PLYMOUTH – Living a good and decent life takes a great deal of effort. It doesn’t just happen. As human beings we have a nature that deviates to the lowest common denominator, and are born with the powerful pulling propensity to do evil.
Now some of you may find that hard to believe, but it is nonetheless true. We humans are born with rottenness in our souls and the decay therein is progressive. But a thought has occurred to me. What if we spent as much time trying to be good as we do to be bad? The effort we exert in our fallen endeavors could and should be redirected to do that which is good and wholesome.
A case in point is the life of Emmanuel Ninger who I recently read about in an article by John Maxwell. Emmanuel was arrested for passing counterfeit $20 bills. A warrant was obtained to search Ninger’s home. During the search, they found a $20 bill in the process of being painted. They also found three portraits that Emmanuel Ninger had painted. Ninger was an artist, and he was a good one. He was so good; he had hand painted those $20.00 bills!
Meticulously, stroke-by-stroke, he had applied the master’s touch so skillfully that he was able to fool everyone until the wet hands of a grocery clerk exposed him.
After the arrest, his portraits were sold at public auction for $16,000.00 -- over $5000.00 each. The irony of the story is that it took Emmanuel Ninger almost the same length of time to paint a $20.00 bill as it took him to paint a $5,000 portrait.
The problem with men like Emmanuel (by the way his first name means God with Us) is just the opposite of his name. God is not with us because of our fallen natures so we are putting all our efforts toward the wrong endeavors. What we need is a change of direction and thus our motivation to do what is right and that only comes with a change of heart.
The work and the effort are no greater for good than evil. Pick up a local newspaper and read about the extraordinary efforts criminals go to in order to commit a crime. Or think about the effort it takes for present day politicians to pontificate and pound away at their party opponents. If they put as much effort into making our country a better place as they did abusing one another, how much better this country would be. (What a novel idea!)
I know you, as well as I, have grown weary and quite frankly, nauseated by the way our public officials and political candidates have verbally accosted and molested one another in recent months. Disgusted is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings. As a result, it has become my habit to “mute” all commercials and advertisements on all my media feeds until sufficient time has passed for primary programming to return.
We are judged by our words and works by those with whom we associate and those who are carefully observing our Christian walk. We also will one day stand before the Great Judge on the same basis.
Since we all spend our energies on something, wouldn’t it be a wonderful idea to make our efforts count for that which is good and godly? It takes the same amount of effort. As my Daddy used to say, “If you can’t say something good about someone, then don’t say nothin’.”
"He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip."
Proverbs 20:19
"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down."
Proverbs 26:20
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Patterson is Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Elected unanimously in May of 2015, Patterson formerly served for 9 years as pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. He also served as trustee chair and national mobilizer for the North American Mission Board.
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