Snidely Whiplash and Dudley Do-right

Years ago, there was a cartoon on TV whose main characters were Dudley Do-right who was the good guy, and Snidely Whiplash who was the bad guy.

In our quarreling and conflicts we tend to see ourselves as Dudley Do-right, always right and good.  We tend to see the other person as Snidely Whiplash the villain who is always wrong and bad. This tendency causes self-deception and failure for both "Snidely" and "Dudley." Self-justification prevents the one who is wrong from seeing himself and repenting and prevents the one who is right from hearing what God may be saying to him in terms of lessons, attitude, disposition, and procedure. In every situation, God has something to say to everyone involved. The one whose first response is to "flatter himself" will be busy in self-justification, self-defense, and making himself look good and will not hear what God is saying to him.

The first principle to keep in mind is that fire tests the righteous as well as the wicked. Usually, people tend to think the fire is directed only toward the wicked or the person who is wrong. Therefore, we mistakenly think the burden of judicious and conscientious behavior is on others while we, being right and innocent, are safe from God's judgment and are free to "act up." But the fire tests both "Dudley" and "Snidely," and, whether we are right or wrong, there is a step of obedience required of us in terms of attitude and behavior. The common objective for everyone should be to please God, respond redemptively, and maintain fellowship and communion with the Lord.

It is especially necessary for the "good guy" to beware, because everyone regards himself as the good guy. He thinks he is right when he may, in fact, be wrong, or partially right and partially wrong. It is also possible to be right in position and wrong in disposition. This is a key point for the Christian to consider. He must always conduct himself in such a way as not to break his peace and communion with the Holy Spirit. He must remain sober and keep a right perspective in order to please the Lord and pray effectively.

A person who is right in his evaluation of a problem must also be right in his spirit, if he expects to come through the situation redemptively and to exert a redemptive influence upon the situation and upon others. The guilty who refuse to see themselves, and who fail to break and repent, will be burned by the fire. Moreover, the person who is "right" but whose heart is governed by carnality and who acts outside of fellowship and communion with the Lord will also be burned by the fire. In other words, "right" people who get in the flesh in their attitudes and behavior will fail the test. There are many people who were "right" in terms of their position, yet today they are wandering in disillusionment and spiritually dry or backslidden, because they did not please the Lord in how they conducted themselves.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mrs Parker's Electric Paddle

We Knew It Was For Our Good When I was a kid there was discipline and order in the classroom. Teachers could actually teach, and kids could actually learn. We had a healthy fear of punishment, and we knew it would certainly come if we deserved it.   A ll of us kids instinctively knew it was not abuse, but a justified response to misbehavior and rebellion, or an attempt to prevent us from doing things that were dangerous or harmful. We knew our parents and teachers (generally speaking) loved us and were trying to educate us and train us to be mature and responsible. Mrs. Parker's Electric Paddle In my third year of elementary school, we moved from the old, white, wooden schoolhouse into a new brick facility.   When I stepped off the bus onto the new school grounds, the word was going around that our principal, Mrs. Parker, had an electric paddle installed in her new modern office. None of us wanted to face that mysterious and unknown instrument. Whe...
Read more

"That Way I Can Kill the Whole Bird With One Stone."

Just as truth can be stranger than fiction, reality can sometimes be funnier than jokes. Therefore, I try to keep track of unusual things I hear people say. Below is a list of word-abuses that I have heard over the last few years. These friends and acquaintances did not realize they were corrupting a word or using the wrong word. The following sentences were spoken in earnest. A fellow told me he did not want to sound self-defecating . A second cousin told me her sister had an infection in her influfial tubes . One man said he suffered from sick-as-hell-anemia . The hospital had to place a lady’s husband in contentious care . Another man was in there with a brain hemorrhoid . A fellow told me a family member had immaculate degeneration . One man said he had problems with his heart rhythm, but the doctors had decided not to install a space-maker . A friend told me, “While I am in town, I’ll go by and pay the fine and also return Joel’s guitar. That way I can kill the whole bird with one...
Read more

Some Thoughts on the Manifested Presence of God

John 15: 19. “A little longer, and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me...” Rev. 1: 10-17. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet…And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me…and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength…” 1 Cor. 15: 3-8. “…He rose again on the third day…and was seen…by Cephas…by the twelve…by over five hundred brethren at once…and after that He was seen by me also….” To see or not to see? The natural man comprehends God in the same way as a blind and deaf man would view a brilliant sunrise or listen to beautiful music. He would be oblivious to the wonders around him no matter how brilliant the sight or how loud the sound. The revelation of God works on the same principle. The person who has a heart after God will see or hear Him in the smallest sign, while the one who has rejected God in his heart will see nothing or explain it away, no matter how powerful the Presence or how obvious th...
Read more