| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index |
Human Relationship
Faults
Faults are like the
headlights of a car: those of others seem more glaring than your own. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Revenge
Janine
Brooks was a dental student when a man ran into her car and drove away. That was 10 years ago. Her damaged car resulted in a
considerable financial burden on her student income but the motorist neither
apologized nor ever paid for the damage he had done until now. Now it is 10 years later. Janine Brooks
the former student
is
now a dentist and guess who came to her office needing a tooth to be
pulled? He did not recognize her;
she did recognize him. She told him
it wouldn't hurt; she lied. -- Associated Press
Love for Enemies
In the Shapra Indian tribe
of Peru
and interesting event occurred. In this South American tribe
who once
were headhunters
Christ has made a difference in those who became believers.
One man used to kill his enemies when he captured them. After his conversion
he would hold them captive and teach them Scripture for three weeks!— Cited by
Herbert Fuqua
missionary to Peru
Friendliness to Enemies
The Civil War had just
ended
and the opportunistic scalawags were busy lording it over their fellow
Southerners. A hot-blooded contingency of die-hard former rebels gained an
audience with President Lincoln. His gentle
friendly manner soon thawed the
ice
and the Southerners left with a new respect for their old foe. A northern
congressman approached the president and criticized him for “befriending the
enemy
” suggesting that instead of befriending them he should have had them
shot for the traitors they were.
Friendliness of Enemies
While still a young boy
a
certain Christian formed the habit of praying beside his bed before he went to
sleep. Later
when he joined the army
he kept up this practice
though he
became an object of mockery and ridicule in the barracks. One night
as he
knelt to pray after a long
weary march
one of his tormentors took off his
muddy boots and threw them at him one at a time
hitting him on each side of
his head. The Christian said nothing
took the persecutor’s boots
put them
beside the bed
and continued to pray. The next morning
when the other soldier
woke up
he found his polished and shined boots sitting beside his own bed. It
so affected him that he asked for forgiveness and after a time became a
Christian. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Response to Evil
A certain man purchased a
paper at a newspaper stand. He greeted the newsman very courteously
but in
return received gruff and discourteous service. Accepting the newspaper
which
was rudely shoved in his face
the customer politely smiled and wished the
newsman a nice weekend. A friend observed all of this and asked
“Does he
always treat you so rudely?”
“Yes
unfortunately he
does.”
“And are you always so
polite and friendly to him?”
“Yes
I am.”
“Why are you so nice to him
when he is so rude to you?”
“Because I don’t want him
to decide how I am going to act.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Prejudice
Mohandas K. Gandhi was the leader of
the Indian nationalist movement against British rule and considered the father
of his country. He is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolence
to achieve political and social progress.
Gandhi says in his autobiography that
in his student days he was truly interested in the Bible. Deeply touched by
reading the Gospels
he seriously considered becoming a convert
since
Christianity seemed to offer the real solution to the caste system that was
dividing the people of
Alexander de Seversky
U.S. aviator
and engineer
was once visiting a fellow flyer in the hospital. The young man
had just lost his leg. De Seversky
who had had an artificial leg for some
time
tried to cheer him up. "The loss of a leg is not so great a
calamity
" he said. "If you get hit on a wooden leg
it doesn't hurt
a bit! Try it!" The patient raised his walking stick and brought it down
hard on de Seversky's leg. "You see
" he said cheerfully. "If
you hit an ordinary man like that
he'd be in bed for five days!" With
that he left his friend and limped into the corridor
where he collapsed in
excruciating pain. It seems the young man had struck de Seversky on his good
leg!── Today in the Word
October 29
1992.
In The Grace of Giving
Stephen Olford tells of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution
Peter
Miller
who lived in Ephrata
Pennsylvania
and enjoyed the friendship of
George Washington. In Ephrata also lived Michael Wittman
an evil-minded sort
who did all he could to oppose and humiliate the pastor. One day Michael
Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller traveled
seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor.
"No
Peter
" General
Washington said. "I cannot grant you the life of your friend."
