Jump Start # 4031
1 Thessalonians 5:22 “abstain from every form of evil.”
Throwback Thursday: an article written from the past
Uncle Porter’s Money
Greetings once again from down here at the country church. Folks thought that I should write you’uns up there and let you know how we are doing down here. We survived the winter just fine. Grandpa Zek didn’t get out much, though.
The most exciting news as of late was the baptism of Uncle Porter, a month back. Uncle Porter is kin to just about everybody here at the church. He is Grandpa Zek’s nephew. Porter’s folks used to keep the visiting preacher in their house. Uncle Porter worked for years with the railroad company. After he retired he bought the old homeplace and commenced to taking life real easy.
Uncle Porter had never obeyed the gospel. Grandpa Zek used to talk to him real plain about obeying the Lord’s command. So we all just knew he grew up knowing things as they ought to be. He just never did anything about it. Once in a while, Porter would show up at the church house to hear a sermon. But he never got into the habit of going all the time. Folks all had their ideas too, as to why Porter had never obeyed the Gospel. Some say, Grandpa Zek talked too stern to Porter years ago. Others said that as a child he had the fever and was never quite the same after that. A few thought that Uncle Porter just didn’t want to give up his Sunday morning squirrel hunting. Whatever the reason, Uncle Porter never told us why he didn’t obey the gospel, and we never asked him, either.
Late last fall, Uncle Porter showed up again at the church house for Sunday morning services (and it wasn’t even raining). We all didn’t think much of it, for we’d figure he’d disappear again, just as quick as he showed up. Well, after bro. Williamson’s sermon, and we all were fixing to put our coats on and get ready to go, up walks Uncle Porter, right during the invitation song. He said Satan had him for long enough and that he was going to get right with the Lord. We all went down to Greener’s creek and watched as bro. Williamson baptized Uncle Porter for the remission of his sins. It was a joyous occasion.
Afterwards, Uncle Porter pulled out a wad of wet dollar bills. He put the whole amount in the collection plate. We were all so happy to see Uncle Porter do what was right. At the next service, Porter led singing. He always could sing real good. The elders asked him what made him turn around after all these years. It seems that Uncle Porter had been making moonshine and selling it to help pay for his bills since his pension check wasn’t all that much. His last batch of shine turned out bad so he poured it into the creek. The next morning, Porter found two of his cows lying dead, right down there by the creek. He said that scared him so much that and he felt so terrible for what he had done to those two cows that he immediately began reading the book of Acts. He knew what he had to do.
The elders also asked him about the large sum of money he gave. Porter said that he felt his conscience wouldn’t be at peace until he gave that money. The money, he said, came from the sell of the two dead cows.
Porter is doing just fine in the church. The elders were a little unsure about accepting money from the sale of liquored cows though. They figured that since they took money from a liquored man years ago that they could take money from the sale of liquored cows.
And so, that’s the latest from down here at the country church.
Roger
July, 1993