December 5, 2018 – Click here to listen
Recently I got into a spat with one of my fishing buddies. He told me he would come over and help me work on a problem on my boat on Sunday afternoon after I got home from church, (he doesn’t go to church.) Well he didn’t show up, so I called him, but there was no answer. I waited for about two hours and then I received a text from him. It was a photo of a sailfish he had just caught. The rat had gone fishing.
Well where I come from if you tell someone you will do something you either do it or tell them that you cannot or will not do it, but you don’t say you will do it and then don’t do anything and leave the other party hanging. I responded that I’d been waiting for two hours and thanks a heck of a lot for leaving me dangling in the wind.
I suppose he felt bad and after he got in from fishing he came over to my house by boat. He called, and I simply ignored his call. He left a voicemail and said he was outside at my dock in his boat. I didn’t respond. He then sent a text. Same result. He finally left and there we were, two fishing buddies that appeared to no longer be buddies because of my friend’s misdeed.
My friend is not a believer and he was just diagnosed with prostate cancer. My wife and I pray for him every day and I witness to him every time I see him. I thought about the example I was giving him. It wasn’t exactly the Christian way and I was ashamed. In fact, I was no different than the most secular of people. So, going against my flesh later that night I sent him a text and acted like nothing had ever happened. Now it was his turn to sulk. He barely replied with a terse response. I tried again and again with the same result. Finally, I tired of it and told him that if he didn’t want to be friends or fish together anymore, I was good with it and wouldn’t bother him anymore. I wished him and his family well and told him I hoped to see him out on the water one day and offered a “catch-em-up” valediction.
That got his attention and he responded and made out that he didn’t know what I was talking about and kind of laughed it off. I responded that he knew exactly what I was talking about and he was so sensitive I was going to get him a pacifier, rattle, and Johnson’s Baby Powder for Christmas. He responded in kind and once our good-natured banter was reestablished the crisis had passed, and we are now planning our next fishing trip together. Incidentally my friend has zero friends. He has lived down here for 1 ½ years and fishes alone or infrequently with his wife and/or daughter. I met him at a marina while getting gas and asked him if he would like to go fishing with me sometime. Since then we have enjoyed many a fine day on the water.
While I have many friends with whom I fish, his wife and daughter were pretty much his only option prior to our meeting each other. It has worked out great for us and we have a good time and catch a lot of fish together. He retired early and came down here from New Jersey and can fish during the week and he is a pretty good fisherman and we have enjoyed many a fine day on the water. All that is fine and good, but more importantly I did not want hard feelings with anyone, especially this guy. I want to try and be a good Christian friend to him and be a positive influence in his life. Something happened to sour him on religion, (he won’t tell me what,) but it runs deep. He will not even attend church with me, even though I keep trying week after week. He drinks heavily and I’m working on that too.
It is true that he wronged me, and I could have dusted him off without another word and been justified according to the world’s fleshly standards, but what would that say about me? I’m much happier now that we have put our problems behind us and so is he. Forgiveness works my friends, you should try it with someone today.
Ahhh . . . but we all have our pride, and no one wants to eat crow.
Hmmm . . . I’ve tried eating crow and it isn’t that bad. In fact, it’s delicious . . .
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Eph 4:31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.