Category: People

How many arguments would choke off were it not for people who must get the last word?

David the King was the target of hurtful talk over a long time. But he held his tongue and endured.

But those seeking my soul …….deceptions they keep muttering all day long. As for me, like someone deaf, I would not listen; And like someone speechless, I would not open my mouth. And I came to be like a man that was not hearing, And in my mouth there were no counterarguments. Ps 38:12-14

There is something refreshing in this course. You don’t have to answer every mean remark people say.

They told Joseph Rutherford, 2nd WBTS president, that a coworker had said rotten things about him.

Well, Karl talks a lot, and he says things he doesn’t mean.

He wasn't enraged. He wasn't outraged. He didn’t even know if it was true, (it wasn’t) and didn’t care. He just let it slide past him.

Going back one president, Charles Russell (1rst WBTS pres) observed: If you stop to kick every dog that barks at you, you’ll never get very far.

We do want to get very far, usually. Best if we get some thick skin to absorb insults without loosing our cookies.

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Tom Irregardless and Me             No Fake News but Plenty of Hogwash

My Bethel pal reflected on how frail people are today and how the old-timers must scratch their heads in wonder. Back in their day (the good old days) a person might be counseled this way: You got a rotten attitude and you better straighten up!

And they would straighten up! And they’d say thanks for the counsel! Or maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe they’d decide to go elsewhere in life. But they wouldn’t crumble.

Today, erring ones get counsel sandwiches. Take one thick slice of bread. Place a small slice of counsel on top. Cover with another thick slice of bread. The bread, of course, represents gushing (but genuine) praise, needed to cushion counsel’s blow to the ego.

I’ve heard them called brotherums….. Brother, um…that was a fine so and so, this or that, but, um, did you ever consider that…..

How did people get so fragile? To be sure, the blockheads of the past didn’t have a bit of tact, and it can only be good that they finally get some. But the fragility?

All of us are raised in increasingly uncertain times by families who, as a result, are increasingly dysfunctional. It takes its toll. Too, every generation is one generation further from mankind’s perfect start. That too, must take its toll.

It’s good to remember that when we interact with others. Cut them some slack.

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Tom Irregardless and Me             No Fake News but Plenty of Hogwash