Firelight danced upon their faces. There was the good smell of a wood fire burning, of coffee freshly made, and the smell of meat broiling, and of the stew.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Ferguson Rifle)
“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”
–Hebrews 12:28 (NLT)
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Now, I’m not one to complain much, but there are a few things that just jerk my jaws. I can’t get it through my head the “why” of such thinking. It must be their agenda–the move to completely revise history and the truth.
Pet Peeve #8: The making of scum and punks into heroes. Why is it that the media, the movies, seek to make heroes out of scum? Billy the Kid was no hero. Doc Holliday lived only to die. Bonnie and Clyde delighted in their lawless antics. And these are just to name a few.
Where are the stories about the real heroes? How many have read of Dave Cook? He was one of the greatest lawmen of the old West and founder of the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. Or N.K Boswell, one of Cook’s detectives and later sheriff of Albany County, Wyoming (Laramie). There was Frank Canton, Heck Thomas, and Leander McNelly who helped save the Texas Rangers and made them into a reputable organization after the Reconstruction.
Pet Peeve #9: The taking of our “heroes” and dragging their name and reputation through the mud. The other peeve, closely related to the first is the taking of national heroes, digging up the skeletons in their closet and displaying their dirty laundry and saying this is the real person. We live in a day where people thrive on the sins of others. We thrill in the wrong-doing of others; maybe it appleases our minds and makes us feel that we are not so bad. However, we should not forget their greatness.
What is it that made a common person, just like you and me, shine forth? Was it the circumstance or was it in their inate character to begin with? I believe it is both. Without 9/11, we would not have the character of George Bush come forth, yet all the media seemed to do was to try and malign him. All that is written about Sam Houston were the days of his drunkedness, the same of Ulysses S. Grant, yet they seldom dwell on the great aspects of their lives. And what is forgotten, is that both men understood the dangers of alcohol and put it aside.
Much of the ado is that the forces of evil do not want to show good, or if they do, they want to also show that the man was “human.” They dragged Jesus through the streets dripping in blood and thrust Him on a cross; yet they could find no fault in Him. They stoned Paul and left him for dead, and later made false accusations against him.
Well, there is the end of my griping for November. Just stop and ponder whenever you hear the stories that tear down the greatness of a person and why. Just stop and ponder why the media wants to make great those whose lived their lives as notorious sinners, people of evil intent, and why they want to destroy the good works of man.
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Time to give you the second stanza of Waddie Mitchell’s poem, “The Sum.” Ponder and see if you fit in somewhere.
Do pit-falls you find in your way
Dictate how you run your race?
Have rivers, we’ve all got to cross
Proved more than you can face?
Have you let some disappointments
Slow your agenda’s pace?
Get up if you have fallen down
To trip is no disgrace.