Editorial

In a book entitled “The Widow O’Callaghan’s Boys,” Jim, one of the boys, wants to know if his mother thinks he can have a bank one day. “There you go, Jim,” says his mother. “If you’ve got a bank in your eye, you’d best pay attention to your dustin’ and dishwashin.’ That’s your two first steps. The Lord never puts little boys and big jobs together. He gives the little boys a chance at the little jobs, and them as does the little jobs faithfully get to be the big men that does the big jobs easy.”

This was good advice the Widow O’Callaghan gave her son but a greater than she said, “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.” Mof­fatt’s translation adds, “He who is dishonest with a trifle is also dishonest with a large trust.”

Jesus recognized that which we so often forget: that life is made up of small things. Life is not a little bundle of big things, but a big bundle of little things. What a multitude of little things compose our day. From the time we get up in the morning until we retire at night, our energy is consumed in the doing of a thousand Little things. How well and accurate are we in all these little things we do?

Jesus’ point is, “If, then, you have not proved trustworthy with the wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real ?”

Today most people do not think that it is wrong to take small things that belong to another. Those who would not think of robbing a bank or stealing a car think nothing at all of using company stamps for personal mail or xeroxing their favorite recipes on the boss’s machine. Unless we have received specific permission from someone who has the authority to give it, we should be careful not to take anything that does not belong to us, no matter how small it may be.

Only recently a business man remarked that cheating no longer bothered him since the government was making crooks out of everyone and it was the only way he could get ahead. This feeling is common today but it must not affect Christ’s true brethren and sisters. We need to be faithful and truthful no matter what.

Since we are all children in God’s eyes, he is now giving us the little jobs to do as Mrs. O’Callaghan gave her boy Dustin and dishwashin’ chores. God is watching us to see how faithful we are with the things of this world if we have cut corners here and there how can we expect Christ to give us the wealth that is real when he comes ?

There is a true story about an elderly business man who hired a bright young fellow to learn the business fully intending to turn it over to him upon retirement. The young man was caught tapping the till and was promptly discharged. For stealing a few paltry dollars he lost the entire business.

Whatever we might do that would keep us from receiving Christ’s approval at his return is much too high a price to pay for whatever we might gain immediately. Let us all resolve to be faithful in the small details of this life so that Jesus when he returns will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

A piece of lead no larger than the end of your finger can bring a man’s life to an abrupt end. It happened in the case of John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert Kennedy. A smooth stone can accomplish the same result as in the case of Goliath.

Yet there are even smaller things that can bring down the human frame. A little germ so small that it is invisible to the naked eye can put one flat on their back and depending on the type of germ, it too can bring life to an end.

This should remind us of just how frail life really is and cause us to follow the wise advice of Psalm 90. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Our days are numbered at best, for some the number is larger than for others but the important thing to remember is to use each day wisely and not worry about how many days are left because we simply do not know.

As the years come and go we find that most of the things that take up our time have no lasting value whatever. Most of us cannot recall what we did on a given day one, two or five years ago and yet when that day was in the present whatever concerned us seemed very important at the moment.

It is important that we spend each day in such a way that all those around us will be able to say of us as Abimelech said of Abraham, “God is with thee in all that thou doest.” When even our adversaries say this of us then we will know that we have let our light shine and we will have the assurance that David gave us in the 23rd Psalm that “goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life.” Truly when God is with us in all we do, then goodness and mercy do follow us, all the days of our life. This is not just on Sundays, but every day of our lives and as a result of this happy way of living, not only will goodness and mercy follow us but we shall also dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

When God is with us in all that we do, our days are filled with goodness and mercy and even if we are temporarily brought low by a little bug that flattens us, we can take heart that shall surely dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes when we are down we begin to wonder if the Lord truly is with us in all what we do. We know that He will never leave us nor forsake us and we know as in the case of Job, he can try His servants with all kinds of grievous ailments but like Paul we need to say, “Most gladly will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

So when a bug knocks us flat, let us not complain but rather accept it realizing that when we are weak then we can be strong for Jesus and that is the only strength that really matters.

So we number our days, applying our hearts to wisdom, knowing that soon Jesus will be here and then we will truly dwell in the house of the Lord forever. In the meantime, we will try to live such exemplary lives that all who know us will say that God is with us in all that we do and as a result of this wonderful fact, goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives. This is our joy and as a result we accept the setbacks that come to us knowing that all things (not some things some times) but “all things all the time work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

“Do thy diligence to come before winter,” said Paul. These were the last words Paul penned before he met his death at the hand of the executioner. Winter was coming both literally and figuratively for Paul.

