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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"The Search For Truth"
May 12, 2010
It was such a good story that I had to include it in our last church
newsletter. It was inspirational and worthy of Paul Harvey's "rest of the
story." It revealed that mild mannered Bob Keeshan, who played Captain
Kangaroo, and Fred Rogers, of Mr. Rogers fame, were actually decorated
war veterans. Keeshan was an heroic Sargent serving with Lee Marvin in
Iwo Jima. Rogers was a Navy Seal who later became a Presbyterian
minister and a vowed pacifist.
When my good friend Greg Hamby called me to tell me it was a hoax, I
had egg on my face. "But I got it on the internet" I told him. "It has to be
true." He assured me that it was debunked on the website Snopes.com.
When I went there I read the following:
"Jack Green, the public-affairs officer with the Naval Historical Center in
Washington, frequently gets calls about Fighting Captain Kangaroo. "I have
to tell them it's a nice story, but it didn't happen," said Green, who served as
a historical adviser for the movie Pearl Harbor."
This whole thing reminded me that it is so important to verify any stories
you hear if you haven't witnessed them yourselves. Gossip, rumors and
malicious lies often circulate at school, work and even in the church. Many
are harmless. They are nice stories like the one I found on the internet. But
more often than not, gossip and rumor seek to tear down others and breed
divisiveness.
In Proverbs16:28 we read, "A perverse man stirs up dissension, and
gossip separates close friends." I think this is why Jesus often told his
followers that if they had a problem with someone that they should go and
talk directly to them. Don't depend on a what another says. They may have
a biased opinion. Find out the truth yourself.
If you hear something that upsets you about a friend's actions, don't take it
as fact. If you care about that person, take the time to find out the truth.
Investigate. Go to them and ask them about it. Don't make decisions based
on rumors and hearsay. Once you have confronted them, pray about it and
ask God to show you the truth. You may just save yourself a lot of
heart-ache and be able to preserve that friendship.
Even after hearing the truth Captain Kangaroo is still my hero. Don't be
afraid to check things out. Jesus said "the truth will set you free." Don't
believe me? Check it out. It's in the Bible in John 8:32.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
May 12, 2010
It was such a good story that I had to include it in our last church
newsletter. It was inspirational and worthy of Paul Harvey's "rest of the
story." It revealed that mild mannered Bob Keeshan, who played Captain
Kangaroo, and Fred Rogers, of Mr. Rogers fame, were actually decorated
war veterans. Keeshan was an heroic Sargent serving with Lee Marvin in
Iwo Jima. Rogers was a Navy Seal who later became a Presbyterian
minister and a vowed pacifist.
When my good friend Greg Hamby called me to tell me it was a hoax, I
had egg on my face. "But I got it on the internet" I told him. "It has to be
true." He assured me that it was debunked on the website Snopes.com.
When I went there I read the following:
"Jack Green, the public-affairs officer with the Naval Historical Center in
Washington, frequently gets calls about Fighting Captain Kangaroo. "I have
to tell them it's a nice story, but it didn't happen," said Green, who served as
a historical adviser for the movie Pearl Harbor."
This whole thing reminded me that it is so important to verify any stories
you hear if you haven't witnessed them yourselves. Gossip, rumors and
malicious lies often circulate at school, work and even in the church. Many
are harmless. They are nice stories like the one I found on the internet. But
more often than not, gossip and rumor seek to tear down others and breed
divisiveness.
In Proverbs16:28 we read, "A perverse man stirs up dissension, and
gossip separates close friends." I think this is why Jesus often told his
followers that if they had a problem with someone that they should go and
talk directly to them. Don't depend on a what another says. They may have
a biased opinion. Find out the truth yourself.
If you hear something that upsets you about a friend's actions, don't take it
as fact. If you care about that person, take the time to find out the truth.
Investigate. Go to them and ask them about it. Don't make decisions based
on rumors and hearsay. Once you have confronted them, pray about it and
ask God to show you the truth. You may just save yourself a lot of
heart-ache and be able to preserve that friendship.
Even after hearing the truth Captain Kangaroo is still my hero. Don't be
afraid to check things out. Jesus said "the truth will set you free." Don't
believe me? Check it out. It's in the Bible in John 8:32.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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