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Gather Round one and all. It's time
for
RULE BOOK TALK
with Brother Ted Pressley
Rules and Regulations
Rules and regulations! These two
items are major areas of our lives.
Without them we would have havoc and
folks would begin to do their own
thing with no regard to others. In
other words, we would become a
dog-eat-dog world, with total
confusion and frustration.
We
all know the importance of rules and
regulations in the different areas
of our livestock industry. In
rodeo, consider the rule that a
bareback rider must mark his horse
out (spur him over the shoulders) or
he can get a “0” or a no ride. He
can make the most beautiful ride
ever, but if he didn’t mark the
horse out (as the rules state) then
he gets nothing. In a reining horse
competition, if a rider makes a
Number Two pattern and the Number
One pattern is designated, for that
class, even though he does a Number
Two pattern perfectly, the rules say
he is disqualified.
Then there is the cattle rancher who
runs more cattle than the government
rules allow on his BLM permit. He
is dealt with harshly for breaking
the rules and regulations. All of
these rules and regulations are
basic but real in our industry, but
I would like to share a rule that is
so basic and yet so overlooked that
many folks pay an extremely high
price for lack of its use.
This rule is called “The Golden
Rule” and it can be found in Luke
6:31 quoted from the New
International Version Bible, “Do
to others as you would have them do
to you.” It’s a simple basic
rule but oh so great. I was
counseling with a lady a while back
and she seemed to think that it was
okay for her to date and go out to
dinner with other men (nothing more
than just fellowship) and yet she
was seriously contemplating marriage
to this other fellow (who was off on
a job in another state). She was a
true Christian, meant no harm, and
did nothing wrong—just fellowship.
I asked her a question. “How would
you feel if the man you hope to
marry would go out with another
woman just for fellowship?” That
did it, she said, “I wouldn’t like
it at all.” I then quoted the
Golden Rule, “Do unto others as
you would have them do to you.”
This rule holds true in love
relationships, business and
spiritual situations.
I
just returned from a preaching trip
to Idaho and Oregon in the big ranch
country where I met a ranch owner
who was prosperous, even though all
the outfits around that area seemed
to be having real problems. I began
to talk to this fellow to find out
why his outfit prospered while
others around him didn’t. One
thought continually surfaced, “He
did to others as he wanted them to
do to him.” His ranch hands and
their wives were all happy;
therefore they worked like the place
belonged to them. Folks told me he
was the first ranch to offer help
when there was trouble on another
outfit, or even in the little town
nearby. He gave all his hands time
to go worship the Lord, and he even
preached some when there was no
preacher in the little church. He
always paid his men a decent salary,
and paid his bills on time. He was
known for being fair to his hands
and in dealing with others. These
things I found out from the large
cross-section of people at the
meeting, and you know, they
volunteered the information. It was
like they all were proud to know
this man. These are the rules and
regulations this man based his
accomplishments on, “Do to others
as you would have them do to you.”
(NIV)
Last but certainly not least is the
spiritual aspect of the Golden
Rule. John 3:16, “For God so
loved the world that He gave His one
and only Son that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish but have
eternal life.” Yes, God first
gave His life through His son that
we might have eternal life. As for
those who are saved, why not start
giving Jesus away to others? Isn’t
that what you would have them do to
you is you were out of fellowship or
in spiritual need?
All
of our lives operate around rules
and regulations. Why not operate in
the Golden Rule? The only thing
that could happen is that you gain
mentally, physically, and
spiritually and that’s not bad wages
for keeping one rule.
For more information, materials, or
a free subscription to
The Christian Ranchman call, write
or email:
Cowboys for Christ
PO BOX 7557
Fort Worth, Texas 76111
(817) 236-0023
email:
cwb4christ@cowboysforchrist.net
website: www.cowboysforchrist.net |
