Timex watch takes a licking and keeps on ticking

The Old Watch Occasionally I find myself rummaging through some box of junk that I have collected for one reason or another. Like many of you, I tend to hang on to something thinking that I'll find a use for that someday. Usually that "someday" never comes, and eventually I find myself going through that same old box, filled with the same old junk, saying the same old thing: "I might find a use for that someday." I have a couple of boxes in my garage, along with an old fishing box, all of which are filled with nuts and bolts, screws, keys without padlocks, and padlocks that no longer have keys to fit them. When I purchase one of those pieces of furniture that "require assembly," I usually have a few pieces left over once I have completed the assembly; and once again I find myself thinking, "I might use these some day"; and into the box they go. From conversations with others I get the impression that I am not the only one that has this problem. I once had a Timex watch that eventually succumbed to the ravages of time and age. Contrary to the company's slogan, the watch that "takes a licking and keeps on ticking" finally gave up the ghost. I came across that old watch sometime back, and wondered why I had discarded it for a new one; and why I had stuck it into one of those junk boxes of things that I might find useful at a later date. It did not take me long to remember why I put that which was nigh unto vanishing away into an old box in my workshop in exchange for a new one at the local Walmart. I could not rely upon that old Timex watch. The problem was not that it never ran. It ran great - when it ran. But for some reason when the long hand approached the 12, it would stick. It never stuck in the same place either. Sometimes it was around the 10; at other times around the 11, or just shy of the 12. Sometimes it would stick for just a second or two; more often than not, however, it stuck for several minutes at a time. So over the course of just a few hours the watch would be so far off the correct time that it was, for all practical purposes, useless. I've known a lot of people that are like that old watch; they simple are not reliable. Unfortunately, every congregation has their fair share of these unreliable members. Oh, they run great when the hand is on the down side of 12, but when life becomes an uphill struggle to reach the high mark, they would get stuck, bogged down on first one thing and then another. When all is said and done, such brethren simply cannot be relied upon. Webster defines "reliable" as, "to rest with confidence, as when we are satisfied of the veracity, integrity, or ability of persons, or of the certainty of facts or of evidence; to trust with, on, or upon." David must have been acquainted with his fair share of people who were short on this important character trait. In the fifteenth Psalm he asked a question: "Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" (Psa. 15:1). The lukewarm and indifferent souls that crowd the highways and byways of life may not think the question all that important; but in the final analysis it is one of the more important questions a person might ask in his life time. Indeed, who shall enter into God's holy hill? Now listen to a portion of David's answer: "He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not" (Psa. 15:4b). Once a promise is made, even if circumstances do not turn out to be as ideal as we had expected, we are still obligated to follow through on our commitment. It has not been that long ago when a man's word was considered his bond. A handshake would seal the deal. There was no need to sign a contract, hire a lawyer, or draw up some legal document. God's word teaches us that when a man makes a promise, he must follow through on that promise, even if it is "to his own hurt." That, my friends, is what it means to be reliable. While we may not be shocked at the lack of dependability of those who are not members of the Lord's body, we are taken aback at the increasing number of Christians who make promises, but fail to fulfill them. Where is that once-faithful soul who swore allegiance to his or her Master but no longer attends faithfully? What has happened to that would-be Bible class teacher who once said, "I'll teach," only to be among the growing number of weak and insipid members who cannot be depended upon to be present for class, much less to teach one? Talent cards lay stacked in the church office, or entered into a computer. But when it comes time to pull names for service, like the nine ungrateful lepers, duty to one's Lord and Master has been relegated to the back burner, and trustworthiness has once again fallen upon hard times. John Gilbert Holland wrote a poem that touches on the precise point of this article. Here is a portion of his poem, "God, Give Us Men." GOD, give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office can not buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty, and in private thinking; For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps. We could as easily retitle that poem, "God, give us reliable men," could we not? It is not all that serious when a watch quits working. An unreliable watch can be easily replaced, thrown into a junk box, or placed in the recycle bin by the curb; but when a human being is unreliable it reflects upon his character, weakens society, and endangers his very soul. I threw that watch away that day. It was of no value to me whatsoever. On the judgment day, those who failed to follow through on their word will, like that old watch, be discarded by the Owner and Master of all mankind.  by Tom Wacaster