WEBVTT

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i went to see a wise old man and he was very

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kind what is life's greatest gift i asked and

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he answered peace of mind when i met a great

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physician i was quite surprised to find that

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he thought the finest medicine was simply peace

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of mind And so I pass this on to friends who

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would leave all gloom behind. The key to life's

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great mystery consists of peace of mind. And

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the only one who can give the peace that passeth

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all understanding is Jesus Christ himself. You

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and I have been having some good heart -to -heart

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talks. Well, anyway, I enjoyed them. You know,

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sometimes after I finished a sermon and I walk

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off of the platform, I think, well, if nobody

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else enjoyed the service today, I sure did. You

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know, it's kind of like that. And so I guess.

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That's the reason why way back there I started

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calling these little times of fellowship that

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you and I have together just heart -to -heart

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talks. Yes. It's, um, I'm talking to myself.

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And, uh, you see, I preach to myself. I do everything

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in the world to put into practice everything

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that I talk to you about. It's just like that.

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And one thing that I have found out a long time

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ago, and that is the fact that the Christian

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way is the natural, the normal way of living.

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And it's just like that. And all on earth that

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I'm trying to do in these down -to -earth talks

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is just teaching you how to live. I told you

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the other day that in this generation, I've come

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to the conclusion that we know all there is about

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life. Take a youngster, take a child, 12 years

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of age. You'd be amazed. You would be awed when

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you fully realized how much that youngster knows

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about life. And yet, with all of our knowledge

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regarding life, we know everything about it except

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how to live it. And so we continue just discussing

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this thing. regarding how to live. There are

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more folk worrying about their nerves. There

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are more folk on the very borderline of a nervous

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breakdown. There are more folk who are taking

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tranquilizers. Some are taking pills to sleep.

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Others are taking pills to keep awake. Some are

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taking pills to relax. Some, well, we are living

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in a pill generation. A pill for this and a pill

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for that until we're just pill to death. Let's

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go back. use some good old -fashioned common

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sense along with a simple trust and confidence

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in Almighty God, and after all is said and done,

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all we need is peace of mind and peace of soul,

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and He's the one who can give that. I told you,

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you know, the three rules for a poised life.

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And I believe that if you can honestly... Live

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according to these three simple rules. You'll

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never have to worry about a nervous breakdown.

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You'll never have to get your prescriptions filled

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for your nerves. Oh, sure. All right, the first.

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And we discuss this briefly in our last Heart

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to Heart Talk. Get the right mental picture of

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your own life. And when you get the right mental

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picture of your own life, you're going to be

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surprised how differently the whole world will

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look to you. You know, most of us have a distorted

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view. Most of us think of ourselves as being

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hemmed in. by a vicious circle of impossible

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demands. From every side we see tasks and burdens

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and problems and responsibilities rushing at

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us. Oh, there's so much confusion and it isn't

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long before we find ourselves frustrated. Every

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moment we have a dozen things to do. I find myself

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caught up in that vicious circle. The cruel pressure

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that never relaxes. You know exactly what I'm

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talking about. That pressure, that pressure from

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the time that we awaken in the morning until

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we go to sleep at night. That terrific pressure.

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And not any one of us can relax under this pressure.

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We're always overburdened. We're always overtired.

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You know exactly what I'm talking about. Mm -hmm.

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I suggested the other day that we think of our

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life as an hourglass. Our problems must be single

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file. That's what the Bible talks about when

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it says sufficient... Unto the day is the evil

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thereof, one day at a time. Life is a book in

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volumes three, the past, the present, the yet

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to be. The first we've read and we've laid away.

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The second we're reading day by day. The third

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and last of volumes three is hidden from view.

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God. holds that key. Remember that. Just remember

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that. Oh, sure. Now we come to the second thing

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that is most important. Scale down the demands

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that you are making on other people. You may

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not realize that for years you have been making

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demands on those around about you. You may be

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a mother in the home. You may be the husband,

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the head of the household. A son. You may be

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the employer. You may be the employee. You have

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not been... are the demands that you are not

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only making on yourself, but on other people.

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Children make this demand openly. We as adults

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make it in secret ways, but all of us make it.

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We wait for applause. We seek approbation. We

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seek praise for every little... thing that we

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do. After we've done it, we stand around and

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we wait for somebody to pat us on the head or

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pat us on the back or shake our hand and say,

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oh, that's great. We're anxious to know what

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people will say about it. We think that surely

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someone will observe how skillful we really are.

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We live our lives. demanding expressions of gratitude

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from the individuals that we help. We wonder

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how soon they're going to notice us, how soon

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we're going to receive thanks, gratitude. Yeah.

