a bad characteristic often carries a tendency toward
an asset. One who is stubborn may develop conviction. One who
is proud may have the asset of leadership. One who is guilty
of Phariseeism may carry with him the asset of purity. Seeing
such equality in the human race will avoid over-exaltation and
excessive criticism of one's fellow man.
If the above be consistently true, and perhaps it is not,
and if we love people because of what they are, we will find
ourselves loving all people, for all have in them what all others
have in them.
3. If we then love one person more than the other, the love
is given to us by God. This is a great thought. If you have a
friend who lives by this philosophy and loves you more than he
does others, it is because God have him that love. Think of the
security involved. It is not generated, by His grace, and, consequently,
will not change.
Think what such a philosophy does for one: It eliminates criticism
in this life. It encourages the impure to realize that even the
pure possess impurity. Remember that no temptations take us but
such as are common to man. This theory will also humble the pure,
for the pure will find in himself liabilities and temptations
that will make him more careful to undergird himself against
Satan's wiles.
This also offers real humility and meekness. It makes one
think of himself as no better or worse than anyone else. It will
help to eliminate both inferiority and superiority complexes.
If each of us will examine his assets, he will no doubt find
the temptations that each asset carries. This will drive each
of us to more dependence upon God and His help and strength.
As one grows in this grace and in all Christian graces he
will find himself being more and more alone in society. Someone
has said there is a fine line of distinction between a genius
and a moron. This appears to be so because each is about the
same distance from society or from the masses. The truth, however,
is that the only similarity a genius and a moron have is their
distance from the average. They are really on the opposite ends
of the pole. The same thing is true concerning true love and
lust. Love and lust look alike only because the masses would
be the same distance from both. Love and lust are on the opposite
ends of the pole, but since we interpret everything according
to what we think, we associate the two together because they
are both the same distance from the masses.
The more we become like Christ, the farther we will travel
from Mr. Average. Mr. Average is the one who gives us our reputation
for being a good person. The one who grows the most in grace,
the one who loves the most, the one who sacrifices the most,
the one who gives the most will probably be looked upon by society
as being as obnoxious as the one at the other end of the line.
Hence, the one who is Christlike will not appear to be Christlike
to the world. In contrast, one who appears to be Christlike,
no doubt, has missed Christlikeness.
Let each of us realize that the weaknesses of his neighbor
are found in some degree in ourselves. Hence, because what is
found in all of us is in the rest of us, it behooves none of
us to be critical, for in the final analysis we are all depraved
creatures with common temptations and common weaknesses. In criticizing
our neighbor, we are criticizing ourselves, for we have a common
origin.
Chapter TwelveGREATNESS
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it."
Matthew 16:25.
A few days ago in my study I was meditating on the above Scripture
when the thought came to me that the only lasting thing one can
ever get for himself comes from the leftovers when he gives to
others. The strange paradox of the Christian life is that the
way up is down; the way forward is backward; and the way to be
served is to serve.
This is especially true concerning friendship. It is infinitely
better to be a friend than to have a friend. It is better to
become something than to obtain something. When one becomes a
friend, he will, no doubt, have friends. (Of course, this should
not be his motive, or he too will fail.) No one ever found a
friend searching for a friend, but many have stumbled upon lasting
friendships while being a friend. One should forget whether or
not he has friends and concentrate on being the right kind of
friend.
The same is true concerning happiness. No one ever charted
a plan for personal happiness who found it, but millions have
found happiness in the pathway of carrying out responsibilities.
Oftentimes people come to my office and say, "Pastor, how
can I find happiness?"
I invariably say, "Forget it. Think of the happiness
of others. There are so many who have problems so much worse
than you. Forget your own happiness. Seek to make others happy,
and one day you will return to me and say, `Pastor, in my effort
to make others happy, I suddenly, to my surprise, found that
I have become happy too!'"
This same truth can be applied to peace of mind. It seems
nowadays that in order for a magazine to sell, it must have an
article about sex and another about peace of mind. No one can
tell anyone else how to have peace of mind, and no one can set
out to find peace of mind and find it. When one, however, forgets
himself and becomes obsessed with the needs of others, he suddenly
realizes he has peace.
Several years ago a lady came to my office stating that she
was fearing an imminent nervous breakdown. I suggested that each
day he do something for someone else. "Bake cookies and
take them to a friend one day," I suggested. "The next
day take some roses to the hospital and give a rose to each patient
who has no visitor during visiting hours. The next day drop by
and see a blind person. The next day take a cake to one of our
deaf friends and simply write the words, `I love you,' on a card.
continue this indefinitely," I said, "and see if it
helps."
Months passed. One day I asked the lady about her proposed
nervous breakdown. (It seems that most of the ladies I know are
either having a nervous breakdown, just getting over one, or
planning one real soon.) "How about that nervous breakdown?"