Winter is coming again. The wise prepare for winter, the foolish do not. Winter is coming whether we prepare or not, whether we want it to or not. Winter is coming. What happens to us this winter will depend on how we prepared for it in advance. Again this is true both literally and figuratively.

God has taught the animals to prepare for winter. The birds fly south to avoid the cold, the squirrels store up their nuts and the bears seek their dens to hibernate.

Winter is coming. Are we now preparing for it? How do we prepare for the winter of our lives? If we can afford it, we too may fly south to avoid the snow but most of us have to stay behind and “tough it out.” Preparing for winter may include putting up storm windows, adding antifreeze to the water in the car’s radiator, storing the patio furniture, and dusting off the snow shovel. The wise will be ready when the first winter storm hits and the foolish will not. The wise will have their snow tires mounted and the foolish will just be discovering that theirs have gone flat while stored in the garage all summer.

Paul needed Timothy to come before winter. In the winter of our lives we need help more than in the summer. Before the days of electric blankets King Solomon wrote that “if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?” Paul was pleading with Timothy to come. He says, “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: . . . Do thy diligence to come before winter.” Paul was all alone in the winter of his life. He was facing certain death and he wanted and needed Timothy to be at his side.

On another occasion when Paul was discouraged and lonely he described his situation as being “troubled on every side; without were fighting’s, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” This is the way God works to help us through the winters of our lives. He sends a brother or sister to comfort us, to help us. We may be able to stay warm physically, thanks to electric blankets etc., but we still need one another to keep warm spiritually, to have our faith glowing in the winter time.

As winter approaches let us draw closer together in the bonds of love and fellowship. We need one another as we face the winter storms. As the leaves fall to the ground and the gray days approach, let us spiritually huddle together. Again King Solomon tells us that “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” He goes on to say that “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Winter is coming and we cannot stop it, but let us remember that if we endure the hardships of winter, then we shall see the springtime when new life will spring from the ground.

Let us be faithful now during the winter of our lives for soon our savior will return to usher in an eternal spring. What a glorious future we have! As the gloomy winter days approach, let us remember the words of Isaiah in his 58th chapter. “God will shed His own glorious light upon us. He will heal us . . . When we call the Lord will answer, ‘Yes, I am here’ . . . The Lord will guide us continually, and satisfy us with all good things, and keep us healthy too; and we will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”

“Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul ? and why art thou disquieted in me? . . . O my God, my soul is cast down within me:”

Depression is one of the major problems in society today. Millions upon millions of people are depressed, some so much so that suicide is one of the major causes of death. Among the young people in particular, suicide is one of the leading causes of death and this among those who should have so much to live for.

Depression is not new. It is as old as Cain. God asked Cain, “Why is thy countenance fallen ? Jonah was so depressed that he said, “0 LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Elijah expressed similar words when he was depressed. He said, “It is enough; now, 0 LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” King Ahab we are told “came into his house heavy and displeased . . . and he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.”

We see that depression strikes almost all of us, from the king to the servant, both the righteous and the wicked.

Now the causes for depression are as many as there are people who are depressed. some kinds of depression are caused by wrong living and a conscience that lets us know that we are not doing what we ought. This was certainly the case with Cain, for God pleaded with him to change his ways and God would accept his sacrifice. Unfortunately he chose to compound his problem by killing his brother and this is one of the out-workings of depression. It often leads to violence. There are angry people today who are willing to take out their frustrations on others by senseless killings. We all realize that this is not the answer. If depression is caused by wrong doing, then repentance is the cure. A complete surrender of self to God will, bring amazing results. Even the wicked king Ahab when confronted with his sins, “rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.”

Perhaps more of us can identify with the depression of Elijah. He felt so alone. He was trying to do right but he felt he was fighting a losing battle. In the rat race of life all the rats were winning. Things looked hopeless to Elijah but not to God. It is the same today. How thrilled we would be to learn that there are 7000 who believe and are living the truth that we don’t even know about! God told Elijah this encouraging statistic but God did not tell him where they were.

We preach and no one comes. We mail out correspondence courses but they do not answer. We teach Sunday School but there are no visible results and we get depressed. This is how Elijah must have felt. It was the way David felt. They said to David, “Where is thy God ?” This caused David to weep for he says, “My tears have been my meat day and night.”

The way to get over our depression is to throw ourselves into the Lord’s work, to get busy and let God do the rest. This is what God told Elijah to do. Get up and get going, he had work to do. Jonah’s depression came after he had completed his preaching effort. It is only those who endure to the end that will be saved. Take a deep breath and get to work doing something positive for the Lord. He will be pleased with our efforts even if it doesn’t seem that we are making any progress. Read Psalms 42 and 43 and we will get the answer to our depression. “Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul ? and why art thou disquieted within the? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”