NEWSLETTERS WRITTEN BY:
SECOND BEST
Earnestine Hammons
Aug 25, 2003
I would like to introduce you to a story I wrote of a fictitious young couple Frank and Cheryl.
This couple could very well be you or I.
I hope this story is a turning point for us all.
Frank and Cheryl are not rich people yet they are not real poor either.
They live in a nice subdivision in a nice section of town.
They attend church regularly at the community church down the street from them.
Frank and Cheryl is a rather young couple in their early thirties.
Frank works with a realty company selling large land plots so he makes some nice commissions from his job from time to time.
Well there is a particular piece of land that Governor Spree is interested in purchasing to develop.
Frank had talked with the Governor’s office several times in reference to the sell contract.
Governor Spree wants to meet with Frank over dinner and discuss the property further to help him decide if it would be a good purchase or not so Frank invited him to their home to go over it at length.
Frank had called Cheryl to let her know there will be dinner guest tonight so she can be prepared.
I was sitting enjoying the crisp morning when Frank called to tell me we would have guest for dinner tonight.
When he told me it was the Governor and his wife I thought, oh my I have got a lot to do to get the house ready for them.
I will have to wash the linen, the curtains and oh yes I must remember to put out clean guest towels and soap.
Then I will have to clean and wax the kitchen, vacuum and steam the carpets,
lay out the fine china and set flower arrangements here and there.
Oh I almost forgot I will have to go shopping for something special to fix for dinner.
I will fix a real nice meal tonight.
She went about doing what had to be done, around the house.
Okay lets see now I think I have finally got all of that done now, so time to go to the store.
I’ll go to the one just down the street, which is closer than the regular market.
Oh my! She thought in the store what can I get that will be good enough to make an impression on people like this?
Oh I know this duck will be just perfect;
now I will need to get some fresh mint sprigs to garnish with,some things to make the orange sauce with and the rest of the things for the meal.
Ok that should do, now to go home and start preparing.
After I got back home I thought to myself as I was putting away the groceries.
I will go ahead and start dinner because Frank will be home before too long.
Now the house is cleaned and the food is on low and I still have some time so I think I will go and relax a little before Frank gets home.
I will take a relaxing bath.
I do so hope that Governor Spree and his wife enjoy themselves tonight and find everything pleasing.
Oh! A leisurely soak, sure does feel good after all that work.
The phone starts ringing as I get out of the bath.
Hello I said answering the phone, Oh hi Melanie I thought you was at work.
Melanie is a neighbor in the same subdivision.
"Cheryl", Melanie said
"I have a homeless man here that needs a place for the night.
I was hoping you could take him in for the evening so I could have time to find something for him".
What! Oh Melanie now is not a good time.
I really would like to help you out, but I have special guest coming tonight.
Taking a bum in right now would be a lot of extra work.
You see I just got through steaming the carpets, doing the laundry getting everything ready so it will be just perfect when the guest arrive.
I would have to fix separate meals and everything.
What! (Melanie had suggested that she just let this person blend in with the other guest and eat what they were eating)
Oh my I can’t do that I only bought enough to fix for our guests.
Besides I really couldn’t afford to feed that kind of food to a homeless person.
I’m sorry I can't help but if it had been any other time I would be glad too.
Ok talk to you later, bye.
Melanie must think awful of me for not helping her when she needed it most, but to bring someone here all dirty and smelly would be so much work for me.
I would have to clean them up, clean and disinfect the bath after them and redo laundry and cook for them as well as the meal for the Governor.
It would just be too much for me to do right now.
I am saving the best for our company because I want to make a real good impression on them so that Frank might make this sell.
Frank just pulled up.
He must have had a good day at work because he has a cheerful look on his face.
I best go make sure everything is ready.
Cheryl I’m home he announced as he came in the door.
I’m in the kitchen dear.
The guests are due to arrive soon, so I am just doing some last minute touch ups to make sure it is all done just perfectly.
Well let’s see now, the duck looks absolutely perfect.
Now all I need is to add the mint sprigs and oh yes I almost forgot!
I’ll need the mirrored platter to make it look better.
Now where did I put those long tapered candles?
Ok now let me see have I forgotten anything?
I asked myself as I gathered everything that I would need.
Oh yes the nice red water goblets over here in the hutch.
Oh that’s the doorbell so that must be them and they are right on time.
Sounds like Frank has answered the door.
Welcome Governor Spree, please come in.
Cheryl will be out in a moment; she is in the kitchen.
Good evening Governor Spree and welcome to our home, I am glad you could make it! I said as I entered.
Let’s go to the dining room and I will bring the food in.
I watched their faces as I brought in the platter of duck-ala-king and it was worth all of the work to see the expression on their faces.
After dinner we sat and talked for awhile, discussing the property they were interested in.
Then after a couple of hours, we said our goodnights.
"Cheryl you fixed a magnificent meal tonight," Frank said.
"I believe we made a good impression on them".
I sure hope so especially after my conversation with Melanie today!
Why what happened he asked?
Well she had a homeless person show up at work today looking for a job and some food.
She called wanting to know if I could help out by bringing him here for the night so that she could have time to find him a place and possibly a job.
Of course I said I couldn’t because of our dinner guests and all.
I explained that I had only bought enough to feed our guests.
Why! She even suggested that I feed him along with them, can you believe that!
"Oh Cheryl" Frank said "I wish you had helped her;
I know that we were expecting important guests and all, but that man was homeless and hungry so he was just as important as our guests were."
Frank you can’t be serious!
You really expect me to bring a dirty homeless man in here after all of my hard work and feed him the best food on our best china when leftovers would do just as good!
Yes Cheryl, I am serious,
you offered him second best when you could have given him the very best.
God does not give us second best so why should we give him any less?
We are not talking about God Frank; we’re talking about a street bum.
In a way we are Cheryl, do you remember the verse that’s says
" I was hungry and you fed me not"
well when you feed the hungry you have fed Christ.
We are to give loving kindness, not dread and shame.
What have we become that we are only giving God second best?
Have we become like Cheryl?
Do we give second best, are we afraid to give our very best?
If a homeless hungry person comes to us, will we take them in and feed and clothe them?
So many of us are afraid of being put into dangerous situations and thus pass them by.
There are missionaries putting themselves in danger every single day for the kingdom of God.
ARE WE BETTER THAN THEY ARE?
God wants our best not our second or third best.
He wants us loving, kind and charitable toward one another.
And He wants us humble.
GIVE HIM YOUR VERY BEST.
STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT OTHERS WILL THINK.
Let’s do and be what God wants us to be.
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(C)copyrighted by Mrs.Earnestine E. Hammons
1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005
Contents the sole property of the Author Mrs.Earnestine E. Hammons
May be Re-Distributed as a witnessing tool only
with all Author/ownership rights remaining the property of
Mrs. Earnestine E. Hammons and MAY NOT be re-Distributed for profitable gain .
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