Scripture
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.
~Proverbs 27:2, NRSV
Quote
“Pride is it’s own trumpet, and whatever praised itself but in the deed, devours the deed in the praise.”
~William Shakespeare
Shakespeare knew the bible and had obviously studied the teachings of Jesus. The Pharisees had a mutual admiration society going because they loved the praise of men. They were also notorious when it came to praising themselves. Jesus told them to enjoy their moment of praise because that was the only reward they were getting. I am a recovering Pharisee and I have been known to let the cat out of the bag. I’ve done a good deed or two and then worked it into a sermon, for the glory of the LORD. Yeah, right! In truth our flesh will praise itself. I have this saying when I slip up and let my flesh toot it’s own horn, “There goes my reward.” There are times when I wonder if I will have any rewards at all because I can’t keep my mouth shut.
I told our folks at GP this story a few months back and you may enjoy it–they did. I had to call a time out so they could stop laughing. Its the story of Jack the frog. Jack’s pond [home] had dried up due to a drought. He was frantic and didn’t know what to do. Some of Jack’s friends were geese and they got together with Jack and worked out a plan. It took some time and they worked synergetically. Two geese would hold a long stick by putting it in their bill and Jack would bit the stick with his mouth. They would air lift Jack several miles to a pond with water. Jack was a chubby frog and due to his weight, the geese could not get great altitude so they were flying Jack just above the tree tops no more than 100 feet in the air. Soon a crowd of humans gathered as they watched the very unusual and wonderful sight. As they passed over one village, Jack heard some one say, “That is a brilliant idea. I wonder who came up with it?” Jack opened his mouth and said I diddddd….splat.” Jack was devoured by his own praise.
A couple of quotes come to mind. One is, “There is no telling what we could accomplish if we didn’t care who got the credit.” Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan used the quote but it didn’t originate with them. It may have come from the writings of Oscar Wilde. The second comes from C.S. Lewis, “It is humble people who praise others the most.” Do you have enough humility to praise others? It takes no humility to praise one’s self.
I learned a new word yesterday. Myself, June, one daughter and three grand girls visited Ethridge, Tennessee, home to a hundred or so Amish families. Of course, we have a Mennonite community just south of Danville and Mylee {granddaughter} got a little mixed up: she thought they were one in the same. She asked if we were going to see the Almonites. A couple of observations that you might be of interest: [1] They are out of everything–swings, lawn furniture, etc. The Covid-19 and the stimulus checks have benefited them. More than one told Hannah that they had never seen anything like it. They are two months behind in back orders. [2] The further back you go the more money you save. We visited a farm at least 10 miles from Highway 43 and the welcome center. Josie loved it because of all the animals. We saw a host of buggies but the fields were too wet to plow. Their gardens looked great and their yards look awful. They could use a few Gravely’s.
We got more rain here than we did at the Lawrence County farm but we did get rain at both places. No mud there but we have mud here. Thank You Jesus for the rain.
MEMORIAL DAY is the first Summer holiday and I do love the day. I’ve already begun thinking of the young men who did not make it back from Iraq and other places. May we not forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Tomorrow is RED/WHITE and BLUE DAY at Grace Point. The Sheriff is our honored guest. Without the military and local law enforcement, we would have no freedom. We want to appreciate the men in blue.