Today you and I are going to have some old -fashioned
Missouri cornbread. And it's going to be very
old -fashioned. It's going to be just the kind
that Mama made. And it's going to be good for
you. It's going to be so good for you. Oh, you
may not enjoy it. You may not appreciate it at
first. But would you please just sit there with
an open heart and an open mind and I'll tell
you how this little heart -to -heart talk all
started. The engineer and myself were discussing
something in the studio and... We were discussing
a person. And in the middle of our discussion,
he turned and said, why don't you talk about
this over the air? It may help somebody listening.
Do you realize that all these things are unrehearsed?
I wonder sometimes if you really do. Do you realize
that when I come into your home and you and I
have these heart -to -heart talks, that I don't
work with the script? I just sit here and talk
to you just as though I was in your own home
and just as though I'd walked into your kitchen.
The door was unlocked and I come in and say,
have you been waiting for me? I was born noisy.
You know, it's the most natural thing in the
world for me to say, hi. Sure, I can stand on
the streetcar and see somebody a block away and
think nothing of just opening my mouth when it
comes out and I say, hi there, you know. Mama
always did say I was the noisiest kid that was
ever born. Ask anybody in Concordia, Missouri,
and they'll tell you the noisiest. Kid that ever
lived in Concordia, Missouri was Joe Kuman's
girl. And it's just like that. Mm -hmm. I remember
when I was very young and Mama was always afraid
that I was going to do something to disgrace
the family. Always. And I remember that Papa
said to her one day, Now, Emma. You won't have
to worry about Catherine. It's these quiet girls
that you have to worry about. These girls that
are so good and so quiet. You have to watch them.
But you'll never have to worry about Catherine
because she's so loud. She's so noisy that everybody
knows every minute where she is and what she's
doing. And it's kind of like that, you know?
Sure. Well, sir, I'll tell you how this little
heart -to -heart talk was born. The engineer
and myself were discussing a person who is very
irritable. Everything. The slightest little thing.
gets on his nerves. Just, you know, some people
will fight at the drop of the hat, but he's one
that you don't have to drop the hat. He's ready
to fight, even though he doesn't even see a hat.
And he takes everything to himself. He's sure
that you are meaning him. when you weren't even
thinking about him. Just constantly. Until one
day I actually said, I believe that's the meanest
person in the world. I just think he is. Then
we got to analyzing him and I said, well, how
could he be anything else but irritable? Because
we were both trying to understand him. How could
he be sweet and wonderful? How could he really
be happy? How could he really be a cheerful person?
How could he really be a big person when he's
not being true to himself? His life, his personal
life is very questionable. Inside of him, there
couldn't possibly be peace. You know, it is impossible
for a man or a woman to be living in adultery
and have peace of mind and peace of soul. That
thing constantly is nagging you like a cancer.
in the physical body. It's there. It's inescapable.
There's just something about it. You may not
be aware of it, but it's there. It's a constant
pain. It's a constant knowing. You may not be
conscious of it, but if this very moment you
are living a double life, You are living in adultery.
Nobody in God's heaven may know it but you and
the person with whom you are committing adultery.
Just the two of you, you feel. Know anything
about it. It is done with such secrecy. And yet,
that thing is knowing at you. It's knowing. It's
dragging you down mentally, physically. It isn't
long before you are wondering what's happened
to your nerves. You're wondering what's happened
to you. You cut people off. And the strangest
thing is that you put the blame on everybody
else but yourself. Mm -hmm. You'll blame your
wife. You'll blame your husband. You'll blame
your employer. You'll blame the neighbors. When
really, if you just stop and look yourself directly
in the face, you'll find that the trouble lies
within yourself. You cannot be a thief. Oh, you
may say I haven't robbed the First National Bank.
Ah, I haven't. It isn't a matter of the thousands
that I am taking. It's just that, well, mentally
you have sold yourself on the fact that you have
a right to those things. Mm -hmm. If you were
caught at it, you'd have a good argument. You'd
say, well... It's rightfully mine. It's amazing
how we can sell ourselves a bill of goods. We
can just sell ourselves right down the river.
You cannot have peace of mind and peace of soul.
You cannot be a happy, you cannot be a free person.
You cannot be a big person. You cannot be a happy
person if you're doing anything underhanded.
You cannot. If you are living a double life,
I don't care what it is, if you're not living
a life that's above board, it is impossible for
you to be a happy, a contented, a free person.
It does show. It shows. Somebody said, is that
the way your mother made Missouri cornbread?
That's exactly the way she made it. I'm going
to read you a portion of the Word of God. Oh,
the Bible is great. Oh, it's so practical. And
this thing of living the Christian life? Life
is a life. It's not just something that you enjoy
on Sundays or the hour that you sit in the place
of worship on Sunday. You don't hang it up in
the closet like you do your Sunday clothes. No,
it's a life. Seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
365 days a year, 60 seconds of every minute of
your life. It is not only an experience, it is
literally a life. And it affects every part of
your living, your life, and your being. Let me
read from the seventh chapter of Matthew. ye
shall know them by their fruits do men gather
grapes of thorns or figs of thistles he asks
a question even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit but a corrupt tree bringeth forth
evil fruit evil fruit neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit and it's just like that
wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them
the only way that i can know a person is by their
fruits by their outward action, their deeds,
their conversation. I cannot look deep into the
recesses of their hearts. I cannot look into
their minds. The only way I know you is through
your conversation, by the life that you live,
the fruits of that life. But those fruits are
a result of what you are on the inside of you.
That's what Jesus is saying here. And it's just
like that. You can tell a great deal about a
person from just studying his attitude. People
are mean and suspicious and vindictive outwardly.
Only when they are mean and suspicious inwardly.
