August 30, 2005

[Rev. Doc]

Insults May Bite You Back

"From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. 'Go on up, you baldhead!' they said. 'Go on up you baldhead!' He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths."
2 Kings 2:23-24

James Whistler, the Victorian artist, showed scant respect for the hierarchy of any profession. When his poodle fell ill with a throat infection, he sent immediately for the country's leading ear, nose, and throat specialist, Sir Morell Mackenzie. The great man was not amused when he was shown his patient, but he conducted a thorough examination, wrote out a prescription, and left with his fee. The next day Whistler received a message asking him to call on Mackenzie without delay. Fearing some development in the poodle's condition, Whistler hurried to the doctor's house. "So good of you to come, Mr. Whistler," said Mackenzie as his visitor was shown in. "I wanted to see about having my front door painted."

Prayer: Ask God to help you say and do things that lift others up, never tear down.

"Your sermon reminded me of the mercies of God. I thought it would endure forever."
~Church member overheard talking to the pastor