My sainted mother-in-law turns ninety in the coming year. Any way you look at it, that is a long and full life. And she’s not done yet.
These days, she rightfully engages in something she has certainly earned the right to - she dispenses a lot of wisdom. So, when she recently handed me a sheet of paper with the following, I took note. I post it here in the hopes that you benefit from it. It is titled…
AN OLD FARMER’S ADVICE
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best ever.
Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
Live simply. Love passionately. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
I was musing on the many truths reflected in these words purportedly presented by a wise old farmer when my wife came in with a similar, but stronger set of truths. She had been out “junkin’” - meaning she was visiting garage sales looking for interesting items – when she came across a plaque with the following “Country Commandments”…
There Is Only One God
No False Gods
No Cuss’n Gather on Sundays
Mind Your Ma and Pa
No Kill’n Cheatin’ Is Forbidden
Ya’ll Don’t Steal
No White Lies or Gossip’n
No Hankerin’ for Others’ Stuff
I trust you realize these latter admonitions are merely an intentionally rural way of re-stating the Ten Commandments. But, as such, they are much more than country aphorisms. For they are words of wisdom, not from a country farmer, but from a Heavenly Father!
For my part, I have learned to heed the advice of older, wiser individuals. And this especially applies to individuals like farmers, who have little time for either theatrics or pretense.
But if it behooves me to heed the wisdom of earthly sages, how much more does it behoove me to heed the wisdom of Heaven? For if scoffing at wisdom proffered from earthly sources will have earthly consequences, how much more will scoffing at the admonitions from Heaven have eternal consequences?!
SOURCE:
My immediate source was an old paper copy from my mother-in-law. After further research, I discovered that the same material occurs in numerous places on the internet. See, for instance:
https://m.farms.com/expertscommentary/27-important-lessons-from-older-farmers-87079.aspx.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/exodus/20.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/deuteronomy/5.htm.
These days, she rightfully engages in something she has certainly earned the right to - she dispenses a lot of wisdom. So, when she recently handed me a sheet of paper with the following, I took note. I post it here in the hopes that you benefit from it. It is titled…
AN OLD FARMER’S ADVICE
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best ever.
Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
Live simply. Love passionately. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
I was musing on the many truths reflected in these words purportedly presented by a wise old farmer when my wife came in with a similar, but stronger set of truths. She had been out “junkin’” - meaning she was visiting garage sales looking for interesting items – when she came across a plaque with the following “Country Commandments”…
There Is Only One God
No False Gods
No Cuss’n Gather on Sundays
Mind Your Ma and Pa
No Kill’n Cheatin’ Is Forbidden
Ya’ll Don’t Steal
No White Lies or Gossip’n
No Hankerin’ for Others’ Stuff
I trust you realize these latter admonitions are merely an intentionally rural way of re-stating the Ten Commandments. But, as such, they are much more than country aphorisms. For they are words of wisdom, not from a country farmer, but from a Heavenly Father!
For my part, I have learned to heed the advice of older, wiser individuals. And this especially applies to individuals like farmers, who have little time for either theatrics or pretense.
But if it behooves me to heed the wisdom of earthly sages, how much more does it behoove me to heed the wisdom of Heaven? For if scoffing at wisdom proffered from earthly sources will have earthly consequences, how much more will scoffing at the admonitions from Heaven have eternal consequences?!
SOURCE:
My immediate source was an old paper copy from my mother-in-law. After further research, I discovered that the same material occurs in numerous places on the internet. See, for instance:
https://m.farms.com/expertscommentary/27-important-lessons-from-older-farmers-87079.aspx.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/exodus/20.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/deuteronomy/5.htm.