How to mow the grass
The other day I was driving through an upscale neighborhood and thought, “wonder why no one ever taught these people how to mow their grass?” The homes were newer, and they had expensive cars in the driveway. Many had satellite dishes on their roof, and others had a sprinkler system going. Obviously, these folks had a good income. They just didn’t know how to mow the grass.
Perhaps their parents never taught them how to operate a lawnmower, so sad. Or perhaps they moved here from a foreign land like Arizona where they covered their yards with rocks, cactus, and Blue Agave. But this is Texas. Our patron saint is Saint Augustine, and the apostates are spurweed, crabgrass, and brown patch.
Should “mowing the grass” be a required high school course? Students study the humanities, math, science, fine arts, and PE. But maybe, while learning how to conjugate a verb, a kid should be taught how to start a lawnmower. Or, instead of discovering the Law of Cosines and understanding Pythagorean Identities, a child should learn to operate a weed wacker!
Which opens the discussion to driving a car, and putting your garbage can back in the yard after the sanitary crew has finished. Road rage is often traced to poor drivers. Whether they are distracted, impaired, or just untrained, many of these drivers are an embarrassment to civilization.
And what’s the deal with garbage cans? It seems pretty straight-forward. Take the can out, let the waste management professionals empty it, and then return it to the house. Too many people leave it in the street for days to be blown by the wind or bumped by cars. It begs the creepy question: where are they putting their garbage when their can is in the street?
I call for common sense in our communities. Horace Greely said, “Common sense is very uncommon.” Henry Ford stated, “The generations that grew up on McGuffey did better in common sense and common honesty. There is no escape from the need for moral precepts.”
Perhaps our schools need to be teaching common sense from the Bible. Consider these statements:
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest – Proverbs 2:7
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense - Proverbs 24:3
Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly – Proverbs 16:22
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle – Psalm 32:9
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise – Proverbs 15:31
Bad company ruins good morals - 1 Corinthians 15:33
A rod is for the back of him who lacks sense - Proverbs 10:13
The sexually immoral person sins against his own body – 1 Corinthians 6:18
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 6:19
The lips of knowledge are a precious jewel – Proverbs 20:15
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God – 1 John 4:1
I can do all things through H
im who strengthens me – Philippians 4:13
One last thought from Psalm 72:6 (NASB) – May He come down like rain upon the mown grass.”