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“A
Young Man’s Drug Problem” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – February
25, 2018 Centenary United Methodist Church
Proverbs 3:1-10; Romans 3:1-3
Mediation for Cub Scout Sunday When I was a young boy about the age of some of you, my Grandpa
Stetler often took me freshwater fishing for trout and bass.
This was an activity that the two of us enjoyed doing together.
On one of our fishing trips, he stopped the car at an odd place
and the two of us walked into a wooded area without our fishing rods. Eventually we came to a marsh where we had to be careful where we
stepped. The ground was soft and
very mushy. We approached
an area where a small spring was literally bubbling out of the ground
sending a small stream away from its source.
He told me to go another fifteen feet down stream and jump over
the spring. I jumped over
it with ease. After I made my jump, the strange episode was over.
We walked back to the car and continued on our journey to one of
his favorite fishing spots.
He saw a look on my face that communicated, "What was the point of my
jumping over a small stream?"
He said: I know you are
wondering why I asked you to jump over the water flow of that spring.
One day I want you to be able to tell people that you literally jumped
over the
My father brought
me here when I was about your age. That
spring that you jumped over is the source of the mighty river that flows
past My grandfather went on to tell me that the For a river to grow, other small sources of water must empty into
it and soon that tiny stream becomes a brook.
As more brooks and springs flow into it, the brook becomes a more
swiftly flowing creek. Soon
the creek picks up a greater volume and becomes a small river.
Finally, a river the size of the Susquehanna had its source as a
spring. When the river
reaches its maturity, the Susquehanna is just about a mile wide at its
widest point. So, one of my
accomplishments in life was to jump over the My grandpa went on to tell me how it takes the help of a lot of others for each of us to open up our width and depth in order to create a life. He named many influential springs and streams that contributed to the rushing currents of his own life-energies. Eventually, until we reach a time when our living waters settle securely within the boundaries established by the river's banks, we become a mature adult. He said, the
first influences to the flow of your
growing stream
are the boundaries set by your parents.
He went on to mention quite a list of additional tributaries that
cause us to have an adventurous life.
He named our numerous teachers, our friends, and our
life-experiences. After he paused, he
went on to tell me about the influences on our lives that we create all
by ourselves.
He provided numerous examples of such highly personal sources
of growth. It is from these
sources that our size, strength and abilities have their origin.
Outside influences can only do so much toward our growth.
It is what we generate that creates the excitement and
fulfillment in who we become. He mentioned our responses to hurt feelings, our mistakes in
judgment, our needs, our choices, our desires, the aspects and qualities
of living that attract us, our imaginations, our dreams, our vision of
what we want to do to earn a living, and finally, finding within
ourselves the ability to create a life filled with happiness,
satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment.
From all of these, we develop
the spirit we want to display to everyone with whom we cross paths. His final comment on this subject was to tell me that the quality
of each of our lives is exactly what we decide it is. No one else can do
that for us. There is no one else we can blame.
We can stand on their shoulders to reach higher rungs on the
ladder, but each stretch to reach those rungs depends on our personal
thoughts and feelings. The attitudes that result from developing an inner harmony from
all of the influences from outside and inside of ourselves is what
creates a successful life that often can make a sizeable contribution to
our families, our business, and possibly to influence the world.
My granddad was one of my
tributaries to my river. You may have noticed the title of my
Pastor's Moment listed in our
bulletin this morning as, A Young
Man's Drug Problem. What a subject to discuss with a group of Cub
Scouts. However, as you will
soon hear, it is a perfect title for all the little influences that may
govern the flow of your lives as a result of the boundaries established
by your parents.
One day a young adult was looking into the rear-view mirror of
his life and reviewed in writing what had provided him a foundation for
his growing-up years. These
are some of his thoughts: I developed a drug
problem that started soon after I was potty-trained.
My parents drug me to a church nursery on Sunday mornings.
Later, they drug me to Sunday School. As I got older, they drug
me away from our television set and video games. They drug me into my
bedroom where my homework was waiting for my immediate attention. They
drug me away from using my cell phone and made me pay attention to what
they were saying to me in person. They drug me to the youth fellowship
meetings at our church on Sunday evenings.
My dad drug me into
Scouting so I would learn some of the life-skills from others with many
lessons from their life-experiences.
I was drug into the
kitchen where my mother made me learn how to cook, how to thicken gravy
by using corn starch or flour, how to roll out dough to make a pie, and
how to knead dough to make bread. She drug me to the dirty dinner dishes
that were waiting for my hands to enter the sudsy water to wash
them. She drug me to see all the
places where mom's tools were
kept. I was told that
everything must be returned to the same place where I found it.
She also drug me to
a needle and thread where I was made to sew a button on my shirt.
I was made to mend a hole in my pants pocket.
She said, 'One day
you may meet a girl that you want to have as your wife.
Suppose that she never had a drug problem like you and she never
developed the skills that are known by every successful
domestic engineer. Always
be prepared was a model that
I learned as a Scout.
I was drug outside
and made to pull weeds in mom's garden. I was drug to the homes of
seniors who were recovering from surgery to mow their grass without
being paid. I was drug on family vacations without my i-pad or cell
phone. I thought I would
lose my mind, but I didn't.
The inability to be in constant communication with my friends did not
bring an end to all my relationships.
These and many
other drugs are still flowing through my body and they became the
boundaries like those of the banks that kept a river flowing like it
should. My life's energetic currents continue to this day to flow within
many of those boundaries established by my parents.
They have molded my attitudes and behavior that have provided
most of the tools that I have
used during most days of my life.
I thank God
everyday for having parents who drugged me, my brother, and my twin
sisters. We all became addicted
to pursuing fulfilled lives that had meaning and purpose.
Plus, all of us became
drug dealers to our own children. CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER Creator of peace, wisdom, and compassion, we thank you for creating us
to soar beyond our known capabilities. Help us to understand that there
are no failures.
There are
only results that help us to walk through the doors of change. We know
the tension between having confidence to make a difference and the
hesitancy to act. Help us to use what we have learned to make our values
visible. We thank you for opportunities to seize every moment of life to
make a positive difference in the lives of others.
We know that one act of kindness turns into thousands over a
lifetime.
Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Loving and always faithful God, how
wonderful it is to gather in our house of worship, and, for a little
while, cleanse our minds and hearts of the distractions that so easily
block our sense of your presence.
We are particularly happy this morning
that many of the boys of our Cub Scout Pack could be with us along with
a number of their parents and leaders.
We are grateful for every teacher in our lives who knows the
wisdom of passing on character, life-skills, and attitudes that brighten
up the lives of our young people. There are so many distractions today
that are in competition for the attention of the young, impressionable
minds of our children.
Thank you for Scouting that is among the wholesome alternatives.
Every new day we are given the opportunity to create a newer version of ourselves. Please give us the vision, O God, to see ourselves as you see us and to build on that vision. One of the mysteries of living is that we never know who we are influencing by our thoughtful expressions of kindness. Help us to become an inspiration to others by our choices. We pray these thoughts through the spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught us to say when we pray . . . |