Serving the Community Since 1989 |
|
This week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage approached me with a serious question.
As far as I am concerned, life is full of questions, but coming from her, I need to be very careful. I have found out that a question with her is not merely a question. It can be a whole lot more than that with multiple layers. If I do not understand her question, my answer is going to get me into trouble. Believe me; I know what trouble is all about. However, the question posed to me by the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was, “Are you on Santa’s naughty or nice list this year?” Precisely, what does it mean to be naughty from Santa's point of view? For a moment, the temptation danced in my mind to ask my wife about this, but I was sure if I did, she would tell me and tell me more than I actually wanted to know. The thing I try to fi gure out is, how do I get on his nice list? Is there something I can do to get off the naughty list? I am open to all kinds of suggestions here. I must confess there are times when I lean toward the naughty. I hope Santa never sees me in that stage of my life. More importantly, I hope my wife never sees me at that stage. y wife never sees me at that stage. Naughty, for me, is doing something behind my wife's back. For instance: eating an Apple Fritter is best done behind my wife's back. If she sees me eating an Apple Fritter, she will remind me that it is not on my diet. When she says, "my diet," she is referring to her diet imposed upon me. If you look at my diet, it includes Apple Fritters and a whole lot more not on hers. Personally, I do not consider it naughty to eat according to my diet. I do not know of anything nicer than sitting down with a nice hot cup of coffee and a fresh Apple Fritter. Then, it is a lot nicer when I am not caught. Personally, I do not consider it naughty to eat according to my diet. I do not know of anything nicer than sitting down with a nice hot cup of coffee and a fresh Apple Fritter. Then, it is a lot nicer when I am not caught. As to the question, am I on Santa's naughty or nice list, I am not quite sure. All year long, I tried to stay out of the naughty and focus on the nice. I must confess it is difficult trying to focus on being nice when naughty comes so much easier. So, to answer my wife's question, I simply said, "I believe I'm on his nice list this year." She simply looked at me with one of “those looks” and I knew that her belief and my belief were on different pages. I thought about what I read in the Bible a couple of days ago. Something King Solomon said. "That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous” (Proverbs 2:20). naughty or nice or if I’m on Santa’s list. The important thing is to surround myself with “good men.” The companions I keep are the ones that will help me walk in the path of righteousness. [Dr. James L. Snyder is the pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866- 552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site is www. jamessnyderministries.com. |
|
