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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 13, 2009
“If You Are Stealing, Quit”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
I was about nine years old when it happened.
I remember going out in the backyard – and they were gone. They were all gone.
It was a weird and scary feeling because at first I had no idea what happened.
You see, there were tons of cherries on that tree just the day before. But the next day they were gone.
Well as a nine year old boy all kinds of fantastic possibilities came to mind. Maybe a spaceship hovered over the tree at midnight and sucked them all up. Maybe wild animals came and ate them.
But then Mom had a more plausible explanation.
Someone stole them.
Stole them? Someone stole the cherries from our tree in the middle of the night? Do people do such things?
How did they do it? Mom offered one idea. Maybe they spread out a big sheet beneath the tree, then knocked the cherries down onto the sheet. Then they gathered up the sheet and took off. Mom probably didn’t say “took off,” but that’s what I heard.
You know, for a kid, it’s really creepy to find out people have been in your back yard stealing from you.
Now I realize it wasn’t the crime of the century, and today I’m so thankful it wasn’t anything worse. But at the time it stirred up a lot of bad thoughts like, “What if they come back? What if they want more than cherries next time?” And it magnified every little noise you heard at night. After all, you can’t say it’s nothing because you know of at least one night when it really was something.
Do you remember the first time something was stolen from you? You lost more than the item, didn’t you? You lost your peace and your trust. You were left vulnerable and angry. Maybe you wanted revenge. Maybe you got revenge by stealing something yourself.
So do you see how stealing is so much more than the simple taking of an item? When a thief comes calling, they cut a wide swath through your life.
But thieves don’t think about such things. Mostly they just think about what they want and how to get it. After a while it becomes a habit. They don’t even think about paying for things they can steal. I mean, why pay if you can get it for free?
Several years ago I saw a most interesting thing. After church one day we ran to the grocery store. I dropped my wife off at the door, then sat in the car with the kids.
Well out of the store came this family, all dressed up and probably fresh out of church themselves. They were walking toward their car, and one of the kids was ahead of the rest. He had on a suit, and he had one arm across his chest, holding his suit jacket closed.
All of a sudden a box of Little Debbie cakes fell out from under his jacket. He scrambled like mad to scoop it up, trying to make sure no one in the family saw him. Judging by his actions, and just the look on his face, I would say that he had just shoplifted a box of Little Debbies.
Now why would a good church kid shoplift? Because he knew what he wanted and he got it without paying for it.
Shoplifting is an epidemic. I once knew a man who worked in security at a grocery store. He was full of tales of shoplifters, people of all ages and races, some looking poor and some looking wealthy.
And yes, believe it or not, some church people.
I guess the same kind of thing was going on in the church at Ephesus, based on what Paul wrote “to the saints in Ephesus.” Ephesians 4:28 says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer…”
He doesn’t go off the deep end and beat people up. He doesn’t condemn and judge them. But he does tell them to quit.
And so I would say this to you today. If you are stealing, quit.
Here is what you are to do instead: work.
That verse says to work, to do something useful.
The idea is that you work and bring in your own money. Then instead of stealing things, you pay for them with the money you earned.
That is God’s way. That is the best way for you and everyone else.
But it doesn’t stop there. Ephesians 4:28 says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”
This is God’s plan for your life – that instead of stealing, you work. And you work for two reasons. First, you work to provide for yourself so you don’t need to steal, and second, you work to make some extra, so you have something to share with those in need.
That is God’s way, and it’s the most excellent way!
So if you are stealing, God’s word for you today is . . . quit. Quit stealing and focus on working.
Work to provide for all your own needs, and work to have some extra, that you “may have something to share with those in need.”
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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