"My friend!" exclaimed the
old preacher. "He's the bitterest enemy I have."
"What?" cried Washington.
"You've walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the
matter in different light. I'll grant your pardon." And he did.
Peter Miller took Michael Wittman back
home to Ephrata--no longer an enemy but a friend.── Lynn Jost.
Faults
Nothing is easier than
faultfinding: no talent
no self-denial
no brains
and no character are
required to set up in the grumbling business. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Enemies
If we could read the secret
history of our enemies
we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering
enough to disarm all hostility.— Henry W. Longfellow
Neighbor
A good neighbor is one who will watch
your vacation slides all evening without telling you that he has been there
too. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Suspicion
Suspicion enters by the door through
which love and trust exit. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Hospitality
To entertain some people
all you have
to do is listen. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Leonard Syme
a professor of
epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley
indicates the
importance of social ties and social support systems in relationship to mortality
and disease rates. He points to Japan as being number one in the world with
respect to health and then discusses the close social
cultural
and
traditional ties in that country as the reason. He believes that the more
social ties
the better the health and the lower the death rate. Conversely
he
indicates that the more isolated the person
the poorer the health and the
higher the death rate. Social ties are good preventative medicine for physical
problems and for mental-emotional-behavior problems.
Martin & Diedre Bobgan
How To
Counsel From Scripture
Moody Press
1985
p. 18.
If you think your family has problems
consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London
recently wed Edna Harvey. She happened to be his granddaughter's husband's
mother. That's where the confusion began
according to Baker's granddaughter
Lynn.
"My mother-in-law is now my
step-grandmother. My grandfather is now my stepfather-in-law. My mom is my
sister-in-law and my brother is my nephew. But even crazier is that I'm now
married to my uncle and my own children are my cousins."
From this experience
Lynn should gain
profound insight into the theory of relativity.
Campus Life
March
1981
p. 31.
We can live only in relationships. We
need each other. A rather crude and cruel experiment was carried out by Emperor
Frederick
who ruled the Roman Empire in the thirteenth century. He wanted to know
what man's original language was: Hebrew
Greek
or Latin? He decided to
isolate a few infants from the sound of the human voice. He reasoned that they
would eventually speak the natural tongue of man. Wet nurses who were sworn to
absolute silence were obtained
and though it was difficult for them
they
abided by the rule. The infants never heard a word -- not a sound from a human
voice. Within several months they were all dead.
Joe E. Trull.
The Carnegie Technological Institute
has stated that 90% of all people who fail in their life's vocation fail
because they cannot get along with people.
Lloyd Perry
Getting the Church on
Target
Moody
1977.
On Getting Along With People
The SIX most important words:
"I admit I made a mistake."
The FIVE most important words:
"You did a good job."
The FOUR most important words:
"What do you think?"
The THREE most important words:
"After you please."
The TWO most important words:
"Thank you."
The ONE most important word:
"We"
The LEAST important word:
"I"
Source Unknown.
Ten Commandments of Human Relations
1. Speak to people. There is nothing
as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
2. Smile at people. It takes
seventy-two muscles to frown
only fourteen to smile.
3. Call people by name. Music to anyone's
ears is the sound of his/her own name.
4. Be friendly and helpful.
5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if
everything you do is genuinely a pleasure
and if it isn't
learn to make it
so.
6. Be genuinely interested in people.
You can like almost everybody if you try.
7. Be generous with praise
cautious
with criticism.
8. Be considerate with the feelings of
others. There are usually three sides to a controversy: yours
the other
fellow's
and the right one.
9. Be alert to serve. What counts most
in life is what we do for others.
10. Add to this a good sense of humor
a big dose of patience
and a dash of humility
and you will be rewarded
manifold through life.
Adapted from the Bible Tract
Bulletin.
Single men are jailed more often
earn
less
have more illnesses and die at a younger age than married men. Married
men with cancer live 20% longer than single men with the same cancer.
Women
who often have more close
friendships than men
survive longer with the same cancers. Married or not
relationships keep us alive.
Dr. Bernie Siegel
Homemade
May
1989.