Two
Brothers
The
story is told about two brothers. These brothers were very
rich, but they were wicked. Both of them lived on the wild
side of life and they used their great wealth to cover up
the dark side of their lives, on the surface they looked
like upright citizens. They attended the same church almost
every Sunday and contributed very large sums of money to
its cause. The church had a Pastor who preached the truth
from the Word of God with great courage. Before long, the
church attendance had grown so much that the church needed
to build a new building.
Suddenly, one of the brothers died, and the Pastor who always
preached the truth from Gods Word was asked to conduct the
funeral service.
The day before the funeral, the surviving brother handed
the minister an envelope. There was a note inside that read,
"Here's a cheque to pay for the entire amount you need
for a new church. All I ask is one favour, tell the people
at the funeral that my brother was a saint!" The Pastor
gave the brother his word that he would do precisely what
he asked, so, that afternoon, he lodged the cheque into
the church's bank account. The next day the Pastor stood
before the coffin at the funeral service, and said with
great conviction. "This man was an ungodly sinner,
he was wicked to the core. He was unfaithful to his wife,
he was hot tempered and ruthless in business. He was a hypocrite
in church! But - compared to his brother he was a saint!"
A
Focused Life - The failure of a Faulty focus
Col.3:2
"Set your affection on things above…"
A woman bought
a parrot to keep her company but returned it the next day.
"This bird doesn't talk," she told the owner. "Does
it have a mirror in its cage?" "Parrots love mirrors.
They see their reflection and start a conversation."
The woman bought a mirror and left. The next day she returned;
the bird still wasn't talking. "How about a ladder? Parrots
love ladders. A happy parrot is a talkative parrot."
The woman bought a ladder and left. But the next day, she
was back. "Does your parrot have a swing? No? Well, that's
the problem. Once he starts swinging, he'll talk up a storm."
The woman reluctantly bought a swing and left. When she walked
into the store the next day, her countenance had changed.
"The parrot died." She said.
The petshop owner was shocked. "I'm so sorry. Tell me,
did he ever say a word? He asked. "Yes, right before
he died," the woman replied. "In a weak voice, he
asked me, 'don't they sell any food at that pet store?"
Many of us are like this lady who had a faulty focus and needed
to be refocused.
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