An elderly Christian once said:... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

The lips of a fool shall swallow him up; the words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and the end of his talk is raving madness.
Ecclesiastes 10:12.13

An elderly Christian once said: In my team of building workers I had a man who swore disgustingly. It always made me feel sad when I heard him. It was particularly bad on Mondays, when, after drinking excessively on Sunday, he found the work more difficult.

On one such Monday I had a helpful idea: I called the man across. On his way over he said,‘I know I'm not doing the work very well today. You needn't tell me. But one must have some pleasure. Do you begrudge me a few glasses of beer?"

"No," I answered. "I didn't want to speak to you about your drunkenness. If you think your free time is there for you to ruin your health, I can't forbid you. What matters is that you should do your work properly. What I won't allow is that you pray here publicly on the building site." - " Me pray? I never pray!" - "Yes, you do. All the morning I have heard you calling on God to damn you. Do you really want Him to condemn you? Is your life so repulsive to you that you want damnation before the time comes? For my part, I shall pray to God that you might be saved."

The man went as red as a beetroot, turned round and went back to his work. Had he taken it to heart? God knows. From then on at least he took pains to come to work sober. And I never heard him swear again.

Today's reading: Joshua 18:1-28 · 1 Corinthians 14:13-25