Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: Galatians 6:7

10, 2 and 4 — August 5, 2025

10, 2 and 4

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Sometimes we are happily able to avoid the consequences of our choices. 

When I first came to Texas, I met their patron saint of soft drinks – Dr. Pepper.  I was fascinated by the tiny bottles – each one largely stamped with 10, 2 and 4.  The advertising advocated a Dr. Pepper break for Texans at 10 am, 2 and 4 pm.   Some regarded it as the daily prescribed dosage. 

I provided support for the senior most member in the family of print shop owners.  He was a lovely Christian man.  I would chauffeur him around town while he made his sales calls.  The first time in the car each morning, he would abruptly launch into a safety prayer (He had seen me drive before).

Each afternoon, I was expected to clean his office.  I am not exaggerating when I say that I found 8-10 of those empty Dr. Pepper bottles there.  Every work day!

Didn’t he know that consuming sugary, carbonated soft drinks poses health risks like weight gain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cavities. Some studies connect them with the increased risk of premature death.

But the man was drinking 60 ounces of Dr. Pepper each day.  And yet, he was pushing ninety at that time, still working every day, slim and trim, fantastic health – even had good teeth.  So, I’m no dummy.  I began my own 10, 2 and 4 regimen  (though it has not worked out as well for me).

Sometimes we are able to avoid the consequences of our choices but that may not be such a good thing.

Do you know that nearly half of all murder cases in the U.S. go unsolved.  Only 1 out of every 2 murderers ever face justice. 

Retailers catch shoplifters approximately 2% of the time.  There are some cities in the U.S. that no longer even prosecute the crime.  Analysts estimate that total retail theft losses are expected to hit around $115 billion by the end of 2025.

Here is something closer to home.  9 out of 10 drivers admit to speeding.  They do that (well, we do that) because more often than not, we are not caught. 

Sometimes we are happily able to avoid the consequences of our choices but eventually they catch up to us.   At least this is true in the spiritual realm.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows” – Galatians 6:7. NETbible ®

This passage was written in the context of the way we manage our money, but it serves as a broad principle that applies to all of life as well.  Note that Paul warns us, “do not be deceived” which is because we often are.  We live like there is no tomorrow, until tomorrow comes. 

What follows is somewhat of a humorous way to think about these things – the lyrics to an original song called “Sow a Little.”

Sow a little, reap a little; Sit around and faddle fiddle; Sow a lot, reap a lot; That’s the way to go

The farmer went to sow his field.    He hoped to get a bountiful yield, But the seeds were few, he didn’t put much in; So he harvested just one wheat thin

The man was driven, he had things to do; No time for family, no time for you; He then retired and he sat alone; Just him and Siri on his cell phone

She had no time to serve the Lord; The worship service left her bored; And then one day she was deep in trouble; With nothing to show but wood, hay and stubble

But one smart brother understood the plan; He tithed his money, loved his fellow man;  He served the Lord all over the place; And he died one day with a grin on his face

Sow a little, reap a little; Sit around and faddle fiddle; Sow a lot, reap a lot; That’s the way to go

A PRAYER:  Lord, please use the future to impact our present.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always.

lumpy — March 9, 2022

lumpy

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What game is well over 100 years old now, involves 2 players, a rope, a ball, a pole and a lumpy head?   

Tetherball of course! 

Back in 1909, a woman by the name of Jessie Bancroft, gave us the game in her book Games for the Playground.  You may remember Miss Bancroft.  She was the President of the American Posture League.  (They rejected my membership application)

Anyway, in tetherball, a ball is tied, by a rope, to the top of a pole.  Two players face each other.  One slams the ball with their fist, with the goal of wrapping the rope around the pole until the ball touches it. 

I remember learning the sport.  I would wind up and pound the ball as hard as I could, but before I could reposition myself, the ball would circle around the pole and hit me in the back of the head.  That’s the crazy thing about tetherball – the ball always returns to you. 

I seldom won, but tetherball taught me a life lesson that has given me a measure of wisdom which is this: “What goes around comes around!” 

Solomon said as much in Proverbs 11:25. He wrote, “A generous person will be enriched, and the one who provides water for others will himself be satisfied.” Solomon gave us a wisdom principle.  Be kind and generous to others and they will tend to treat you the same way.  I like the way that the New American renders it, “He who waters, will himself be watered.”  

This is consistent with our own experiences isn’t it?  A guy helped his neighbor mow his lawn when the man’s mower died, and that fall the neighbor joined him as he raked his yard.   The cashier was a little snippy, but her customer was so kind and positive, that the cashier volunteered to bag her groceries for her. 

The ball comes back around the pole to bring the blessing we sow.

But there is the flip side too. 

In Proverbs 26 Solomon also wrote about the evil we might do.  He mentioned lying, hatred and all other kinds of mischief.  He then capped it off in verse 27 saying, “The one who digs a pit will fall into it; the one who rolls a stone—it will come back on him.”

