DON'T BE A SCARECROW!

(New One A Days are added daily)

A farmer hated all the wild critters that were constantly eating and destroying his crops so he worked diligently at scaring them away. He built big, menacing scarecrows that clanged loudly and flapped bright, tattered rags in the breeze. His labors were such a complete success that soon no animal or bird came within miles of his fields. His harvest grew large, beyond his wildest dreams.

Then one day, he began to feel terribly depressed. And finally he realized why.
It was too quiet: no cheerful singing and twittering of birds, no scurrying sounds of animals moving around or chattering back and forth. No creature sounds at all.
He was alone and therefore very lonely.

So he took away all the clanging, flapping scarecrows. But nothing changed. He even stood out in the middle of his field with arms outstretched, inviting all the animals and the birds to return. He did this for days and still nothing happened.
You see, he had so successfully scared them away for so long they did not trust his change in attitude.

This is how it may be for you if you decide to change, to become more loving, more patient than you have ever been before. If you have been for a long, long time the kind of person who has scared others away because of your temper, or your lack of honesty, or your rudeness, or unconcern, then don’t be surprised if many are not sure they can trust you.

If you have built in them a backlog of resentment, it may be too much to expect everyone to IMMEDIATELY react positively to the new you you have decided to become. You have a reputation to live down. You have frightened family, and friends and even strangers away and they have to learn to be comfortable with the you who is now none of these things. Fact of the matter is, you have to get used to the new you yourself.

So be patient, be kind, be loving, be honest, be true to your new value system…and eventually the world will beat a path to your door. They really will. Because the world so wants and needs more loving, caring, compassionate, patient, decent, honest people.

There are too many scarecrows out there selfishly frightening and frustrating the world so don’t be another one of them.

Live the 13th chapter of First Corinthians. Wear it on your sleeve and in your heart. Love the unlovely, bury prejudice at the gateway to hell with a note that reads, It’s all yours, devil, I don’t need or want it anymore.
Put away all that has been in you that has not been of Christ and His teaching. Put away all that has made you a scarecrow standing in the middle of your life driving people away.

Do this, pray a follow-through prayer to love more and show it. And if you still scare some away, it will then be because of the heavenly, unearthly love you have begun to practice and not the lack of it.

Do this and soon you will no longer be like the farmer in the field, lonely and afraid. You will have taken Jesus at His word and traded in the uniform of a scarecrow for the uniform of a disciple.

“Live in harmony with one another” Romans 12:16

Consider visiting my other blog “Wyrick’s Writings” at
http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/