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By Betsfe WUbon
INTRODUCTION
“Keeping Life’s Priorities Straight” is a matter of
considering the many things in life and understanding
what is more important. This is not always easy, for many
things are important.
We are not entirely without bias. If we like something
we may give it more time and importance than it
deserves; and if.we find something unpleasant we may put
it far down in our scale of priorities.
We all need food, clothing, and shelter. These needs are
so constant and so urgent that we spend about a third of
each day in work that provides these things for us. There is
nothing wrong with that. The Bible teaches us to work for a
living just as surely as it teaches us to pray! Providing for
one’s family is a Christian duty no less important than
reading the Bible.
Nearly every day we find that day too short for all the
good things we ought to do, and want to do. We sacrifice
hours of the sleep for the sake of fun and friendship, or
helping a neighbor, or reading the Bible. Or we sacrifice
some of these other things for the sake of our sleep. How
can we know what is better to sacrifice?
“Well, religion does make a person very rich, if he is
satisfied with what he has. What did we bring into the
world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world?
Nothing! So then, if we have food and clothes, that should
be enough for us. But those who want to get rich fall into
temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and
harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a source of all
kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they
have wondered away from the faith and have broken their
hearts with many sorrows,” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
It is possible to be too easily contented, to rest when we
should be working, to become lazy and ineffective. On the
other hand, it is possible to be too discontented, too
critical, too anxious. Thus we not only annoy those about
us, but also endanger our own physical and mental health.
This is one of the problems of priority.
Paul says that godliness with contentment is more
profitable than all the offerings collected by the lively
debaters. A reverent and obedient attitude toward God is
worth more than great riches if we can learn to be content
without a lot of worldly wealth. Paul himself learned such
contentment and he recommends it to us. (Philippians
4:11-13.)
We can’t take our money beyond the grave; if we could,
what would it be worth in a city where gold is used liked
blacktop to pave the street? Why should be give top
priority to getting rich when our riches must sooq, bel ieft
“Behind? :WhSn~we have all we really need, ^hy fret about
the attractive things we do not need? 'Ohr happy
relationship with God is worth more than all the unneeded
riches of the world. Let’s give top priority to the happy
relationship. ’ v
“But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and
gentleness. Run your best in the race of faith, and win
eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God
called you when you firmly professed your faith before
many witnesses. Before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus, who firmly professed his faith
before Pontius Pilate, I command you to obey your orders
and keep them faithfully until the Day when our Lord
Jesus Christ will appear. His appearing will be brought
about at the right time by God, the blessed and only Ruler,
the King of Kings and the Lord of lords. He alone is
immortal; he lives in the light that no one can ap
proach. No one has ever seen him; no one can ever see
him. To Him be honor and eternal power! Amen.” (1
Timothy 6:11-16.)
How can we be free from the love of money and all the
multiplied evils that grow from it? Paul puts the answer in
one word: Flee. (King James Version.) Avoid all these
things. (Good News Version.) Turn your back on all such
things and get far away from them. There’s no way to live
in our society without using money, yew say? All right. Use
it, but don’t love it. Love God. Love people!
In figurative language Paul has charged Timothy and us
to flee covetousness, to follow after righteousness, and to
fight. In today’s lesson he drops the figures of speech and
. continues his charge in plain language. Solemnly he calls
on God and God’s Son to witness the charge he is giving.
It is God who quickeneth all things. To quicken is to make
alive. God gives life to everything that lives, and He will
give eternal life.
When one has all the money he can use, he soon learns
that it can buy almost anything he wants. It can supply all
the material things necessary for life, plus all the luxuries
that appeal to him. It can take him halfway around the
world in a chartered jet, and bring him back when he is
ready to return. Year after year his wealth never fails
him. How can he keep from being highminded, from
looking down on people who respond to his every whim?
Paul reminds us that riches are uncertain. If one uses
them unwisely and he becomes an alcoholic, they do
little for his hangover. They cannot save him from a crash
if he drives when he is drunk. They scarcely dull his grief
when a loved one dies.
So the rich man had better keep his priorities straight. It
is God, not money, who never fails. It is God, not money,
who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Trust is misplaced
if it is not placed in God.
