Christian Living
Larry Lilly's Letter Monday May 4, 2009
When I was in the third grade my teacher was Mrs. Davis. I do not know, nor did I ever know her first name. In those days all teachers were Mr. Mrs. or Miss and there was never any confusion as to their gender!! Mrs. Davis was a rotund lady, somewhere in her fifties, though no one knew for sure.
I recall this teacher fondly as she insisted that we unwashed heathens recite poetry and grand historical passages and to do so with the proper emphasis. If a poem or account of some event had blood and sweat and tears, Mrs. Davis did not make you bleed, but if you failed to shed the tear, you did live in fear of actual bloodshed. And she was brutally honest with us wee ones when she boldly stated: "Most of you students do not come from wealthy families, so the best thing you can have going for you is to learn to use speech properly."
One of the examples of character that she was adamant that we study was the great missionary statesmen, David Livingstone. Keep in mind this was in the public school in the 40's.
In going through some old report cards, photo's and scribbled notes that my mother sent to me a few years ago, I found the following statement from Mr. Livingstone that I had memorized and recited to my fellow third graders in the long ago. To do so with proper feeling was mandatory: David Livingstone backed up this statement with one of the most exemplary lives in the last 2000 years.
"I will place no value on anything I may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. I will use my possessions to promote the glory of him to whom I owe all."
In these times many of us are in the process of reducing our lifestyle, of praying for wisdom to come out from under a mountain of debt, or some other troubling thing in our life. It's good to remember David Livingstone and others like him, and learn again that what matters most is the things we hold in trust relative to the Kingdom of God.
We must influence those whom we love for God's Kingdom. And it's good to keep in mind that integrity is an attribute that must be preserved, developed and applied, even to the extremes the record bears Livingstone insisted upon from himself and others. This is so easy to say and pleasant to remember. Thank you, Mrs. Davis.
Larry Lilly Copyright © 2009 Use with credit.
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