Jump to Conclusions

Franz's Symbol of Wisdom

I have been guilty of, and so are most folks, to jump to conclusions without knowing all the facts.

The truth is, if we listen to rumors and gossip we come to conclusions and may never know the real truth, or all the facts.

The sad thing about such a situation is that we build an opinion about a person. Opinions often become a picture of the other persons character and integrity; which is sad.

We all know once we judge, or conclude on a persons character, we as humans will hardly ever change our mind. As a fact, we look for the flaws we based our characterization on to verify our opinion of that person.

We have a saying in Germany: (I'm translating) "If a person has lied to you once, you will never initially believe in him again, even if he speaks the truth." 

This opinion forming starts as soon as we meet the person. It also works the same way as ones grandchildren grow and leave an impression on you.

We recently had some grandsons over. As the day concluded, I instructed one of the twelve year olds to bring the fishing poles into the basement and lock the door. Later that night I went to the basement to see if the the door was locked. Sure enough, the deadbolt was not engaged.

The next day I went out the basement door after I flipped the deadbolt open. I started to do some chores and needed a tool out of the basement. Oops. The deadbolt might have been open, but the door was locked!

My grandson did what I asked. He did lock the round doorknob from the inside. This type of locked knob does turn from the inside, but not from the outside.

I've got to admit, in my mind I labeled the boy a little aloof, not always listening, not doing what he was told.

The fact remains, had some one else gone out the basement door before I did, I would have never altered my opinion about the boy.

I was wrong by having judged to quickly.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"  Matthew 7:3  NIV

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America Is Good

When I think back to when I came here in 1955 my heart glows within me. Everything was so new, so different, so challenging. America lay before me like a picnic blanket full of good. 

When Jafar Musa came from Nigeria to stay with my son and his family to receive his schooling from Liberty Christian Academy, he also was overwhelmed by America.

He calls my daughter-in-law and my son "Mom and Dad." And their two daughters and son are his sisters and brother.

Jafar is 6'4" tall and is a super-quick forward on his school's basketball team. At only 17 years old, he is, you may say, still growing.

He felt like a king getting to play basketball on a hardwood floor. The best he ever played on was a concrete slab.

He has never had a white egg before. All he ever saw were brown ones. 

He never had peanut butter before in his life. (I can relate to that. I never had peanut butter either before I came here.)

He never had real coffee or tasted ketchup before.

The first words he uttered when he rode in a car in this country were, "smooth roads."

After he witnessed the fancy washing machine and dishwasher at my son's house he was amazed. So, when his new Mom asked him to wash the car, he sheepishly looked for a car-washing machine in the garage.

Can you imagine, Jafar had never tasted french fries before he came here!

Jafar's goal is to get a good education and hopefully receive a scholarship to play college basketball. That is the way he is able to stay in this country. He often quietly slips from family gatherings to study. He is on a mission to do well and not disappoint his new family and his own back in Nigeria. He is a gentle giant, and we all have grown to love him.

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AMERICA

We just came home from seeing the movie AMERICA. As an immigrant I could not help but cry on several points that were brought to light.

I've been here almost sixty years. In those years our country has changed. Has it changed for the better?

I'm not a scholar on history, but I've lived long enough to know that this country is dying. Not only is it dying spiritually but also in heart. So many folks are clueless about their own history. Clueless as what is going on, and what is pushed in the media, and in their schools and universities.

There is a pervasive underhandedness in our Government that Hitler would have been proud of. A slow dismantling of the free spirit so vital to the building of this country. This dumbing down, and the culture of dependency, is now after 50 years coming to fruition.

God has become Santa Clause. The worship of self is supreme. Freedom has become to mean free stuff. Capitalism is now a dirty word. Economics (not taught anywhere, except as an elective in college) is a non issue. Who needs economics when there is no downfall of spending more than you make. Why make a budget? Government is there to send you a check when you get in the hole. For that matter, why work at all? There are too many millionaire that need to cough up more.

Even my own family has no time for factual documentaries like the film "2016". Or the movie "The Last Once Of Courage". I will recommend to see the movie AMERICA. But, I know what I will hear, "No time, too busy, everything is fine."

Everything is not fine. We have been dumbed down for too long. Our last Great Hope is still alive. One country, under God, indivisible, with justice for all. . . Is it?

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