When Fishermen Don't Fish

When Fishermen Don't Fish
~ Max Lacado

This week's cold spell reminded me of the first time I experienced the winter winds in the Hill Country. I was a teenager on a fishing trip. However, what I caught that week was much more than fish. I caught an insight into human nature.

The fishing crew consisted of my father, my best friend Mark, and me. We pulled our foldout camper down to Lake Buchanan during Spring Break anticipating a week of sun, swimming, and White Bass. That is not what we got.

During the first night, an unseasonable blue-northerner blew in. It got cold! The wind was so strong we could barely open the camper door. The sky was gray and the lake was a mountain range of white-topped waves. "No problem," we said. "We will spend the day in the camper. We have Monopoly. We have Reader's Digest. We all know a few jokes." So we spent the day indoors.

The second night it got colder. This time it was not the wind that made the door hard to open, it was the ice! We tried to be cheerful. "No problem. We can play Monopoly another ten times. We can reread the stories in the Reader's Digest. Surely we know another joke or two." Nevertheless, as courageous as we tried to be, some of the gloomy gray had obviously left the sky and entered the camper.

I noticed that Mark was irritable and edgy. I noticed that my father did not have a good sense of humor. (He told me to quit telling jokes.) It was a long day. It was a cold night.

When we awoke the next morning to the sound of sleet slapping against the canvas, we did not even try to pretend to be cheerful. We were flat-out grumpy. Mark became more of a jerk with each passing moment. My dad could not do any¬thing right and I wondered how someone so irritable could have such an even-tempered son. We sat in misery the whole day.

The next day was even colder. My dad wisely decided it was time for us to pack up and go home.

I learned a hard lesson that week. It is worth underlining. "When those Jesus calls to fish do not fish — they fight."

Christians never squabble when they are fishing for men. They do not have time! It is when we stay indoors that we grow irritable and cranky. Energy intended to be used outside is expended inside. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones. Rather than extend helping hands, we point accusing fingers. Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved.

The next time you are upset with a brother or sister, do yourself a favor, do the church a favor — get out of the cabin and go fishing... for men.

Reflect On This Thought
"If you must use a hammer, build something!"