Friday, March 29, 2024

Sister Tarpley’s Column: Things to ponder

sister tarpley
Cleo Spann Tarpley (center) with Uncle & Aunt David and Rose Demus Fielding at Cleo’s Surprised Birthday Party Recently

This is June 2013; students are graduating, couples are planning weddings, families are having reunions, and many individuals must be wondering, “Where am I going from here?” It is time to remember to, “Put Your Trust In God.” God will deliver and keep you from all temptation and harm; if you obey the teachings of Christ, and set your mind to live right.

God gives instructions as to how we should live because He created us and knows what it takes. The Word of God loosens a tight mind. We should live right in order to have peace and comfort of mind. If you don’t believe you can live holy in this life, you are an unbeliever. You reveal your love for God by your anxiety to do something for Him.

Prayer is a mighty force; and Christ is a panacea for every ill or sickness, in mind and body. What counts is not what God has done for us, but what He has done which we have not forgotten. A good follower makes a fit leader. A good listener is a good learner. Your feet can remain on the ground, but your mind can be lifted upward.

Regardless of your intelligence, if you practice unrighteousness, you are going down in shame. Learn to deny yourself in order to please God. You can’t shine for Jesus without being rubbed. No matter what may be your problem, shine for Jesus.

The paradox of our time in history is that: We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses, yet smaller families; more conveniences, but less time to enjoy the family that we have. We have more degrees but less common sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

As a society, we drink and smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, and get too angry. We stay up too late, then get up too tired; read too little, watch too much TV, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but greatly reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and we hate too often, and for too long.

As my maternal grandmother, Maggie Smith Baker, said, “We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life.” With modern medicine we’ve added years to our life, but not life to our years. We can go around the world to meet people, but have trouble meeting a new neighbor. We have conquered outer space but not “our” inner space. We have done larger things, but not better things.

We are learning to clean up the air, but we are polluting our soul with the TV. Internet, Pornography, vulgar language, etc. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait; patience is a virtue. We build faster computers; they hold more information, produce more copies, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. Days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but more broke homes. The days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, and kill. Now is the time to spend some time with your loved ones; they are not going to be around forever.

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