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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 4, NUMBER 40, OCTOBER 3, 2004 IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT This past week I was standing in the parking lot with Harry and Shirley watching the fellow who is clearing the land push over the trees. It was pretty neat to see. He took a bulldozer, loosened the dirt around the bottom of the tree, freeing the roots, and then he just used the dozer to push them over. I don’t think that even the largest of the trees took more than five minutes. As is usually the case, that got me to thinking. I wonder how long the largest of those trees had been there. From the time the seed fell to the ground, or the sapling was planted, it had to be years and years for some of them to have grown to the size that they were. Many gentle spring rains, heavy summer thunderstorms, fall frosts, and winter snows had fallen on those branches. Than, in a matter of minutes, all those years of growth ended and what had taken so many years to build up, was torn down. That is like so many things that we see in this life. How about a reputation? Good reputations take years and years to build and are so important. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.” He makes the same point, and elaborates upon it, in Ecclesiastes 7:1-4. Here he shows the importance of a good reputation and alludes to the time and experiences through which one builds it. He wrote, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” How long does it take to “push over” a good reputation? Not very long at all. An ungodly act followed by a refusal to repent can greatly damage a person’s reputation. Words quickly spoken with no forethought can bring the mighty oak of a reputation crashing to the ground. We all know this is true. How about friendships? True friendships take considerable time to build. They are like the layers of growth rings we see in the trunk of a tree that has been cut down. Trust and confidence are layered onto the friendship, strengthening and growing it, as the years and shared experiences go by. Proverbs speaks much of the value of friendship. In Proverbs 27 there are several verses that address this very thing. For instance, verse 6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” In verses 9 – 10 we find, “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.” Verse 17 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” While some may not think that verse 19 addresses the subject of friendship, I most certainly think that it does. Solomon wrote, “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man.” Does the beauty of friendship just happen? No, it takes effort and work, but it is absolutely worth it. In Prov. 18:24, we find, “A man that hath friends must show himself to be friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Can there be a more beautiful statement of the essence of friendship than is found in Prov. 17:17? It says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” How long does it take to destroy a friendship? Not very long. All it takes is for one to forget what being a friend is all about. All it takes is for one to put himself or herself before the welfare of his or her friend, to make hurtful and unkind remarks. I don’t know why folks will do this, but some do. Oh my, does it hurt. The man responsible for the removal of the trees is going to take the very best ones and sell them for the lumber. A good purpose will be served. There may be a piece of furniture that results and provides comfort and beauty to a home. Some will provide warmth through being used as firewood. Still more will be ground up and used as mulch to make beautiful things grow. Several good purposes will be accomplished by the trees being torn down. What good is accomplished by a stellar reputation that is “pushed over” quickly by ungodly acts or thoughtless words? What good is accomplished when a friendship, nurtured and grown over the years, is decimated because one or the other forgot to place the welfare of his or her friend first? Through the tearing down of some things, progress is made. Through the tearing down of others, only tragedy. Hold fast to that which is important and be willing to sacrifice to retain that which matters. Greg Litmer Except for doctrinal matters, there aren’t many arguments I’d be willing to win at the expense of losing a friend. What we do today is vitally important in our lives because all of life is made up of nothing but todays. One reason men are so stubborn is that we really are pretty proud of our humble opinions. |