I asked.
"Oh Pastor," she said, "I just got so busy
doing things for other people that I had to postpone it."
(She had found the answer.)
I think it was R. A. Torrey who came in one day after a preaching
mission and hurriedly began preparations for another trip. He
had some dirty clothes he needed to have laundered. He asked
a young friend if he could take care of this for him.
"What? Do you think I am an errand boy?" said the
young friend.
Another young friend stood by who overheard the conversation.
"Let me do it," he exclaimed.
The young man did take care of the menial task for R. A. Torrey.
His name? Oh, his name was James M. Gray, who one day became
the president of Moody Bible Institute.
When we think of success or greatness, we think of giving
commands and being obeyed. When we think of greatness, we think
of having much. When Jesus thought of greatness, He thought of
giving much. When we think of greatness, we think of being served.
When Jesus thought of greatness, He thought of serving.
A poll was once conducted in the country of France to determine
the greatest Frenchman who ever lived. The experts unanimously
predicted, of course, that Napoleon would win by a landslide.
The poll was won by a landslide all right, but not by Napoleon,
but rather by none other than Louis Pasteur. Once again the servant
had won over the served. The giver had won over the receiver,
and he who lost his life had found it.
Let us remember that the only thing one can ever obtain for
himself comes from the leftovers after he gives to others.
Chapter ThirteenDEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS
On a recent weekday morning I was speaking in a church in
the city where I grew up. I had moved there when I was only one
year old. There I attended elementary school, junior high school,
and high school. I was faithful to my church as a child. I had
pastored in the same county for nearly seven years. I had helped
to start sixteen churches in the area, and twelve of my preacher
boys are now pastoring nearby. In spite of this, there were less
than a hundred people in the morning service, and to my knowledge
not one from the church where I grew up and only two from the
church where I pastored for seven years.
"Don't they love me?" I asked.
"Why, of course, they do," was the answer that came
to my mind. It is just the fact that they did not love me as
much as I loved them. Perhaps this is just another case of deep
love being unreturned.
What causes us to have such little depth of love? Perhaps
there are several reasons:
1. Most love is simply the satisfying of an appetite. People
normally come to hear a person speak because they want to see
him or because they want to hear him. If they have heard him
recently, why should they hear him again? We seldom think about
the satisfying of the appetites of others. we are basically concerned
about the satisfying of our own appetites. This, of course, is
not deep love. In some sense, it is lust in that it is to satisfy
an appetite.
2. Most love must be generated by an atmosphere. A beautiful
moon at night, soft music in the background, the faint smell
of perfume, etc. not only are helpful but oftentimes necessary
to most love. Real love loves at all times, at noonday as well
as midnight, and whether the odor is Chanel No. 5 or "Perspiration
No. 6."
As a boy I went with a girl whom I liked very much. One night
we were walking together looking at the moon when she said, "Doesn't
that moon make you feel romantic?"
I answered, "Yes."
She talked about the moon for thirty minutes. (I think she
was in love with the Moon.) I felt like shouting, "How about
me?" The moon is only a visual aid.
I have often said that when I love someone I love them as
much on the Dan Ryan Expressway in downtown Chicago as I do on
a lonely road with a beautiful moon.
3. Most love becomes disinterested when acquired. Here is
a tragic truth. It is the acquiring of the relationship that
many people want rather than the having of the relationship.
Many marriages fail because the acquiring of the relationship
is more important than the relationship itself. The same is true
with friendships. The acquiring of a relationship is certainly
not the ending but just the beginning. It is the commencement.
Real character is never satisfied with its depth.
4. Much love know no degree or availability of depth. One
should think of the great possibilities of the depth of love.
God is love. In Him is perfect love. The difference between the
love I have today and the love He has is the potential for the
growth and depth of my love. It is not "in love and out
of love." It is not simply love or no love. When one learns
to love, he enters into a world of possibilities, growth, and
depth.
Upon returning from the morning service mentioned in the first
paragraph is this chapter someone asked, "Doesn't that make
you sad? Isn't it heartbreaking when people do not love you as
much as you love them?"
My answer was one emphatic "no" for several reasons
as found below:
a. The line between positive and negative should be very low.
It should take very little to please us, and it should take much
to displease us. We should find our satisfaction in loving, not
being loved. Our joys should be wrapped up in the giving, not
the receiving.
b. It is good to take a trip; it is better to have a partner.
