by Joe Kirkpatrick

My wife says if I were a child today, I would be diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder). My attention span is rather short, and when I am working at my business or at home, I always am doing several things at one time.  Years ago, a coworker was commenting about his pastor.  He said Brother Harold preaches the best 5 minute sermon I have ever heard - the only problem is, after he preaches it, he repeats it 5 or 6 more times, and by then, I don't remember what the first five minutes was even about.

My two favorite sermons were short - the first one lasted only 3 minutes.  Actually, it was probably much longer than that, but the part that mattered was that short.  What he said in the first three minutes was so profound, even I remembered it!  The first three minutes went something like this:  Danny was a robust young man - blonde headed, 32 years old, and in perfect health.  But as Danny and I talked that day, he and I both knew by that same time tomorrow, he would be dead and buried.  (long pause)  For 14 years earlier, in a drug haze, Danny had entered a bar to rob it, and ended up killing two people in cold blood.  For that, at 12:00 midnight that night, he would pay for the choice he made with his life in Georgia's electric chair.  Then, in a very loud dynamic voice, he said, "CHOICES -CHOICES-CHOICES!" (then about a 30 second pause - you could have heard a pin drop).  To be honest, I could not tell you what he said the next 30 or 40 minutes.  As I said before, I think he should have turned and walked off the platform after the first 3 minutes.

CHOICES - CHOICES-CHOICES  Most choices we will make in life probably won't make us end up in the electric chair - and probably won't even make us land in jail.  However, even seemingly minor choices can get us into deep consequences.  People sometime make choices based on emotions or impulses.  When I start to make a choice based on impulse or emotions, and not good reasoning, I always try to make myself stop and remember that preacher as he shouted out those words - CHOICES -CHOICES-CHOICES.

My second favorite sermon was not a sermon at all, and was not preached by a preacher.  I consider it a sermon of sorts since it was spoken from the pulpit in a church.  Some years ago, a woman from our church was caught embezzling a large amount of money from a local business.  She was arrested, and spent about six months in jail.  I heard people around town talking about how her punishment was not harsh enough, and even some people at church said the same thing.  One Sunday after she was released from jail, she asked the pastor if she could speak during a service.  She got up to the pulpit, said her name, said what she did, and further stated maybe she didn't get enough time.  She went on to say time isn't everything she lost - she lost her husband who was the love of her life, her children because they moved to another state with her ex-husband, her car, her home, her dignity, her self respect - she had lost virtually everything important to her.  She went on to say, when you go to jail, you really find out who your real friends are.  She named one woman from our church who was there virtually every single visitation while she was in jail.  But the most important thing she said was this:  The devil knows what our weaknesses are.  If he had put drugs, alcohol, or another man in front of her, there would have never been a problem.  However, she was placed in a situation where her weakness was, and she gave in.

I don't consider myself to be a bleeding heart by any means, but what she said that day was plain and simple, and most importantly, it was true.  We all have sin in our lives, and none of us are perfect.  A good minister friend of mine always says, "Christians are the only people in the world who shoot their wounded."  That woman's talk that day made me do a lot of soul searching and I still remember her talk as if I heard it yesterday.  Maybe next to John 3:16, our favorite scripture should be, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone."  I think if we all live by that, there sure wouldn't be many stones thrown!