If you see somebody who is mean, who is suspicious,
somebody who'll snap at you, then there's no
reason for it at all. You know that inwardly,
there's a very disturbed person. Inwardly, at
the very root of that person, inside. Inwardly,
they're mean. They're vindictive. They're suspicious.
And when a person on the inside is clean and
good, when they've been born again, they know.
know that God is their Heavenly Father. They
are confident. There's assurance. There's a cleanness
there that you just can't describe. There are
no words in the human vocabulary to describe
it. They go to bed at night. Peace of mind and
peace of soul. They awake in the morning. They're
positive. There's assurance. Mm -hmm. Then the
fruit that comes from such a life is good fruit.
They're happy people. They're contented people.
And the more confident a person is of his own
value as a person, the better his attitude toward
others and the world in general. He just adds
up like two and two make four. It's just like
that. And big people, and I call these people
big people. Now, when I speak of big people,
I'm not talking about their materialistic value.
You know, we put such value, we've gotten so
materialistic in our thinking that we've gotten
so that we've got a dollar and cent sign on everything.
I'm not talking about a moneyed man or a moneyed
woman. Forget it. The cheapest thing in the world
is money. I'm talking about things that money
can't buy. And when I talk about... big people.
I'm talking about people who know how to love.
I'm talking about people who know how to forgive.
I'm talking about people who can smile. I'm talking
about people who hold no grudges. I'm talking
about people who aren't always carrying a chip
on their shoulders. I'm talking about people
who are self -assured. When I say big people,
that's what I'm talking about. You can be a big
person and not have a copper cent. You can be
a big person and not own a stick of furniture.
That's right. And a big person knows how to give.
And a big person knows how to love. And big people
just naturally treat you well. They're smiley.
They're courteous. They're confident. Being happy
on the inside, they reflect it. And they have
nothing to fear. You see, fear is one of the
very worst things in the world that you can take
into your body. Fear is the worst enemy in the
world that you can take into your mind. Fear
is an awful thing. And the man, the woman who's
living in adultery, constantly lives under the
shadow of fear. Fear of being caught. No man
can be happy, no woman can be happy if they are
living under the shadow of fear. You can't do
it. You cannot be happy. Big people are just
happy because they're happy within. And they
reflect it in everything they do. You meet them
on the street, they're perfect strangers. But...
They'll smile when they pass you. You've never
seen them before. They've never seen you before.
But when you glance up in their face, there's
an automatic smile there. They have nothing to
fear. They can look the whole world in the face.
They're clean on the inside. It's only little
people who'll treat you badly. And these are
the people who have never really grown up. never
mature. Something stunted that inner growth.
They have no confidence in themselves. Not really.
How can a person have confidence in himself when
he knows that he's wrong in his living and wrong
in his life? And since they're not happy within
themselves, not confident in their own ability
and worth as an individual, They can only see
the world in their own reflection. As a result,
their treatment of you is a kind of punishment
of themselves. Do you want to know something?
We can only love others to the extent that we
love ourselves. Mm -hmm. By carefully observing
how others treat you, especially strangers such
as store clerks and salesmen and elevator operators,
the men at the gasoline station, or the fellows
in the garage, or the bellboys, employees of
all kind. If you observe how they treat you,
you can make a pretty good evaluation of what
these people think of you, and you'll know pretty
well what you really are like. Oh, God forbid!
that anybody in the whole world, when they see
me coming, would say, oh, quick, quick, quick,
quick, run, run, run, run. Here comes Catherine
Coleman. Oh, dear God, I would feel like I was
the biggest failure in the whole world. If anybody,
whether it's the little newsboy on the street,
or whether it's the fellows in the garage who
see me coming in, or whether it's the bellboy
in whatever hotel I'm checking in. I tell you,
it's the nicest feeling in the world. I feel
like the richest person in the whole world. When
I can get in a taxi cab, no matter whether it's
in Los Angeles or in Pittsburgh or in New York
or wherever it is, and the cab driver will say,
why, that's you, Miss Kuhlman. You've just made
my day. You know something? I could just... Honestly,
I feel like the richest person in the world.
When I walk across the street and the policeman
on the corner, right in the middle of the traffic
will walk over and say, Catherine Coleman, just
seeing you makes me feel so good. The smile on
your face just... I feel like it's a wonderful
world just... seeing you, you know. When somebody,
maybe just a newsboy, a half a block away will
say, Hi, Catherine! And I'm just as loud and
high back at him. Uh -huh. Or when the garbage
collector will just rattle those old garbage
cans a little louder. Oh, sure, I can see them
out of the window. I've seen him empty the garbage
cans and put the lid on and wait a little bit
and I didn't come out. So he just takes the top
of that garbage can and he just rambles it real
hard. Just cause he wants me to come out and
say, hi, how are ya? Oh, sure. Kinda makes the
garbage smell a little sweeter, you know? It's
like that. God forbid that anybody in the whole
world, when they see Catherine Cooman coming,
want to run. Mm -hmm. Sure. Oh, you can't give
love to anyone else unless you have it on the
inside of you. Mm -hmm. Sure, you know. People
frequently make the mistake that when they meet
a successful and a happy person, they're so quick
to say, well, I'd be happy too if I had what
he's got. You know, it's a natural tendency to
think that his attitude is the result of his
success. It's not like that at all. That's not
the case. It's just the reverse. Oh, I've heard
it. You've heard it. You may have been guilty
of having said it. Oh, sure. If I was in their
position, I could smile, too. Sure, if I had
what they had, I could be happy, too. I could
smile. Mm -hmm. But it isn't like that. When
you see a successful person, when you see somebody
who's happy, it isn't the money they have that
makes them happy. No. It's the peace on the inside
of them. Knowing you're clean, knowing you're
right with God. having that wonderful relationship
with him sure by their fruits jesus said ye shall
know what's on the inside