Part of this writing was written to my graduating class in 2000 just before our 40th class reunion. I have added some more recent thoughts and posted it to the internet.  

 

Sunday January 2, 2005

 

The new year has finally come and many are trying to determine what this years resolution is going to be. As I contemplate the question "What is my resolution for the new year" I have to consider what we learned in the past year. As I thought  I had to consider what Christ said to his disciples in Mark.

 

Mark 4:24 Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. (NKJ)

 

These words have profound implications to the parent, teacher, preacher or anyone who wishes to influence others. In short it says be careful what you learn and teach to others. In an earlier verse he said   Mark 4:11 And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, (NKJ) What he said was they were being entrusted with the knowledge he was about to impart to them. They were going to be stewards of that knowledge and would be accountable for it.

 

This past year with all the campaign propaganda with each politician trying to tell a more convincing lie or make a greater false accusation, promise or claim of personal accomplishment than his counterparts has to make you wonder, does knowledge and truth really mater? These politicians had been entrusted with intelligence reports. They had been in committee hearings and had been given a tremendous amount of knowledge but they were not very good stewards of that knowledge. Yet no one was accountable for what they had learned and no one was accountable for what they did with the knowledge.

 

Christ told his disciples they were being entrusted with knowledge, were going to be stewards of that knowledge and would be accountable for it.

 

It is a scary thing to know that to the degree that I "know" I am responsible as a steward for that knowledge.  When I consider the responsibility that parents, teachers, preachers or anyone who influences others have for the knowledge we impart to children, I have to wonder if we are demonstrating good stewardship of what we impart to them.

 

 Each generation should be smarter and to some degree wiser than the next because each generation has the benefit of the knowledge and experiences of the previous generation.

 

Charles Kingsley said: "Each man can learn something from his neighbor; at least, he can learn this — to have patience with his neighbor; to live and let live."  I believe every man can learn from his neighbor. I know that most of the things I have learned over the years have been, in some respect, from my neighbor.  I was taught how to spend time with God by Tom Heb, air conditioning by Dave Lane, cabinet making by Larry Paul, how to dance by Meldine and Lavern and how to love by my wife and kids. Wouldn't it be great if it could sometime be said that the class of 1960 from Lueders High contributed to end of violence in the schools. I think we know something about living that perhaps we learned from Shirley Jackson, Ms Daniel, John Hayton, Shelton, Varley and others that should be shared with the world. I know that between the years of then and now I have not lived a perfect life but I also know that my kids have become pretty good people. I hope to think my life, the influences from each of you and our teachers had something to do with the values my kids hold dear today. Someone once said "We are all a combination of the personalities of those we have come in contact with throughout our lives for better or worse." I thank God everyday because he gave me children who are better than I was when I was their age. I have never tried to mold my children into what I thought they should be but rather I have tried to equip them with the values, knowledge and advice to help them reach their individual maximum potential in character and profession. My youngest son is in college. He had to read The Color Purple and write a paper on it. The content of this book is a disgrace and the language is deplorable. There is however, some merit as to how not to treat your children. I feel the lessons the teacher is trying to convey could be done without the exposure to graphic pornography. I'm quite sure that this book is probably protected under the first amendment or considered artistic, classic literature or something. I have a different opinion. I maybe wrong but I can't imagine my daughter, Shirley Jackson, Ms. Daniel, or Mary Ann assigning this book to be read in an English class. I'm of the opinion that somewhere in the 60's our society began to disintegrate. Maybe because while the fathers were in the military, the moms had to work and the children were left with little or no character guidance at home coupled with the free spirit of the time produced a generation with low self esteem, little or no moral character and somewhat under the influence of drugs.

 

Today, as I thought about these things I remembered what Christ said to His disciple's. 

 

Luke 8:16-18 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.

"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light ."Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him." (NKJ)

 

These verses point out many things but I will concentrate on only three.

1.      Verses 16 & 17 point out how our lives or open books to the world. To be read and absorbed. It doesn't matter what our lives or like. The life stiles we live become a lamp of knowledge to those around us. Now the lamp can light the way to success or to destruction. It can improve the character of those we come in contact with or it can lead them a stray. It all depends on us.

2.      Verse 18 says take heed how you hear.  It is important that we know what Christ was saying here. He begins with a warning. Take heed or be careful….. Why would he use a warning in the middle of a phrase where he is giving a lesson to his disciples? I think he wanted to impress on his followers the importance of what we learn from and teach others. Look closely at the words He chose.

 

"HEED (TO GIVE, TO TAKE)

 

                1. blepo , "to look," see, usually implying more especially an intent, earnest contemplation, is rendered "take heed" in <Matt. 24:4; Mark 4:24; 13:5,9, 23,33; Luke 8:18; 21:8; 1 Cor. 3:10; 8:9; 10:12; Gal. 5:15; Col. 2:8> (KJV, "beware"); <4:17; Heb. 3:12>. See BEHOLD, BEWARE, LIE, LOOK, PERCEIVE, REGARD, SEE.

