LESSONS FROM NEWS ITEMS

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. We often hear of things from the news media which are
      interesting and humorous.
      1. Paul Harvey over the years has always been one of the best
         in bringing such news items.
      2. Let's look at various interesting and humorous stories and
         draw some Biblical applications regarding them.
      3. All of these I have obtained off the Internet.

I. We will title this first one, "Having his cake and eating it too."

A man in Charlotte, North Carolina purchased a case of rare, very
expensive cigars and insured them against.... get this.... fire!
Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of cigars, and
having yet to make a single premium payment on the policy, the man
filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the man
stated that he had lost the cigars in "a series of small fires." The
insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason that the
man had consumed the cigars in a normal fashion. The man sued,
though, and won! 

In delivering his ruling, the judge stated that since the man held a
policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars
were insurable, and also guaranteed that it would insure the cigars
against fire without defining what it considered to be "unacceptable
fire," it was obligated to compensate the insured for his loss.
Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance
company accepted the judge's ruling and paid the man $15,000 for the
rare cigars he lost in "the fires." 

After the man cashed his check, however, the insurance company had
him arrested....on 24 counts of arson! With his own insurance claim
and testimony from the previous case being used as evidence against
him, the man was convicted of intentionally burning the rare cigars
and sentenced to 24 consecutive one year terms!

   A. This news item is evidence of a evil society today that wants
      something for nothing and will go to any means to get it.
      1. There are many in our society who are quick to take
         advantage of any situation in order to gain money.
      2. Not only do they do it with insurance companies, but the one
         organization that is swindled the most is our own federal
         government. The news media has been running the "fleecing
         of America," which shows how the tax payers are being
         fleeced in many different ways.
         a. Nearly every plan government has ever devised, the wise
            and shrewd have taken advantage of it to make money.
   B. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not steal." Ex. 20:15; Eph. 4:28
      1. We should never take advantage of a situation to obtain
         some "unfair gain," even though it might be legal.

II. Couldn't keep his mouth shut.

As Terry Mikel was speeding toward Tucson, he passed a car, an
unmarked Arizona Highway Patrol car. The officer pulled Terry over.
When Terry explained that he was late for a class he was teaching at
the University of Arizona, the officer took pity on him and let him
off with a warning. Before he went back to his car he said, "Slow
down and drive safe."

Terry felt obligated to correct him. "Excuse me, Sir," but it should
be "Slow down and drive safely." You said, "Drive safe." It should be
"Drive safely." 

The officer decided that since the speeder was in the business of
correcting everyone, he needed to be corrected himself. So, he
changed his mind, and gave him the ticket after all.

   A. Even though we laugh at the man who "couldn't keep his mouth
      shut," how often are we guilty of the same?
      1. Looking back, often we know we shouldn't have said a
         word, but at the time, we felt so compelled to speak.
      2. Maybe we didn't get a ticket as a result, but we've done
         something just as foolish, haven't we?
      3. James 3:2, 6-8
         a. As hard as it is to control our tongues, it is essential 
            that we as Christians strive to do so. Prov. 13:3
         b. God has placed before us a great challenge - "Control
            our tongues."

III. Murmuring and Complaining.

Two men struck up a conversation. One began reciting various family
problems he was having. The other replied, "You think you have family
problems. Listen to my situation: A few years ago I met a young widow
with a grown-up daughter and we got married. Later, my father married
my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter my stepmother and my
father became my stepson. Also, my wife became the mother-in-law of
her father-in-law. Then the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a
son. The boy was my half-brother because he was my father's son, but
he was also the son of my wife's daughter, which made him my wife's
grandson. That made me the grandfather of my half-brother. This was
nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the sister of my son, my
mother-in-law, is also the grandmother. This makes my father the
brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father's wife. I
am my stepmother's brother-in-law, my wife is her own child's aunt,
my son is my father's nephew and I am my own grandfather, and you
thought you had family problems!"

   A. If you analyze all of the above carefully, you will see that   
      they are all true.
      1. I drew all of these out on paper and, as I said, found all  
         of them to be true.
      2. He is his own grandfather on the "step" side of the family. 
         He became the step-son of his step-daughter when his father
         married her. In his position as a step-son, who is his
         sept-grandmother? It is his own wife, and since he is       
         married to her, he himself is the grandfather of his        
         step-daughter's step-son who is none other than himself.
   B. The point from all this is that we often think we have
      complications and problems worse than anyone else in the world.
      1. Brethren, let us learn not to murmur and complain. Phil.    
         2:14
      2. There were no great complainers that the Israelites of old.
         a. Instead of murmuring, they needed to consider how
            richly they had been blessed.
         b. We are taught to not follow their example. 1 Cor.
            10:10-11
      3. There is an old saying which states, "We shouldn't complain
         about our woes to others because 90% of them don't care,
         and the other 10% are glad that we have them!"

IV. Hiding and covering our mistakes.

A carpet-layer had worked an hour past the time he was supposed to be
home. As he was picking up his tools, he noticed a lump underneath
the carpet. He felt his shirt pocket for his cigarettes (which he
shouldn't have had anyway), and sure enough, they were gone.
Unwilling to spend any more time on this job, he took his hammer and
tapped down the lump until it was smooth. He gathered up his tools
and headed for the truck. As he opened the cab door, two things
happened simultaneously. He noticed his cigarettes on the front
seat and heard the lady of the house call out, "Have you seen my
parakeet?"

   A. It is only human nature for us to want to hide our sins.
      1. Our early parents, after they had sinned, tried to hide from
         God. Gen. 3:8
      2. Remember the great king David. His murder of Uriah the
         Hittite was an effort to hide his sin.
      3. Some, on a daily basis, try to hide their wickedness. Matt.
         23:25-27
   B. We might succeed in hiding our sins from other people, but God
      knows.
      1. He's the one we need to be concerned about.
      2. The one who confesses his sins and forsakes them with have
         the mercy of God. Prov. 28:13

V. Nearly Every worthwhile endeavor has been criticized.

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously
considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of
no value to us." - Western Union internal memo, 1876. 

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." - Charles H.
Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899. 

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would
pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" - David Sarnoff's
associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in
the 1920's.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." - Thomas
Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." - Popular
Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949.

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked
with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a
fad that won't last out the year." - The editor in charge of business
books for Prentice Hall, 1957.

"But what ... is it good for?" - Engineer at the Advanced Computing
Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip. 

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment
Corp., 1977 .

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981.

   A. The lesson from this is that nearly every worthwhile endeavor,
      and nearly every worthy worthwhile invention, has been         
      criticized at first by someone.
      1. Christians will nearly always be criticized for trying to
         correct some problem or for starting some new good work.
      2. Christians must stay on course in spite of criticism. Learn
         what's right and do it, regardless of the consequences.
      3. No one was ever criticized more than was our Lord, and
         when we follow in His steps, so will we be criticized.
   B. It's amazing that many worthwhile achievements came from the
      people who opposed them at first.
      1. Any of us can be wrong on something, but when the
         evidence shows otherwise we need to change and support
         the worthwhile endeavor wholeheartedly.
      2. All of us should be easily entreated and admonished. James
         3:17; Eccl. 4:13

Concl.
   A. Thus, a few lessons drawn from interesting and unusual news
      items.
   B. The sin of Eve was that she heard a lie, believed a lie, and   
      acted upon a lie.
      1. She was disobedient (in eating the forbidden fruit) only    
         when she acted upon what she believed.
   C. To become a Christian, one must hear the truth, believe the    
      truth, and act upon the truth.
      1. One is obedient (becomes a Christian) only when he acts
         upon the truth which he has believed.
      2. Will you not obey the truth today?