I try my best not to speed. Some of you may not believe me, but it’s true. Typically, I exceed the speed limit by not paying attention; however, I was thankful that I was paying attention this past Sunday afternoon while traveling south on Interstate 77. Several cars in front of me began slamming on their brakes, so I automatically assumed that there was an accident or some type of road construction. Wrong and wrong. I slowed to almost a stop and then I saw what was happening. A short, little lady had pulled her car over to the side of the road and she was basically stopping traffic in the very right hand lane. Why? Had she run someone over with her car? Did she hit a deer? Did one of her tires blow out? The answer is…none of the above. Apparently, there was a medium size turtle making an attempt to cross the crowded highway and this “good Samaritan” was risking life and limb to make sure that the turtle was safe. Raise your hand if you would actually stop your car on the highway and help a turtle make it across safely. I would not. I would think to myself, “Someone else will stop.”
Continue Reading...Archives For Character
Usually during the summer months we are on spider watch. Spiders seem to make their way into our house and show up in random places…typically the bathroom. A spider sighting can be dangerous, especially when they make a surprise appearance on the shower wall because there is no easy escape. Through my years of spider squashing, I’ve learned one very important principle. Make the first strike count. If you miss the spider on the initial attempt, that thing is going to take off and you’ll spend the rest of the day worrying about it’s whereabouts – in your bed, under the toilet seat, or in your shoe.
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Can you imagine going to work everyday where the boss’s wife begged you to sleep with her? As awkward as that may sound, the pages of Scripture reveal a young man named Joseph who faced this exact predicament (Genesis 39). Each day he clocked into work, his master’s wife attempted to seduce him by saying, “Sleep with me” (39:7). In my mind, this woman was probably very attractive especially considering that she was married to a powerful man in Egypt. Men of power most likely married the most attractive women while leaving the ugly ones for the lower class citizens. Although Joseph had numerous opportunities to sleep with this woman, he modeled excellent character by responding, “Look, my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God” (37:8-9).
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A couple weeks ago I was leaving Panera, one of my favorite places to eat, and there was a guy crossing into the parking lot right ahead of me. Although the parking lot is a highly trafficked area, most drivers will stop for pedestrians…most of them. As the guy in front of me headed to his car, a young driver decided that he wasn’t going to let him cross over in front of him. They exchanged dirty looks and then the guy walking decided he was going to cross the street in front of this driver no matter what. As the young man crossed in front of the car, he looked directly into the eyes of the driver and gave him a “one finger salute.” I watched the entire scenario as if it were in slow motion.
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I really hate it when people look at me suspiciously, especially when I know I haven’t done anything wrong. If I have done something wrong, that’s a different story. In my opinion, Christians are often on the suspicious list.
In your opinion, what makes Christians look suspect?
The other day I was reading the cover story in the October issue of National Geographic magazine. The article, simply entitled Redwoods: Super Trees, speaks about the value and beauty of redwood trees, which have the potential to be the tallest trees on earth. Although the article addresses issues such as saving the trees and other conservation efforts, the author also writes about a unique process in the forest between the older trees and the second generation trees called release. The writer, Joel K. Bourne, Jr., describes this phenomenon for the reader by saying, “With their high tolerance for shade and ability to sprout, some redwoods can sit almost dormant in the shade of their elders for decades. Yet as soon as a dominant tree falls or is cut down, breaking the canopy and allowing new light to enter the forest, the suppressed redwood springs up with new growth” (October 2009 issue, p. 38).
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My eyes burst open and I quickly looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand; although I cannot remember the exact time, I’m certain the clock revealed that it was well after midnight. The sound of the front door opening had been enough to thrust me out of sleep and into ninja mode (whatever that is). Most people would have sprung out of bed, but not me. Still half asleep and lying in bed, I slapped both of my arms down on either side of me as if to brace myself for what was about to happen. Listening more intently to the sounds coming from downstairs, I heard the pitter-patter of my dog’s paws walking through the hallway. “Great,” I thought. “The thieves had broken into my house and were now taking my dog captive. They must have muzzled her, though, because I never heard her bark.” As all these thoughts were running through my mind, I glanced over in order to see if my wife was hearing what I was hearing; however, she was not there. I then became extremely alarmed because I would normally send her downstairs to check out any unfamiliar noises. Who was going to do it now? Gradually, I came to my senses and realized that the reason my wife was not in bed was due to the fact that she was letting the dog out to use the bathroom.
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Have you ever attracted the attention of the wrong person? Sometimes, as in my case, attracting the wrong person’s attention was a total accident resulting from a misuderstanding; however, there are many people who attract the attention of wrong people as a result of character flaws in their own life. Maybe you are a woman who seems to attract the wrong kind of guys or it could be that you are a college student who continually allures the attention of people who bring you down. Maybe you are a church member who attracts the attention of hypocritical and negative people who are also attending your church.
If you are a person who seems to always be surrounded by the wrong type of people, it may be time to take a look inward. The problem may not be the type of people you are attracting, but why they are attracted to you.