Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 16, 2008
“Beware the Midnight Caller”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
There was a knock on the door.
It was creepy.
It’s always creepy to hear a knock this late at night.
The wife and kids were asleep, and Dad was still up, working on a Bible study.
He went to the door and found a non-creepy looking man standing there.
“I really need a place to stay,” he said. “It’s a long story, but let me say that it involves my ex-wife and lawyers. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I took all the money, started hitchhiking, and here I am.”
“I see,” Dad said, “But I’m not going let a complete stranger into my house.”
“Look,” he said, “I’ll pay you. Cash. Here’s $500. No, make it $1,000. I just need a place to land, to get my head straight. If you want me to leave tomorrow, fine. You can keep the money. But if you change your mind, I’ll make it worth your while. I’d rather give you the money than my ex-wife.”
He knew he shouldn’t, but he could really use that thousand dollars. And there might be a lot more where that came from. Yes, he was taking a chance, but look at the payoff.
The stranger spent the night, and everything was fine. The next day he paid to have groceries delivered from the expensive organic food store. He was actually a nice guy, and seemed to enjoy being around a normal family.
He wasn’t used to watching such a small television though, so that weekend he bought them a home theatre system, with a 65-inch HDTV. Dad had mixed feelings about this. He didn’t want TV to play such a big role in his family. But wow! It really was a thing of beauty.
Yes, they started watching a lot more TV, especially the kids. But how could you not, with a TV like that?
The stranger announced that Friday night would be movie night. Dad said great, he could pick up a video on the way home from work. No need, said the stranger, he was paying for satellite TV to be hooked up Friday afternoon. He bought the premium package with every channel possible. Nothing but the best for his new friends!
The man became like a rich uncle. The longer he stayed the more he bought. One week he bought each of the kids their own laptop computers, and had wireless internet put in throughout the house. And then the weekend trips began. For example, he took them to Washington DC one weekend just because they had never been.
Dad noticed that they were skipping church a lot, but hey, who knew when this ride would end?
When Mom’s old van wouldn’t start one day, he bought her that new Cadillac she had been admiring. Meanwhile, the man was paying them for room and board, all cash.
One day the man took Dad out to eat. As they sat in the darkened restaurant, sipping their Margaux, the man said, “I need to ask you a favor. My ex-wife’s attorneys have been sniffing around, and I have reason to believe they might call you tomorrow. If they do, just tell them you’ve never heard of me.”
“Well, that would be a lie,” Dad said.
“No, not really. You had never heard of me until I knocked on your door, and you still don’t really know me. You don’t even know my real name. So when they ask if you’ve heard of so-and-so, you can honestly say no, you don’t know anyone by that name.”
“I don’t know,” said Dad.
“Look. If they find me, I’ll have to go someplace else. Is that what you want? Is that the kind of man you are, to put someone out on the street?”
“No.”
“Okay then. I didn’t think so. So if they call, just tell them you’ve never heard of me.”
The first time they called, they bought Dad’s story. But when they called back, the questions were more explicit. Dad found himself scrambling to protect his new friend while trying not to flat out lie.
The next call came, not from attorneys, but from a detective. Now it couldn’t be avoided. Dad found himself lying, right to a detective. But he couldn’t put a man out on the street, could he?
No, he knew in his heart it was the money. He didn’t care about the man really, but he sure did enjoy the money.
Two weeks later Dad was arrested. Obstruction of justice.
His pastor came to see him, and Dad poured out the whole story. Tears ran down his face as he told of all the gifts, and how it had affected his family. The movies they watched that they never would have watched before. Their kids with their computers and all that free time on the internet. The vacations. (“I guess that’s why I haven’t seen you much lately,” said the pastor.) And his wife, with her new car. She seemed to enjoy the stranger more than her own husband. Oh, if he just hadn’t been so dazzled by the money, none of this would have happened.
And with that, Dad put down his pen. “Yes,” he said, “That will really bring home the point at Bible study tomorrow.”
And just before he closed his Bible and went to bed, he put a little asterisk by Proverbs 15:27.
“A greedy man brings trouble to his family…”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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