                2. horao , "to see," usually expressing the sense of vision, is rendered "take heed" in <Matt. 16:6; 18:10>, KJV (RV, "see"); <Mark 8:15; Luke 12:15; Acts 22:26> (KJV only). See BEHOLD, SEE.

                3. prosecho , lit., "to hold to," signifies "to turn to, turn one's attention to"; hence, "to give heed"; it is rendered "take heed" in <Matt. 6:1; Luke 17:3; 21:34; Acts 5:35; 20:28; 2 Pet. 1:19>; to give heed to, in <Acts 8:6, 10>; in <v. 11> (KJV, "had regard to"); <16:14> (KJV, "attended unto"); <1 Tim. 1:4; 4:1,13> (KJV, "give attendance to"); <Titus 1:14; Heb. 2:1>, lit., "to give heed more earnestly." See ATTEND, BEWARE, GIVE, REGARD.

                4. epecho , lit., "to hold upon," then, "to direct towards, to give attention to," is rendered "gave heed," in <Acts 3:5>; "take heed," in <1 Tim. 4:16>. See HOLD (forth), MARK, STAY.

                Notes: (1) In <Luke 11:35>, KJV, skopeo, "to look," is translated "take heed (that)," RV, "look (whether)." (2) Nos. 2 and 3 are used together in <Matt. 16:6>; Nos. 2 and 1, in that order, in <Mark 8:15>; but in <Luke 12:15> the RV rightly follows No. 2 by "keep yourselves from" (phulasso, "to guard"). (3) For the RV of <Mark 5:36>, "not heeding," see under HEAR, No. 7. (4) In <Rom. 11:21> the KJV adds "take heed," because of a variant reading which introduces the clause by a conjunctive phrase signifying "lest."

 

There is a lot in that little word when you look at from the way it is used.  Sometimes we look but do not analyze what we are absorbing. If we analyze it then we have the opportunity to retain or discard the information. Here I think He is telling his follower's be careful lest you absorb or learn the wrong information. There is a saying in the computer industry, "garbage in garbage out". The computer can only give us the results we want if it is supplied with the correct information. People are the same if we give or take bad information the results will be bad.

 

3. Lets look at the last word here.   akouo-

 

1) to be endowed with the faculty of hearing (not be deaf)

2) to hear:

a) to attend to, to consider what is or has been said

b) to understand, to perceive the sense of what is said

3) to hear something:

a) to perceive by the ear what is announced in one's presence

b) to get by hearing, to learn

c) a thing that comes to one's ears, to find out, to learn

e) to give ear to a teaching or a teacher

f) to comprehend, to understand

 

There is little I can add to the definition above but as you can see the word had far more significance than just "to hear". It carried with it learning and teaching. I think He was telling His listeners to be very careful what you learn from others and what you teach to others. Some of you may know that I always wear an old fashioned straw hat. Well, I do so far several reasons. One it gives me special identity. He is the one with the big straw hat. Everyone knows that's Chuck Thomas. Secondly it helps me stay in reality.  My kids and wife say no one in their right mind would be seen in public in some of my hats. My concept of reality and someone else's may differ.  I think reality is me being the person I should be to society and me accomplishing my goals as defined by me in conjunction with acceptable practices in a civilized Judeo Christian society with no necessity to compete with the Smith and Jones.  I am basically entrepreneurial and optimistic in spirit. My wife on the other hand is conservative. I say she is too pessimistic she says I am too optimistic. Somewhere in the middle is probably more correct. I don't want to lose the values I remember from my youth in dear old Lueders High. Now I'm not referring to the nights in Anson Park with Bill Zips and the dirty dozen. The reality of that however, is the dirty dozen was not dirty at all. We were 12 good kids dancing laughing and having good clean fun. There were times I'm sure when good clean may have been in question by observers.  I remember Norita's Henry J driving the streets of Lueders. By and large we were busy having wholesome fun, dancing on the tennis court and the bridge. No drive by shootings, no drugs alcohol maybe, no graffiti, no destruction.  So what happened to Lueders -- and to so much of America? Where did it go? How did it change? How do we get it back?  Did we somehow do this or did we just sit back and let it happen? Christ said in verse 18 "For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him". Someone has said "we must use what we have or lose it".  Is this what has happened?    We did not give our values and experiences to society so those values are being lost. I really don't think the problem is that simple nor do I think the solution will be that simple. I do feel that society must begin to change and regain some of what has been lost. I think the only way to change our society is to begin with individuals. Change one individual at a time.  So let's do some math here. The class of 1960 consisted of 12 people.  Not very many but then Christ only had 12 disciples and look what they have done. If each of us influence change in 1 individual and he or she influences change in 1 then we have 36. What if we influence change in 10 and that 10 influence change in 10 then we have 12000. That is more than the number of residents the internet says lives in Lueders, Nugent, Avoca, Anson and Stamford combined.

 

Forty years ago we left Lueders High School, where have we been, what have we done? I will bet there is a wealth of experiences and knowledge that this one small class could share with the world for the better. I will bet you all would surprise yourselves with what you know.  I look forward to setting down with you and HEARING about where you have been and what you have done.

 

Be in touch

 

 

Chuck (Doug ) Thomas