The Whole World Stinks!

Jim Gillaspie

I love the story about grandpa and the limburger cheese. It seems that a couple of mischievous boys wanted to play a joke on grandpa, so while he napped, they rubbed some limburger cheese in his mustache. When grandpa awoke, he sniffed a little bit and said "It stinks in here!" He arose from his favorite chair in the living room and walked into the kitchen. As he sniffed around he declared: "It stinks in here too!" Leaving the kitchen, he walked into the hallway that led to his front door. Sure enough, as he sniffed, he muttered "it even stinks in here!" Flinging the front door open, he took a breath of what he expected to be fresh air. But once again the limburger cheese filled his nostrils, and grandpa shouted in disgust: "The whole world stinks!" Question: Did the whole world stink? Of course not! In fact, the real problem was right under grandpa's nose!

What do you look for in life, the good or the bad? What do you look for in your children? What kind of feelings do you have toward the church? Do you look for things to praise or things to criticize? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? The writer said in Proverbs 23:7 "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Jesus said "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh" (Luke 6:45). Does the whole world stink? The problem may be right under your nose!

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