Learning to “Back up”
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Many years ago the late Marshall Keeble spoke on the subject of marital happiness. He lamented the divorce rate was alarming even then. He said, "The trouble with married folk is they don't know how to back up." They have a fuss and nobody is willing to back up and say, "I was wrong." As he reflected on the foolishness of that practice he went on to remark, "Brethren, I just wouldn't have a car that wouldn't back up."

Many human relations problems could be settled if people could find the "reverse" position in the gearbox of their minds. How many church splits could have been avoided had contentious brethren been willing to back up. Families who fight over the inheritance of property
Learning to “Back up” (Continued from page one)

could save themselves hurt if they would learn to back up. Parents and children could alleviate some of the difficulty met in the generation battle simply by learning to back up.

It is not a mark of wisdom and maturity to stand like a stone wall when you are wrong. The mature person owns up to his mistakes. He's not too big to say, "I'm sorry." James writes, "Confess therefore your sins one to another and pray for one another that ye may be healed" (James 5:16). He's telling us that it is spiritually healthy to back up.

Why is it hard to back up? What causes a person to insist on saving face? The answer is human pride and selfishness. Satan uses these tools to deceive us. The man who won't back up is deluded. He thinks he's right. He can give you a hundred arguments in defense of his position. Little does he realize that he has--fallen victim to Satan's trickery. Proverbs 12: 15 says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes." The way out of human conflict is simple—so easy to see in the lives of others; so hard to practice on a personal level. We need to learn to back up!

Old Friends

Old friends are not forgotten
Whenever they depart.
They occupy a special place
Deep within the heart.

Years and years of memories
Don't quickly fade away.
The dreams you shared together
Aren't lost in yesterday.

The pain of separation
May linger for a night.
But joy comes in the morning
When everything is bright

Old friends are not forgotten
When new friends come along.
There's always room for someone new
To help you sing your song.

— Clay Harrison

"Bless the Lord, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God" Psalm 103:2