When I was a boy, our family would spend a couple of weeks vacationing on my uncle's farm. We helped out with the chores and learned a lot about farming. One of the tasks that was not easy for me to master was milking the cows. One of the things I could do to help was to carry two pails of milk from the barn to the room where a separator was used to separate the cream. My uncle had a "yoke" with which to carry the pails. A yoke is a wooden carrying device that is shaped to fit comfortably over the shoulders and has two metal hooks on which two pails of milk could be hung. It made carrying them easier and was a lot easier than holding two pails with my hands. The only thing a person had to be careful of was not to bump into anything or anyone when carrying two full pails of milk. It took a few trips to get used to entering the little shed where the separator stood and once or twice I bumped the side of the door quite hard. Guess what came out of the pails - no, it was not lemonade, nor was it soda pop or even water - it was milk. Every time anyone carried two pails of milk and bumped something - it was always milk that spilled onto the ground.
There are a lot of great lessons that were learned on the farm. I never did learn to milk a cow very well, but I was good at carrying milk, using the separator and cleaning the barn. There is a "spill-over" from lessons a person learns while working - just as long as we are alert enough to recognize those greater applications. I have found many helpful pieces of knowledge that continually crop up in the spiritual applications to life. I believe God has designed us to learn lessons by doing certain tasks and then applying the lessons learned to everyday life.
As we live our lives, we constantly have to negotiate our way through smaller doorways - and occasionally we are going to bump into a doorway or worse yet, we will bump into people. With my four cousins and all of us going in and out of the barn, even the cows got nervous. In a way, we all carry "pails" of attitudes which tells the world what we really are like when they spill. It is not until we get bumped hard enough, that what is in our pails is spilled out. It is in unexpected circumstances that what we carry deep in out hearts spills out. Some people look at a garden and see weeds while others see flowers. Some people realize that accidents happen to all - the good and the not-so-good. Some people realize that there are many circumstances in life that fashion and form us. Some realize that when we mature, we finally have the ability and opportunity to check and see what is in our pails.
Paul wrote that we reap that which we sow (Gal. 6:7). This was not new knowledge, it is something that has always been true. He also wrote that he who sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6). We may find it difficult to see exactly what is in our pails as we go through life - and the contents in our pails change (unlike the milk). If our lives are full of attitudes of anger, grouchiness, pessimism, bad temper, or an ugly disposition - that is what will spill out of our pail every time someone bumps into us. If our lives are full of attitudes of kindness, understanding, cheerfulness, geniality, optimism and friendliness - that is what will spill out of our pails.
We can carry bad attitudes for some time without revealing too much about our inner selves - but bumps come unexpectedly - and that is when you find out what is really inside of another person. The bigger the bumps - the more spill out. If we are alert, we will see what really is in the pails we carry. If our lives are happy and full of good things - you can be sure the pails we carry are full of the right stuff. If we have few friends and life seems to be a chore that we do not enjoy, then we need to change what is in our pails. The good thing is that we humans do have the ability to change what we carry - as long as we have the will to change it. An attitude of being positive, doing the best you can do, helping others as we also help and improve ourselves, is as necessary to being happy and content as being milked is to a cow. As essential as water is to a fish, the sky to the birds and the earth to worms. There is a law that is absolute. You reap what you sow.
The book of Proverbs did not appear in the Bible by accident. It is full of wisdom and help in ensuring that our lives are as happy as God intended. Problems will come and we will bump people and doors - but we can be sure what spills from our pails is a blessing to ourselves and to others. Much is written about the heart and what is inside of a person. That is where attitudes, disposition and character reside. That is what our pails contain, We can know these absolutes of behaviour and reap the benefit of obeying the author. Here are a few examples:
"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold" (Prov. 22:1). Guard your name and reputation and be concerned about other people. "He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich" (Prov. 21:17). Success requires hard work, diligence and self-control. "Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul" (Prov. 22:24,25). Bad company - bad manners. "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls" (Prov. 25:28). Take the time to work on attitudes that are harmful to you and others. "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back" (Prov. 29:11). We can all get angry and frustrated - controlling that is what we need. "A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel" (Prov. 1:5). We can change the contents of our pails. About wisdom: "Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you" (Prov. 4:6). We grow in grace and knowledge when we put our minds to it. The ingredient that drives all of this is the will.
Christians are commanded to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-9). Peter was known to react strongly when he was bumped before his conversion. He also came to know the need to change what manner of man he was. His words are written from experience and understanding. Peter advises us all to give diligence to adding virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance and godliness to what and who we are. He also adds brotherly kindness and tells us that if we possess these items, we will never stumble and we will make our calling and election sure. It is a comfort to know there are things we can to ensure that our election and future.
Jesus Christ was always mindful that He carried the "express image" of the Father (Heb. 1:3). He was responsible for what people thought about God by His own actions. That responsibility has been passed on to us, though we live almost 2000 years after Christ became the Passover Lamb. True followers realize that the pails they carry do represent the nature and character of Jesus Christ. The people we bump into are looking, and angels too are watching. We carry that load carefully, but as He said, His yoke is easy and light (Matt. 11:30). It is like being on a vacation on a farm - it can be fun.