An Ethics Primer
By Foy Valentine
A friend of mine once asked M.E. Dodd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana, "Dr. Dodd, what is the secret of your great success?" Now, I am told, Dr. Dodd was not a personage burdened with false modesty. He clearly did not find the question inappropriate or the questioner undiscerning. On the contrary he responded with a ready answer: "I prepare my sermons; I never touch the money; and I shake hands with all the women."
That may be the best course outline for a lesson on Christian ethics that I have ever seen or heard about.
Think about it.
"I prepare my sermons." What he was saying I think was: I take my work seriously; I do what I am paid to do; I honor my calling; I recognize my obligation to feed the flock; I refuse to be unprepared; I will not stand in the pulpit and bore the members with vain prattle; I studiously avoid tired cliches." By taking this primary work responsibility seriously, the preacher was avoiding the proverbial church member`s gentle put-down who observed
My pastor`s eyes, I`ve never seen
Though light from them may shine,
For when he prays, he closes his
And when he preaches, mine.
Every human being is created to be homo faber, man the fabricator, man the maker, man the worker. Most of our lives are spent working. It behooves us to prepare for our work carefully, to do our work responsibly, and to improve our work performance conscientiously.
One day before he died, Renoir, with his paint brush strapped to his very badly crippled fingers, said, "I think I am beginning to learn how to paint anemones." And on his deathbed Michaelangelo told Cardinal Salivati, "I regret that I die just as I am beginning to learn the alphabet of my profession." Since M.E. Dodd thought he was called by God to preach the gospel, he rightly perceived that he was obligated to prepare his sermons. Whatever our work may be, if it is honorable work and if it helps others and honors God, then it should be done "as unto the Lord." So, whether it is teaching, farming, ranching, counseling, laying bricks, typing, sweeping the streets, washing the dishes, or preaching, "prepare your sermons."
"I never touch the money." What Dr. Dodd meant by this, I feel sure, was that he understood that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. He did not want to compromise his life or work with mammon`s blandishments. Money can be seductive. A little of it is needed. A lot of it can lead to big trouble. It is a useful servant but an awful master. The acquisition of it can be addictive. By not cozying up to it, Dr. Dodd no doubt hoped to stay out of harm`s way regarding what he would have known to be one of the most lethal weapons in Satan`s arsenal.
Milton says that before Lucifer was cast out of heaven, he walked always with his head down, unable to take his eyes off the streets of gold.
Have you heard of the preacher, called to two different churches on the same day? Unable to decide between the two, he went to his old father in the ministry saying, "What do do? I just want to be where God is." "That`s easy," said the old man, "Go where the money is. God is everywhere."
Paul said, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." Jesus said, "Don`t be anxious about tomorrow." God knows our needs and will supply them out of his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. So….
"Don`t touch the money."
"I shake hands with all the women," Dr. Dodd said. He meant, I should think, that he took with utmost seriousness matters related to sex, sexuality, gender, and his deportment in relationship to "members of the opposite sex." Well he should have. And well we should.
My neighbor at Red River, New Mexico hunts trophy elk with a bow and arrow. He got the best one of his life not long ago with an appeal to the old bull`s excessively horny sexuality. When my neighbor shot his arrow, after patiently calling the rutting old conquistador up quite close to him, the arrow was deflected by a twig and totally missed the giant elk. While the old bull warily assessed the situation, looking all around and trying to figure out what was going on, my friend put another arrow in place and again started the siren call to draw his victim yet a few steps closer to him. Again, with his nostrils flared, the old bull stepped forward, this time close enough to receive the hunter`s arrow in his very heart. I have not the heart to count the friends who have, with hormone-driven abandon and similarly flared nostrils, stepped witlessly into the line of destruction.
Adultery is wrong for many reasons. It violates God`s immutable law. It destroys trust. It shatters covenant. It betrays confidence. It wounds genius. It crushes hope. It closes doors. It ruins careers. It hurts everybody it touches. (If you want more lurid details, you`ll have to turn to the mass media.)
Indeed, sex, love, marriage, children, and family are major components of our lives.
S-o-o-o-o. Shake hands with all the women.
What to do?
Prepare your sermons.
Never touch the money.
