When I was younger, I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents. You know how it is with Grandparents. They rarely say "no" and look for ways to spoil you. Growing up in Shawnee, Oklahoma, my Grandparents were small business owners of an auto parts store. This was before the chain auto parts stores, like Autozone and O'Reillys came to town. The store was right in the middle of downtown Shawnee and they offered delivery service in an old 1950 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup spray painted orange. They offered speedometer repair and, at one time, even sold radios. There were no computers to look up the part you needed...only a long row of parts catalogs. You could buy a Coke for a dime and peanuts or jellybeans for a penny. Of course, the real treat was to be able to buy a Coke and a handful of redskin peanuts to put in the bottle with the Coke. There was nothing like that taste anywhere else.
Their customers, both on the phone and in the store, were well taken care of and kept us busy because of it.
I remember the building so well, like I just walked through the door there yesterday….the smell, the layout, the massive storefront windows, the ringing of the old crank cash register, the massive safe, and where the parts were located on which aisle and which shelf. I can recall so may details about that store because there were a lot of great memories created there.
I usually spent the weekends with my Grandparents and since the store was open on Saturdays until noon, I went with them.
This particular Saturday, my Grandmother was somewhere else. I don't remember where, but she was not there. It was just my Grandfather, myself, and the customers. Sometimes I answered the phone "Hawk Auto Supply" and would hand it to my Grandfather unless he was busy. I always loved to do whatever he did, although it was many years later that I learned to look up parts for customers.
I was a very curious boy at six years old and always wanted to know how things worked. It wasn't enough for me to know that they existed. I wanted to know about the inside of them.
This particular Saturday, I was curious about what you could do with a paper clip if you bent it into different shapes and how it fit into different objects. My Grandfather was busy waiting on customer, so I began to explore with my paper clip.
I remember sitting on the floor, with the back of my Grandmother's desk on one side and a large display case on the other. I was out of view from my Grandfather, who was busy. I guess I was a little too quiet at the time because I remember my Grandfather suddenly asking me in the booming voice that only he had, "Mike! What are you doing?!!" I calmly replied, "Getting ready to put this paper clip in this electric thingy on the wall". His next words were more than just booming. They were sheer panic and anger, enough to put the fear of God in me. "Get away from there!!" he yelled. I could hear him running across the wooden floor as his steps got closer. I stopped what I was doing and turned around just in time to see his massive hand reach down to grab my arm. My Grandfather was a large man and it didn't take much to pick me up. "Get over there and sit down now!", he said. I did and I stayed there for the rest of the morning.
Even as adults, we sometimes make decisions based on curiosity or desire. We feel like we are wise enough to decide what makes us happy and what doesn't. And, even as adults, there are friends and family around us who see what is happening from a different perspective and try to warn us of something bad happening. "Why can't they just be happy for me?", we say. The answer is that they DO want you to be happy, but they see things that you may not see. They see things from their own experiences and want to stop you from getting hurt or "putting that paper clip into the outlet". And many times, the people who love you don't say anything because they feel like you won't listen anyway or that you will just get mad at them for not supporting you in what YOU want to do.
The Bible tells us how we should handle personal situations with the people we love. We are not supposed to just watch them do it and especially if their sin is going to cause them pain. Not only does their sin hurt them, but the Holy Spirit witnesses that sin and it can affect other people as well.
James 5:19-20
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
And, the Bible is also clear about what happens if we are warned and choose to continue in sin anyway. Those sins WILL be exposed by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:13
"But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them."
There is a way to speak to someone about their sins and the danger of continuing in them. But, sometimes, you just it takes a "What are you doing?!! Get over there and sit down!" to prevent us from something even worse.
higley rides again 