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Oh, my friend, I repeat. You'll save yourself

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an awful lot of wear and tear on yourself if

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you'll just scale down the demands that you're

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making on other people. Forget each kindness

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that you do as soon as it is done. Forget the

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praise that falls to you the moment. It is one.

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Forget the slander that you hear before you repeat

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it. So get each spite, each slight, each sneer,

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wherever you may meet it. Remember each kindness

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done for you, whatever may be its measure. Remember...

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Praise by others one and pass it on with pleasure.

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Remember every promise made and keep it to the

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letter. Remember those who lend you aid and be

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a grateful debtor. Remember all the happiness

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that comes your way in living and then forget

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each worry and distress. Be hopeful and forgiving.

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Remember good. Remember truth. Remember heavens

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above you. And you'll find through age and youth

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that many hearts will love you. It works. A really

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great person. big person, a mature person, has

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learned to forget and remember. But wisdom, true

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wisdom, is knowing what to forget and what to

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remember. All right? Here comes the third thing.

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Are you still with me? Oh, you know, there are

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those who will listen to me. This is just some

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good old Missouri cornbread. It doesn't have

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the butter on it today. It doesn't even have

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the molasses. It's just good old -fashioned cornbread.

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But there are some people who really cannot see.

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any of these faults in themselves. Even when

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I'm speaking, if somebody said, yes, ma 'am,

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that's Mrs. Borkstedt. I hope she has a radio

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on. I hope she's listening. Somebody else says,

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now, I hope Sarah is hearing this. This would

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be so good for her. Right now, you forget about

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Sarah. And Ethel and Kim. Look yourself directly

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in the face. At any cost, keep your world from

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growing small. And this is especially important

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to people who are approaching middle life. It's

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so easy. To grow small in your thinking, small

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in your living, small in your ideas. As someone

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wrote regarding a certain character in his book,

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Edith was a little country bounded on the north

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and south and east and west by Edith. Uh -huh.

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You know, some of us let our world shrink so

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that presently we find ourselves literally living

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in a miserably restricted area, surrounded only

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by our own feelings and our own interests. And

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so few people realize what's happening to them.

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So very few people. And when... Ever one's world

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becomes limited, becomes small, it is long before

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we resort to self -pity. If when your husband

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comes home at night, comes home from work, he's

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tired, he doesn't want to hear all about what

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the neighbors are doing. It's a small talk to

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him. He doesn't care that when Lily came over

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and borrowed a cup of sugar, that she stayed

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for at least two hours and gave you all the gossip

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in the neighborhood. And then when your husband

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comes home, immediately you'll say, Lily came

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over today and this is what she said. You know,

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Mrs. So -and -so bought a brand new sewing machine.

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And the salesman is a relative of hers. And she

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just put the down payment on it. And they want

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to act so smart. They want to act so big. And,

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you know, now your husband is tired. And he'll

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say, honey, let's just be quiet a little bit

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and relax. And immediately there's self -pity.

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He's doing this to me. Here I've been at home

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all day. I haven't had anybody to talk to. Just

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the children. And it isn't long before you're

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in tears. Forget the smallness of your world.

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And... Don't let it become your master whatever

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you do. If you will permit your small world to

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become your master and you're mastered by it,

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it isn't long before you will have resulted to

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self -pity. And do not permit yourself to accept

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pity either from yourself or from any other man.

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Self -pity is the most dangerous form of emotional

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charity. It may seem to comfort you at the time,

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but beware of such comfort. It'll turn you into

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a spiritual bum, a whiny weakling, ever on the

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watch for handouts. It does not matter what fate

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has done to you. You will be crippled in body.

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broken financially, cheated, despoiled by life,

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robbed by death of the thing that was dearest

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to you. Still within you, there will remain something

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that is unbeaten, something that may inspire

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respect and command service. And still, no matter

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what happens to you, you can come back if you

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don't take step. pity if your world has not become

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small. Think big. Forgive big. Act big. The one

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who controls you is big. God almighty. May your

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thinking, may your world may your living be as

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big as god himself oh sure ah it matters not

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how straight the gate how charged with punishments

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the scroll in a real sense and the master of

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my fate and the captain of My soul, I know those

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are noble words. Make them your words. Stand

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up straight in your rags. Stand unquivering in

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your wounds. God alone knows what's around the

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corner. God alone knows if there is a corner.

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or if there is anything around that corner. But

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this moment is yours. Your life is yours. Make

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it big. Live a full life. Whatever you do, my

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friend, whatever you do, at any cost, keep your

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world keep your thoughts keep your life from

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growing small