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| Vol. 16 No. 1 January 2014 | Page 11 |
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| Vol. 16 No. 1 January 2014 | Page 11 |
Mark McWhorter
Everyone likes it when asked to do something simple. That usually means it is easy to do. It does not mean that it will be done haphazardly. It does mean that it will be done without care. Even though it is simple, great care and precision ought to be put into the action.
Some things that are easy for one person can be very difficult for another person. I am not very smart when it comes to mechanical things. I would be lost attempting to take apart a motor and then putting it back together. I probably would have parts left over, and the motor probably would not run. Yet, I have friends who think that doing such is a very simple act.
In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Verbs in the Hebrew language can appear in seven different basic forms. The form ‘qal’ is for simple active. The form ‘piel’ is intensive active. The form ‘pual’ is intensive passive. There are four other forms. The Hebrew word in Genesis 1:1 for created is ‘bara.’ Bara is in the qal form in this verse. That means that the act of creating was a simple action.
Imagine that! Creating the universe was a simple action for God. We cannot come close to figuring out a great portion of the universe. We do not even understand how our own bodies work. We are constantly learning new things about the human body. However, creating the entire universe was a simple act for God.
What an awesome God we have. His ways are so far above our ways. Yet, he gave us the Bible so that we might know how to live for Him and please Him. The Word came down to earth and took on the form of man so that He might die and be resurrected for us. What love our great God has!
Study your Bible. Learn all you can from it, and obey it. Live to please our wonderful God. If any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
Donald R. Fox
“People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes—his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest!” (Eleanor H. Porter, 1868-1920)
An interesting word, “scowling.” It is defined in part, “To wrinkle or contract the brow as an expression of anger or disapproval.” To scowl is defined in part as “an angry or bad-tempered expression.” Probably most of us have observed a person scowling. It isn’t a pretty sight to behold. It turns one off, does it not?
According to the quote by Eleanor H. Porter, we radiate what is in our minds and hearts. A scowl is a dead giveaway to one’s overall outlook. Akin to the tendency of scowling is a scoffer. This is one who jeers or mocks, thus treating something and/or people with contempt and has an expression of mockery and derision. The attitude of derision is part of a scowling stance. People with dispositions of contempt cannot be team workers.
In debating the right or wrong about any proposition, one must have a gentleman or a lady-like attitude. Our demeanor coupled with the desire to do the right thing is a must. Rudeness and scoffing must never be part of the solving of problems. Strong negative attitudes joined with my way or else have to be avoided.
Even though it is becoming a rare character trait among many, the great need is a Christian deportment. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV). Scoffing and scowling must not be part of our character. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (2 Peter 3:3). “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22).