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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 18, 2010
“Start With Scripture, Then Apply Common Sense”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Here was the offer we made on television.
“Send in a gift of any size to the ministry, and we will send you this book as our way of saying thanks.”
One viewer responded by sending a single dollar, and that’s fine. Yes, we lose money on the book, but if that’s all the person can send, or all they want to send, that’s fine. We are glad to bless them with the book.
But then they sent another single dollar, then another single dollar, then another single dollar. That’s when the report came to me, “What should we do?”
It appeared they were trying to play the system, trying to get many copies of the book for one dollar each.
Maybe we need to word our offers more carefully to avoid such things in the future.
“No,” I said, “You couldn’t write enough rules to cover every situation. At some point you have to trust that common sense and social ethics will kick in.”
So what did we do?
What would you do?
Now you may never run into this exact situation, and that’s the point. Our lives are filled with situations that aren’t quite the same as the last situation, and that’s why you just can’t write enough rules to cover every possible nuance.
For example, I recently heard a man speaking about hospital janitors. Their list of duties includes things like “filling the paper towels” and “mopping the floors.” They have a long list of duties, but guess what? None of them include people. There is nothing on their to-do list about people.
So what should the janitor do? Ignore all the people and just do the jobs?
For example, one janitor said when it was time for him to mop the hallway, a man was up in the middle of the night walking, trying to regain his strength. So he waited to mop the hall.
Another janitor said she skipped vacuuming a certain waiting room one night because she knew a family was asleep in there that really needed the sleep.
See, you just can’t write enough rules to cover every situation. At some point common sense has to kick in. You have to be able to assess a situation and do the right thing without a specific rule for everything.
The Bible is like this. If the Bible were written to specifically cover every situation, it would be as big as the world. But that’s not the way it is.
For example, Jesus said, “Love your neighbor,” and some wise guy said, “Who is my neighbor?”
Yes, He could have made an exhaustive list, going on and on and on, “He’s your neighbor and she’s your neighbor and that guy’s your neighbor.” But instead He told the story of the Good Samaritan. He gave an illustration, then left the details to us.
That’s the way the Bible is much of the time. It gives us principles, and we have to flesh out the details.
For example, the Bible doesn’t say, “Don’t smoke,” but it does say that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t say, “Don’t drink alcohol,” but it does say, “Be sober.”
I encounter this constantly, people asking about situations for which there is no direct rule in the Bible. Well if there is no direct rule, then what?
Well first of all we frame up our answer within the guidelines of Scripture. Then for the specifics it often comes down to common sense. And if you aren’t sure what the common sense is for your situation, then talk to someone who has common sense.
Here’s another guideline you can use. Sometimes I simply ask, “What is the heart of God in this matter?” It’s sort of like asking “What would Jesus do?”
Often that means being gracious and merciful, but other times it means holding people accountable. Sometimes people need soft love, and other times they need tough love.
How do you know which is which?
That’s hard to say because you can’t write rules for every situation.
The good news is, as Christians, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us.
So if we don’t have a rule, here’s what we can do.
Start with the general guidelines of Scripture, then apply common sense. We can ask others for their common sense, and we can ask, “What is the heart of God in this matter?” And then there’s the Holy Spirit nudging us in the right direction.
Now let’s get back to my original story. What did I do about the person sending one dollar donations and hoping to get a bunch of books?
I decided to send just one book. It was a wise use of our resources. It was the fair thing to do for the author and publisher. And it quietly kept the person from taking advantage of the ministry, while still supplying them with the wisdom found in the book.
And how did I come to that conclusion? By starting with the general guidelines of Scripture, then adding a healthy dose of good old fashioned common sense.
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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