Former President Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days.
Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, “Well, come by in a couple of days. Your shoes will be ready.”
When the future president did so, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe! “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you,” the cobbler said to his indecisive customer.
“I learned right then and there,” Reagan later said, “if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.”
There are decisions we have to make everyday. Some are easy, but some a more difficult. Freedom of choice is valued highly in America. This reminds me of the scripture: “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
When can you remember someone else making a decision for you?
Tags: choice, decision, Reagan
Twenty-one years ago, on July 3, 1988, the guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner with 290 souls aboard. All were lost. The ship’s captain had mistakenly thought they were under attack by an F-14 Iranian fighter. It was a tragic mistake.
Because the cruel treatment of American hostages in Iran was still fresh in many minds, public opinion polls opposed paying compensation to the victims’ families. But President Reagan, a hard-liner, approved compensation. Asked by reporters if such payment would send the wrong signal, he replied, “I don’t ever find compassion a bad precedent.”
The feeding of the 5,000 was a miracle born out of compassion. Jesus was moved by the physical and spiritual needs of the people (Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:34). As Christians, we must look at the whole person through the eyes of Jesus. Being moved by compassion always sends the right signal.
When was the last time you showed compassion to someone in need? Tell us about it.
Tags: compassion, hero, Reagan