Wednesday, August 20, 2008

"Show Him Your Card"

I never ceased to be amazed at people, especially preachers. I guess I amaze myself sometimes because I can be a real stinker, though I am not proud of that. What amazes me most is the credentials many a preacher and members of Christ's body like to inform people of from time to time. They want people to know how many they have baptized over the years, how many meetings they have held and where their travels have taken them. Some preachers like the brethren to know how much in demand they are while other preachers rely heavily on their degrees and years of work to get that degree. (Now I do admire people who get their degree, so don't get me wrong. That's not my point!) Preachers like others to know who they know personally, rubbing shoulders with well known people and celebrities. Hollywood stars, musicians and sports figures become their crown of glory, or so it seems by listening to them talk (or write). Members of the Lord's church do some of the same. Some glory in their jobs that are high in rank in the community. Others have a great deal of money and use their money to influence in certain situations. Still others come to the assembly with such an arrogance of knowledge that they throw around that it creates a "better than you attitude" and no one would dare cross them. It is all very, very sad knowing well that God is opposed to the proud and gives His grace to the humble.
Jim McGuiggan told of a story that makes my point. There was an old Texas rancher who was being inspected by the Department of Water Resources, a government agency. The government fellow approached the old rancher saying, "I need to inspect your ranch for your water allocations." The old rancher continued his work and said, "Okay, but stay out of that field over there." The rep, who was not used to be told what to do by 'common' folks, looked at the old rancher, flashed his credentials and said, "Mister, I have the authority of the federal government behind me! See this card? This card means I can go anywhere I want to go, wherever I wish, on anyone's agricultural ground. Have I made myself clear?" The old rancher just nods politely and gets back to his work. Before long the rancher hears a loud, long scream. He looks up and sees the federal rep running across the field for his life with a bull close behind him and closing fast. The rancher lays down his tools and heads to the field. As he approaches the fence, the rancher yells, "Your card...show him your card!"
"For there is no partiality with God" (Rom. 2:11)

2 comments:

Tawn said...

I like Jim's story. So true!

Anonymous said...

A texas bull at that.........

He should have dropped the card and maybe that would have helped him run a litte faster. Well, maybe not. I've been chased out of a field too and you really can't even remotely run fast enough.