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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 23, 2010
“How Can I Keep That From Happening to Me?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
This one question has deeply impacted my life.
It’s just a simple question, and I didn’t start asking it on purpose. No one told me to ask it. And I wasn’t really asking it out loud or even consciously.
But it’s a question that has been running through my mind for years, and it has had a great influence on my behavior.
I don’t remember when I began asking it, but it was probably before I even started school. It may have happened the first time I saw another kid get spanked, or when I saw someone get hurt on TV. I don’t know when it started, but I know it never stopped. I am still asking this question today, going on 50 years old.
And what is this life-altering question? It is simply this.
How can I keep that from happening to me?
That’s it, just a simple question, yet a real life-changer.
What a great question for a small child to ask. When you see another kid get in trouble, just ask yourself, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”
This question has been a huge motivating factor in my life. As I look back over the years I realize that much of what I do is because of this question.
I remember when a kid on the playground leaped out of the swing and crashed to the asphalt, breaking both of his arms. I pondered those two broken arms and thought, “How can I keep that from happening to me?” And you know what? I still jumped out of the swing plenty of times, but I never came close to breaking my arms, all because of that question.
I remember kids talking back to the teacher, getting marched down to the principal’s office and getting spanked. They came back to class with tears in their eyes looking quite humble, and I said to myself, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”
As a teenager I heard about guys asking girls out, only to be turned down. And worse yet, have you heard about guys being turned down when they proposed marriage? That’s crazy! So I thought, “How can I keep that from happening to me?” And I made sure it didn’t.
A lot of people told me, “You better watch out, because after you get married you are going to get fat.” So I thought, “Really? Well how can I keep that from happening to me?”
And I heard the same thing about having kids and about turning 30 and about turning 40 – all milestones that for some reason lead to putting on weight. So I’m sure you know by now what was running through my head. How can I keep that from happening to me?
I know a lot of middle-aged men with back problems. Many are already popping pills for this or that or the other.
And over the years I have observed a lot of cruddy marriages. I see former young lovers practically living separate lives. I’ve seen marriages splinter and families break apart. I’ve seen men do terrible damage to their wives and children, which leaves me asking that very sobering question, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”
I’ve seen men lose their jobs, their families, their integrity and their reputations. I’ve seen men lose their faith, and men lose their money. And every time that question hums through the back of my mind, like a low level buzz, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”
Here is what it says in Proverbs 24:32. Then I beheld and considered it well. I applied my heart to what I observed. I saw, I looked upon it, and received instruction. I learned a lesson from what I saw.
That is what I want to do. I want to learn my lessons from what I observe. When I see someone break their arms, literally or figuratively, I want to learn a lesson from that. If I see someone drive off a cliff, I want to steer the other way.
It’s foolish to do what others have done if it caused them grief and sorrow.
Why can’t we learn the lessons of others? Why must we learn them for ourselves?
And even worse is when we do the same dumb things that we’ve already done!
Psalm 119:59 says, “I have thought on my ways…”
Nehemiah 5:7 uses this phrase, “I pondered them in my mind…”
Don’t let things just happen to you. Don’t go bounding down the same road that has caused injury to others.
Ponder things in your mind. Observe life around you and consider it well. Look, and receive instruction.
So when you see other people go crashing to the asphalt, here’s a little question that simply must be asked.
How can I keep that from happening to me?
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2010 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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