In the Prohibition days, “revenuers” would go out into the mountains looking for illegal moonshine stills. One such revenuer was trying to track down a particularly well-known moonshiner. He came to the house where he thought the man lived. Outside the house there was a young boy clothed rather raggedly and sitting in a tree.
“Hey there, young fella,” the revenuer said from a distance.
“Who you and what you want?” replied the boy.
“I am looking for a man named John Smith. Do you know him?”
“Yessir, I do. That’d be my grandpappy.”
“Is he at home?”
“No sir.”
“Could you tell me where I could find him?”
“Well, sir, he’d be down at the still about now.”
“Could you give me directions to where that is?”
“Yessir, for five dollars I could.”
“OK, son, I can do that. Tell me where to find him.”
“First you pay me the five dollars.”
“Now, son. The way it works is that you tell me how to find him, and if he’s there, then I’ll come back and pay you the five dollars. Is that a deal?”
“No, sir, that won’t work. The five dollars first.”
“No, son, first I go find him and then I come back and pay you.”
“The five dollars is first, Mister, ‘cause you ain’t coming back.”
I heard that story from the wonderful Nell Mohney, author, speaker, and newspaper columnist, whose husband Dr. Ralph Mohney was the long-time pastor of First Centenary United Methodist Church in Chattanooga. She was a treasure who inspired many.
Here is my application of Today’s Word … There are some sure things about sins. They have consequences. There are certain decisions we make such that if we go down that road, we will not be coming back to the way things were. Fortunately, if we are in right relationship with God, we can be forgiven. But the blessing of being forgiven will not undo the consequences we caused regarding our own future nor the damage caused in the lives of others.
Often, we find that our foolish desires may have a temporary benefit, but afterward a great cost. It can be said of the temptation to sin, that it will “take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay!” Let’s help each other not to go down those roads from which there is a great cost and no coming back to the way things were.
Blessings,
Chaplain Mark
This was forwarded to me. I’d like to get this devotion daily. How can I do that? I sing and play bells with your sister.