thought of being cheated that he took the baker into court. The judge heard the evidence and ordered' that a loaf be brought into court and weighed. Sure enough, the bread was much less than a pound in weight. The baker was called to account for his actions, electrifying the jurists with the explanation, “When I came to this town, I decided to buy all of my butter in one pound cakes from the farmer. In fact, I used them as my standard of measurement for my one-pound loaves of bread. So, your honor, if my bread is short weight, it’s simply because, first of all, friend farmer has been cutting me down on the weight of his butter.” That’s quite an illustration of honesty! Next Paul tells us to think on things which are just. This opens up an entirely new area of our relation ships one with another. George Ber nard Shaw once wrote. “There are two tragedies of life. One is not to get what we want, and the other, per haps even worse, is to get what we think we want.” To be able to get what they want some men will go to any extreme in dealing with others. The word just means far more than merely wh a t is commonly thought of us as justice today which m i g h t characterize a courtroom scene. Justice there can be cold and steely. Behind this term is the fact that the individual heart is right with God. It certainly implies fair ness and equity between men, with out holding any grudges. The fourth exhortation for our thoughts is that we should dwell upon those things that are pure. It almost goes without saying that we are living in a very dirty and con taminated world. We hear much of air pollution and it should concern us in cities of Southern California. What about the pollution of the mind? Consider all those things which come across our brains, our thinking processes, day by day as we see the sights, not only pictured for
us on the billboards, in the maga zines, and on the television, but also in actual life. Some months ago a terrible trage dy occurred down in Tijuana, Mexi co, just south of the border. A num ber of people, particularly children, lost their lives and countless others became deathly ill because of the con tamination from poisons stored near bakery products. So, too, a Christian who is living in the world must face all of the filthy things about him. Yet it was Saint Augustine of old who rightly observed, “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you don't have to let them build a nest in your hair!” Too many of us have allowed our minds to be come worse than junk shops. It’s a fact that one look can defile. No doubt there are some things you wish you could forget. The only way to do this is by cleaning out the mind, letting it be filled with the presence of God's Holy Spirit. Over on the southeastern coast of Eng land, there is a place known as St. Margaret’s Bay which has a shoreline completely covered by the sea at high tide. This includes a well, or spring, right along the shore. One would think the water which issued from it would be bitter and salty. Instead it is always fresh and clear. The rea son is simply that the well itself is constantly fed from streams which flow from above. Our lives can be like that, although they may be washed over with the things of this world. The Bibl e says, “whatsoever things are lovely,” inspiring love for others. The Lord Jesus, in restating one of the commandments, “Thou shalt not kill,” elevated that to a higher plane, even as He did all of 21 Talk to God about your neighbors and then talk to your neighbors about God.
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