Pretty interesting imagery!  Wylie Coyote comes to mind.  He buys a shovel from the Acme Company to dig a pit in order to trap the road runner.  Inevitably he stumbles in himself.

In the next scene, he uses his Acme hoist to lug a boulder up a hill – still another scheme to steamroll his prey, but it breaks loose and leaves a paper-thin coyote.  Beep-beep!

Solomon wants us to know that the evil we say and do, tends to spin around the pole and return to hit us in the back of the head. 

I mean isn’t that right?  When she gets snippy with her husband, he’s inclined to get snippy with her.  One dad worked a lot and failed to find time for his kids.  Today they fail to find time for him.

These things often happen in real time, but if not now, the ball will come back to bonk us when we stand before God and give an account for our lives.  Paul put it this way in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows.”

I got enough lumps in tetherball to know that I want to avoid the same in life.  I need to treat people right.  Fortunately, Jesus gave us a really handy gauge by which to monitor our behavior.  He said, “Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.” (Luke 6:31)  

Weigh every word. Consider every deed.  Choose to do well, cause it’s the right thing to do, and cause it’ll come right back at you.

A PRAYER: Lord help me be mindful and careful of the impact I have on others.

This has been Jim Johnson with pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you

Scripture references are from the NETBible ®

an Aggie’s revenge! — October 30, 2019

an Aggie’s revenge!

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james ray johnson

I have been known to tell an Aggie joke or two. For instance: A young man walked into a store and said, “I would like a maroon hat, white sweatshirt, maroon pants and white shoes.”  The clerk said, “You must be an Aggie.”  He replied, “Well yes sir – how did you know?  Was it the school colors I ordered?”  The clerk said, “No, this is a hardware store.”

For you non-Texans, an Aggie is a student or graduate of Texas A&M University. (Whoop!)   The school was originally named The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas – hence the nickname Aggies.

How can you not tease a graduate of an agricultural school?  They are actually pretty sharp people except that they tend to tell more Aggie jokes than anyone else.

When I would preach, I sometimes used an Aggie joke to cheer up my congregation of East Texans (many of whom were grads) 

By the way, did you hear about the big game?  Longtime rivals – Texas A&M and the University of Texas were playing.  Late in the game, a train passed through town and blew its whistle. The UT players thought it signaled the end of the game, so they left the field. The Aggies scored three plays later.

Fun stuff, BUT I don’t tell Aggie jokes much anymore for two reasons: First: They may have been outlawed by the Hate Crimes Act and Second: because it turns out that the joke was on me. 

I shared a joke at church one Sunday and a couple of weeks after, I received something in the mail from the Alumni Association of Texas A&M.  It was a fund-raising pitch.  They wanted to build a new building (or maybe fix a corral). 

I didn’t think much about it, except that every other day I would find something else in the mailbox from the school.  It became an avalanche.  It was a mystery to me until I eventually got an official letter from their office thanking me for my contribution to the alumni fund. 

One of my Aggie church members sent in that contribution – IN MY NAME.  What a low-down dirty trick!

The wisdom of the ages has been vindicated once again.  In 1757 Benjamin Franklin wrote, “He that spits against the wind, spits in his own face.”  (been there, done that)

In 1962, death row inmate, Paul Crump nervously coined the phrase, “What goes around comes around.”

But long before those guys, the apostle Paul weighed in on the idea. “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows.”   (Galatians 6:7)

The context for this passage has to do with money and the way we use it.  But the principle is fairly comprehensive.  We could state it like this: “The things that we do, either good or bad, have consequences that come back to either bless us or bite us.”  Sometimes it comes as a God ordained natural consequence, and at other times through his direct intervention.

Proverb 26:27 states it in the negative, “The one who digs a pit will fall into it; the one who rolls a stone—it will come back on him.”  Sounds like my Aggie fiasco.

OK, what about the grace and the mercy of God?  Doesn’t God promise to forgive our sins?  Absolutely! And He does (which is great news for me.)   But hey, if I hit my thumb with a hammer, God can forgive me for being so dumb, but my thumb is still gonna bleed.  Right!

Proverbs 11:25 puts it in the positive, “He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” (KJV)

The sage pictured a person who goes around his community watering thirsty people as if they were desert plants.  Such kindness will be rewarded because those desert plants will be there for him when he is parched.

We reap what we sow. 

If only the Aggies could learn that.  One student threw a grenade at an LSU Tiger.  The Tiger pulled the pin and threw it back.  

Friend, before you click on that questionable web site, or spew some venomous words, or skew the spread sheet at work – hesitate – and remember my Aggie story and the Scripture.  We reap what we sow. 

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Unless otherwise noted Bible references are from the NET Bible ®