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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for June 15, 2009
“You Can’t Go Around Kicking People’s Cars”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
I now had the wallet of a real man.
It was thick with cash, pictures, and a brand new driver’s license.
And soon my back jeans pocket would have that cool faded wallet outline.
But for now it was all new. Yes, another kid was taking over the streets of America.
One sunny afternoon, after school, I didn’t have to be at work until 4. That left just enough time for a quick cruise up and down Main Street, you know, to see what was going on in the world. And to be seen.
I made my final turn and headed west. Now that I had a wallet full of cash I could eat taco chips whenever I felt like it.
So there I was, enjoying some after-school/before-work peace – and driving into the sun.
Now nothing bad happened, so don’t get ahead of me here.
But I was just a little slow to see the light turn yellow. Oh, I saw it. And I stopped. But I did eek a foot or two out into the crosswalk.
I didn’t block the entire crosswalk. I didn’t screech into the intersection. I was just barely out there. No big deal, right?
So there I sat, thinking nothing of it. Just enjoying the best music the AM dial had to offer.
Then suddenly something hit my car. It knocked me out of my late afternoon haze.
I looked up to see an old man – a skinny old man with leathery skin and pointy cowboy boots.
And he had kicked my car!
I was stunned.
He codgered on by in front of my car.
A primal part of me wanted to jump out and confront him right there in the intersection.
Why did he do that? Was I in his way?
I looked and confirmed that, yes, I was barely out in the crosswalk.
I looked back and confirmed that, yes, he was quite old and apparently quite cantankerous.
The light turned green and I decided to drive on. But my emotions were roiling.
Later I checked the car and saw no damage. How did he kick the car and not leave a mark?
I thought of some of the guys in my high school who were more into their cars than I was. Some of them had worked hard and spent a lot of money to turn them into hot rods.
What if that old man would’ve kicked one of their cars? I know a couple of them who probably would have decked him.
That was many years ago, but I still wonder, “Why did he do that?”
I mean, think about it. Can you imagine just kicking some random car on the street? Sounds like a good way to get shot.
I finally concluded that he was just one of those old men who had thrown caution to the wind. He was old now, and he didn’t care what anyone thought or what anyone said. He was tired of holding back and, by golly, if he felt like making a statement he was going make it.
Have you ever run into an old person like that? They are done with formalities and daintyisms. “Too old,” they say. “Too old to put up with it.”
I guess that’s why Paul wrote this is Titus 2:2 – “Teach the older men to be temperate…”
Temperate. Restrained. Exercising self-restraint.
In other words, you can’t just do whatever you feel like because you are old. You can’t just let it all hang out and say whatever you want.
You can’t quit restraining yourself just because you’ve been doing it for a long time.
Christian old men – you can’t cuss. You can’t tell risqué jokes. You can’t ogle the girls. You can’t give in to your temper. You can’t watch trashy TV and fill your mind with garbage. And you can’t go around kicking people’s cars just because you are old.
Self restraint is for men of all ages.
But it’s a practice that older men need to make sure they continue as the years go by.
That’s why Paul made a special point of it in his letter to Titus.
“Teach the older men to be temperate…”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 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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