Shake hands with all the women.
A friend of mine once asked M.E. Dodd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana, "Dr. Dodd, what is the secret of your great success?" Now, I am told, Dr. Dodd was not a personage burdened with false modesty. He clearly did not find the question inappropriate or the questioner undiscerning. On the contrary he responded with a ready answer: "I prepare my sermons; I never touch the money; and I shake hands with all the women."
That may be the best course outline for a lesson on Christian ethics that I have ever seen or heard about.
Think about it.
"I prepare my sermons." What he was saying I think was: I take my work seriously; I do what I am paid to do; I honor my calling; I recognize my obligation to feed the flock; I refuse to be unprepared; I will not stand in the pulpit and bore the members with vain prattle; I studiously avoid tired cliches." By taking this primary work responsibility seriously, the preacher was avoiding the proverbial church member`s gentle put-down who observed
My pastor`s eyes, I`ve never seen
Though light from them may shine,
For when he prays, he closes his
And when he preaches, mine.
Every human being is created to be homo faber, man the fabricator, man the maker, man the worker. Most of our lives are spent working. It behooves us to prepare for our work carefully, to do our work responsibly, and to improve our work performance conscientiously.
One day before he died, Renoir, with his paint brush strapped to his very badly crippled fingers, said, "I think I am beginning to learn how to paint anemones." And on his deathbed Michaelangelo told Cardinal Salivati, "I regret that I die just as I am beginning to learn the alphabet of my profession." Since M.E. Dodd thought he was called by God to preach the gospel, he rightly perceived that he was obligated to prepare his sermons. Whatever our work may be, if it is honorable work and if it helps others and honors God, then it should be done "as unto the Lord." So, whether it is teaching, farming, ranching, counseling, laying bricks, typing, sweeping the streets, washing the dishes, or preaching, "prepare your sermons."
"I never touch the money." What Dr. Dodd meant by this, I feel sure, was that he understood that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. He did not want to compromise his life or work with mammon`s blandishments. Money can be seductive. A little of it is needed. A lot of it can lead to big trouble. It is a useful servant but an awful master. The acquisition of it can be addictive. By not cozying up to it, Dr. Dodd no doubt hoped to stay out of harm`s way regarding what he would have known to be one of the most lethal weapons in Satan`s arsenal.
Milton says that before Lucifer was cast out of heaven, he walked always with his head down, unable to take his eyes off the streets of gold.
Have you heard of the preacher, called to two different churches on the same day? Unable to decide between the two, he went to his old father in the ministry saying, "What do do? I just want to be where God is." "That`s easy," said the old man, "Go where the money is. God is everywhere."
Paul said, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." Jesus said, "Don`t be anxious about tomorrow." God knows our needs and will supply them out of his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. So….
"Don`t touch the money."
"I shake hands with all the women," Dr. Dodd said. He meant, I should think, that he took with utmost seriousness matters related to sex, sexuality, gender, and his deportment in relationship to "members of the opposite sex." Well he should have. And well we should.
My neighbor at Red River, New Mexico hunts trophy elk with a bow and arrow. He got the best one of his life not long ago with an appeal to the old bull`s excessively horny sexuality. When my neighbor shot his arrow, after patiently calling the rutting old conquistador up quite close to him, the arrow was deflected by a twig and totally missed the giant elk. While the old bull warily assessed the situation, looking all around and trying to figure out what was going on, my friend put another arrow in place and again started the siren call to draw his victim yet a few steps closer to him. Again, with his nostrils flared, the old bull stepped forward, this time close enough to receive the hunter`s arrow in his very heart. I have not the heart to count the friends who have, with hormone-driven abandon and similarly flared nostrils, stepped witlessly into the line of destruction.
Adultery is wrong for many reasons. It violates God`s immutable law. It destroys trust. It shatters covenant. It betrays confidence. It wounds genius. It crushes hope. It closes doors. It ruins careers. It hurts everybody it touches. (If you want more lurid details, you`ll have to turn to the mass media.)
Indeed, sex, love, marriage, children, and family are major components of our lives.
S-o-o-o-o. Shake hands with all the women.
What to do?
Prepare your sermons.
Never touch the money.
Shake hands with all the women.
