Joel 3
7079 Revenge On Old Car
Passersby called police when they saw a man drive his new automobile into the fenders of a parked car. He explained that both cars belonged to him—that he was having revenge on the old car for giving him so much trouble.
—La Liberte
7080 Parked On Railroad Crossing
Fort Worth, Texas (UPI)—Bill Miller decided a train was taking altogether too long to cross a street as he waited 15 minutes in a line of traffic.
So, after the train passed, he drove his pickup truck onto the track, locked the doors and walked the rest of the way to work. Cars could get by, but trains could not.
A crewman from a halted freight train telephoned police and complained the truck was blocking their path.
Police traced Miller through the pickup’s license number and convinced him to move his truck after the train had to wait 20 minutes.
Police declined to give Miller a ticket.
What is Joel Saying?
Why is Joel Saying this?
What is the Principle?
7081 Return Call At 3 P.M.
A college professor answered his telephone at 3:00 A.M. “This is your neighbor, Mr. Smith,” said the voice. “Your dog is barking and keeping me awake.” The professor thanked him kindly and hung up. The next morning Mr. Smith’s telephone rang at exactly 3 A.M. “This is the professor,” said the caller. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t have a dog!”
—The Bible Friend
How does it apply?
7089 Both Heads Under The Wheels
A wasp settled on a snake’s head and tormented it by continually stinging. The snake, maddened with the pain and not knowing how else to be revenged on its tormentor, put its head under the wheel of a wagon, so that they both perished together.
—Fables of Aesop
VICTIM OF THROWN TURKEY
Topics: Compassion; Consequences; Foolishness; Forgiveness; Grace; Mercy; Pardon; Suffering; Values; Youth
References: Matthew 18:21–35; Romans 12:14–21; Galatians 6:1–10; Colossians 3:12–14
Victoria Ruvolo, forty-five, of Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, was driving to her niece’s voice recital when she passed a car driven by Ryan Cushing, nineteen. Cushing was with five other teens and had just used a stolen credit card to go on a spending spree. One of their purchases was a frozen turkey, which Cushing decided to toss into oncoming traffic. The twenty-pound bird smashed through Ruvolo’s windshield, crushing her face.
Ruvolo survived, though it took ten hours of surgery to repair her face and months of painful rehabilitation. On October 17, 2005, Ruvolo attended Cushing’s sentencing and asked his judge for leniency. Part of her statement read, “Despite all the fear and the pain, I have learned from this horrific experience that I have much to be thankful for. Each day when I wake up, I thank God simply because I’m alive. I sincerely hope you have also learned from this awful experience, Ryan. There is no room for vengeance in my life, and I do not believe a long, hard prison term would do you, me, or society any good.”
Cushing, who wept and expressed remorse for his action, was sentenced to six months in jail. He could have gotten a twenty-five-year prison sentence if Ruvolo had not intervened.
—Leah Ingram, “Compassionate Victim,” beliefnet.com
2292 Sandwich Over Sentence
“If thine enemy hunger, feed him” (Rom. 12:20).
Clerk Donni LaSaw of the Mini Mart in Vancouver’s West End did just that on July 24 when a would-be bandit walked into the food store and ordered her to hand over the contents of the till. As she opened the till, she asked, “Is $25 really worth a police record?”
When the young man replied that a man must eat, she suggested, “Rather than me phoning police over $25, I’ll give you a sandwich and a couple of apples.”
The man agreed that it sounded like a better idea and ate the goods.
—Prairie Overcomer