Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday November 2, 2006

The story goes that a man 'in his cups' was staggering out of a bar and in the process almost knocked down his pastor who was walking by!!! He immediately said, in the slurred fashion of the drunk:

"Pastor, I'm so sorry for you to see me like this." The surprised pastor replied, "Well, I don't know why you should be sorry for me to see you this way, Harry. After all, the Lord sees you now, doesn't He?" Harry replied: "Yeah, but he's not such a blabbermouth as you are!"

The pastor who fails to keep quiet about his parishioners to other parishioners will soon find that he knows little or nothing about the condition of his flock and he is certainly intelligent enough to know that the 'Sunday go to meeting' appearance is not all there is to it!

The same is true with a friend who fails to hush up about the flaws he finds in his friends. To say something to your friends is fine and dandy if you can do it with a pain in your heart. To carry tales to your friends about your other friends is homicide to your friends. For most friends know that if you talk to them about your other friends, you will talk to your other friends about them.

The wise man of the scriptures, Solomon, said:

"He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends." Proverbs 17:9.

On occasion I mention my friend, Dr. Tom Wallace. Over many years and through severe storms, I have never heard Dr. Wallace talk about any scandal making the rounds in Christendom. Nor have I heard him put down anyone going through it. I mean never. Over forty years ago in the little town where God used him to build a large super church, a man in the area, fell into scandal. Dr. Wallace called in the staff and said, "Brother so and so will be visiting here on Thursday. I know you have heard all sorts of things about him, but I do not want a word of it mentioned. He is a good man and he will set everything right."

I have to add the man did in fact make everything right and served the Lord for many years.

I have been blessed with mature friends throughout the course of my ministry and I am deeply thankful for this gift from God. I pray that I can be the good friend to others along the lines of the good friends sent my way.

These words from an unknown pen:

"To have a good friend is one of the highest delights of life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings."

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2006 Use with credit

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