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The preacher from the local Baptist church found himself in need of a lawnmower. Not wanting to invest too much money, he made the rounds at the neighborhood yard sales hoping to find a deal.
What he found was a little boy who taught him a lesson.
At the second yard sale he visited, he found Timmy – the real-life version of Dennis the Menace if there ever was one – manning a table of trinkets and treasures. More importantly, there was a push lawnmower sitting directly behind him.
“Does that mower work, son?” asked the preacher.
Timmy sat up quickly, “It sure does, preacher! You just gotta pull on the cord real hard, though.”
The trusting pastor gave the boy his asking price and then loaded up the mower into the back of his truck. When he got home, the preacher eagerly unloaded it and prepared to mow his grass. After checking the oil and topping off the gas tank, the pastor reached down – and remembering the little boy’s advice – gave the cord a good, strong pull.
The mower coughed a little, but didn’t start. The preacher got a tighter grip on the cord, and yanked even harder…but wound up with the same result. The man of God continued pulling the cord for several more minutes without any success, so he loaded his mower back into his truck, and returned to Timmy’s house.
“You said this mower would work if I pulled on the cord hard enough,” said the pastor with a hint of accusation in his voice.
“It does, preacher. It does. But, sometimes, you gotta cuss it, too.”
The preacher was aghast. “Timmy, you know I’m a pastor. Why, I haven’t cussed in years!”
“Well, you just keep yanking on that cord, preacher. It’ll come back to ya.”
It’s a funny little story, but it has a lesson that rings truer than any of us would wish. If we’re willing to let it, sin will always creep back into our lives.
Don’t let it!
Topics Illustrated Include:
Baptist
Boys
Broken
Cussin
Habits
Preacher
Sin
Sinful Nature
Swearing
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