A rich man has vast opportunities to do good. Distribute
and communicate both mean share, and a very wealthy
man can share much without coming to poverty. But good
sharing is not so easy as one might think. If a man
distributes money thoughtlessly he hurts people by
destroying their initiative. Wise giving requires much care
and thought. Some who are willing to share are not willing
to take the time and effort to be sure they are realty doing
good. But the challenge is there to challenge them: Do
good - be rich in good works.
twin claims cpcc scholarship
Hpl#n Klnir'a IiiUIah _a -n .. r.- —
« » -——• —« tuiic^c expenses
are free this quarter, thanks to Ellen King and an
unusual scholarship at Central Piedmont Community
College. Helen and Ellen, both nursing students are
CPCC. are twins. And when Helen King went to the
Financial Aid office earlier this month, she learned
thatCPCC’s Foundation offered a *200 scholarship to a
twin whole sibling also was a full-time student at the
college. The 19-year-old women are daughters of Joyce
and Edward King of Charlotte. Helen is enrolled in
Registered Nurses tralnning at CPCC. Ellen is In
unensea Practical Nurses training. "As much as
anything. I think Helen was surprised that she didn’t
have to fill out a lot of forms and do a lot of paperwork
to get the money.” said Powell Majors, executive
director of CPCC’s Foundation, which raises money
for scholarships and other college needs. “I told her
we’d write her a check on the spot. I just don’t know
which girl to make the check out to." In the true spirit
of sibling rivalry. Helen laughed and said she would
keep the whole thing. Ellen guaranteed the money
would be split down the middle.
School Of Nursing Open House Planned For Sunday Afternoon
When the Sisters of Mercy opened
a hospital in 1906, they also opened a
nursing school to ensure a steady
supply of well-trained, competent
nurses to staff their new hnsnital
Mercy Hospital has grown from 25
beds to 371 in its 80-year history. The
Mercy School of Nursing has also
grown, from four students in 1906, to
nearly 100 currently enrolled in its
30-month diploma program of nurs
ing. —_
On November 14, the Mercy
School of Nursing is holding an Open
House for anyone interested in a
career as a Registered Nurse. From
2 to 4 p.m. instructors, students, and
recent graduates will be available to
answer questions and lead tours of
the school, and of Mercy Hospital,
located adjacent to the school on
Vail Avenue.
une of the best things about the
school is its size.” said Mrs. Lynn
Holly, RN, director of the School of
Nursing. “We have small classes,
and the students get a lot of indi
vidual attention.
"The close relationship between
faculty and students, and the Mercy
tradition of a competent, caring
nursing staff, is a most valuable
asset which, I believe, adds signifi
cantly to the school’s success,” she
said.
amirae nus service
Free shuttle bus service will be
available to the Mint on Sunday.
November 10, for the dedication
ceremony and festival celebrating
the opening of the Dalton Wing of the
“new” Mint. Four special city buses
will bring visitors to the museum
from the Square, Cotswold Shopping
Center, Eastland Mall, and Free
dom Mall. The shuttle service will
begin at 12:30 p.m. and run con
tinuously all afternoon. The buses
will make their final trips from the
museum at 6:30 p.m. at the con
clusion of the festival.
i ne special snutue bus will pick up
visitors at the following locations:
The Square, the main entrance of
Cotswold Shopping Center on Sharon
Amity, the main entrance to Free
dom Mall on Ashley Road and from
the lower lot beyond J.C. Penney at
Eastland Mall
Each bus will have a special
guide to answer questions and pro
vide information on the activities
scheduled for the festival afternoon.
In addition to the shuttle bus
service, parking will be available at
the Eastover Medical Park and the
Charlotte Surgery Center across
Randolph Road from the museum.
Due to the number of visitors ex
pected, only handicapped parking
will be available at the Mint.
Bag Fallen Leaves
Autumn brings beautiful color and
large quantities of leaves to
Charlotte. To help clear the way, the
City Sanitation Division collects
bagged or containerized leaves from
curbsides on Wednesday. All leaves
must be bagged or placed in cans
with a lid. Piles of leaves or open top
containers are unacceptable. Cans
or bags of leaves should not be
placed on the curb until noon on
Tuesday. Residents who rake,
sweep, or blow leaves into the street
are in violation of the litter or
dinance and may be issued a cita
tion. Wet leaves are a traffic haz
ard and cause drainage problems
when allowed to accumulate in the
catch basins.
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