Notice I did not say it is good to take a trip with a partner,
but bad to go alone. It is not a matter of good or bad, but good
or better. Hence, if a friend's love for your does not increase,
it will not keep your love from deepening. Believe me, it is
better for you to love alone than not to love at all. If one
has to take the trip of depth alone, it is not as good as sharing
it with another, but it is infinitely better than not knowing
the depth.
c. Sometimes a relationship comes that reciprocates. When
this happens, it turns good into better. Bear in mind that it
does not turn bad into good. To have love is good; to have love
that is reciprocated is better.
d. Such relations let us look into the mind of God. When we
love and it is not returned, we know something, of His great
heart of love. He so seldom finds reciprocation. When we do find
a relationship where love is reciprocated, we know something
of how God feels when He finds someone who loves Him with all
his heart. Bear in mind that the purpose of God's creating man
was that man might love and fellowship with God. Though God is
grieved when His love is not returned, He nevertheless does not
withdraw His love. How happy He must be, however, when one of
His creatures returns His love.
e. The more lonely we become, the less lonely He becomes.
The deeper a person grows in his love the more he is separated
from the rest of mankind. In that separation, however, he becomes
more like Christ and he finds he can offer Christ pure fellowship.
When we grow in grace and in love and find ourselves misunderstood
and lonely, we look around and find that Christ has been there
all of the time. He is happy to see us. Then, and only then,
can we offer Him the love for which He yearns. Since His love
is so unlike our love, when our love becomes like His love, our
love will become less like the love of man. As it becomes less
like the love of man, it becomes more like the love of God. As
it becomes more like the love of God, it gives us the ability
to help satisfy the travail of His soul.
f. This is the kind of love that does not stop when it cannot
be reciprocated. This love does not forget the pretty when it
becomes ugly. It does not forget the young when it becomes old.
It does not forget the rich when it becomes poor. It "never
faileth."
OBSERVATIONS
1. I want to keep lovable. Since most people know nothing
about deep love, but rather tend to seek that which satisfies
the appetite, I would then attempt to keep in my personality
and character the things for which the appetites crave. For example,
if a person is hungry to hear a fresh message, I would want to
provide that fresh message. If a person is hungry to be with
a friendly soul, I would want to be that friendly soul. Just
because another's love is not as deep as mine should not keep
me from attempting to satisfy his wholesome and holy appetites.
In other words, I want to keep having what they need. No doubt,
hundreds of people come to hear us preachers simply because we
have what they need. They do not come because they deeply love
us; they come because they love to hear us. If this be true,
we should have what they need.
2. I can thank God that I am where I am and not where they
are. It is infinitely better to be the lover than the loved.
It is better to offer love unreciprocated than it is to fail
to reciprocate love offered you.
3. May I never be a mental or physical invalid. This is a
strange thought, but a true one. How tragic it would be to lose
the ability to love. Then how tragic it would be to retain that
ability but lose the ability to help those whom you love. Hence,
I must keep my mind healthy so I can love my friends. I must
keep my body healthy so that I can help my friends.
Perhaps the most underrated word in the English language is
"friend." He is "just a friend," we often
say. That is like saying that eternity is "just forever"
or that the ocean is "just a pond." let us pray God
to give us depth of love and depth of relationship even if that
depth is unreciprocated. There is little doubt in my mind that
in God's mercy He will, in His own time and will, give us a relationship
or relationships that do reciprocate.
Chapter FourteenPREMATURE NOSTALGIA
How many times it has been said, "I didn't know how much
I loved her," or I wish I had done more while he was alive."
How sad are such statements. Instead of "I wish I had done
it," why not substitute something like this: "I will
not have to wish that I had done it." Look toward the future
to the day when you will lose a relationship. Picture yourself
without it; become prematurely nostalgic, and you will appreciate
the relationship more in the present. This eliminates remorse,
and remorse is the sting of nostalgia.
In Ecclesiastes 12:1 we have a man whose life had been lived
with much of it being lived foolishly. Looking back over his
life he had remorse. Let us notice how to take remorse out of
the future.
1. Do everything on purpose. Say what you mean and mean what
you say. Discipline the mind to control the emotions and the
actions. Far too often we are prone to say things we do not mean.
We do things caused by temporary emotional stimuli. We then find
ourselves sorry in the future for our behavior. Because of this,
one's mind and actions should be so disciplined that he will
do everything on purpose. Hence, he leaves no room for remorse
in the future.
2. Make relationships the most important thing in life. It
is easy to use the patients to build a hospital, to use the pupils
to build a school, and to use a family to keep a clean house.
The purpose for the school is to educate the pupil. The purpose
of the hospital is to heal the patient. The individual is all
important! Therefore, one should see to it that relationships
in life are more important than anything else. Relationships
should be nourished and cultivated. They should not be made or
perpetuated haphazardly. If human relationships have the proper
places in our lives, then we will give more diligence and care
to the treatment of our fellowman, thereby eliminating future
remorse.
3. Do not "weigh" a person every day. Someone said,
"I have changed my opinion about him." Then he should
not have had an opinion. The person is what he was yesterday.
He has not changed. The opinion was in error. The simple truth
is that one does not have to have an opinion about people. If
no opinion is formed, or if a careful, accurate, and
