Shade Tree Wisdom 1/3/10

We are just beginning to open the books for another year. Time to set the agenda, isn’t it, and to get straight which way it will be for us. A newsman once asked Roy Disney why it is that the Disney movies were all of high caliber, and that they didn’t make some lower graded stuff to add to their bottom dollar. Disney’s reply – and Roy Disney died just recently, - was, “Making decisions isn’t hard when you have standards.”

That sets the ground rule for our life, doesn’t it? To have some standards to live by, to guide our actions and give direction to our thoughts.

We are blessed, because we HAVE such a standard. Not only do we have a Savior, Christ Jesus, but we have the BOOK filled with wisdom from on high.

Check, for instance, verses from Psalm 119. The opening section lays the groundwork. “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed”. V.4. Then this wonderful word, “I have stored your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” v.11. Why. “I’ m a stranger in the earth, give me clear directions” v.19.

That wisdom is followed by this, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple”. V.130. Or this bit that many learned during confirmation class. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.” V.105.

Why do I go on and on about standards? The result of having standards, and using them as guides, is in verse 165. “Great peace have they who love your law, and Nothing can make them stumble”. By following standards, “I have kept my feet from every evil path,” by obeying God’s Word. V.101.

When it became practice to fence in range land, one of the chores for cowboys was to ride fence. They usually went in pairs, taking along equipment to mend fences. There was miles of fence, and it needed to be kept in repair to do its job. That usually was a spring chore on the farm where I was raised. A hard winter broke posts, heavy snow weighed down wire, it needed to be repaired before cattle could be pastured there. Father was lucky with neighbors, except one very short piece. Terrible condition, so one day Father took materials, set posts, stretched wire, and fixed it so his cows did not get into that man’s garden (Which always brought a lecture, even tough his was the fence to do and his the fault).

There are people who are like that, they call it “pushing the envelope”. Which really means let’s see how far we can go before people object to our behavior. And the problem in 2010 is that nothing makes anyone object anymore, because it’s all pretty bad.

So, my plea for the year when the new year lies before us, bright and shiny, is to look at Psalm 118,8 – the very center verse of the Bible – and do it.

GPD 1/3/10