I Am Captain

A young man who had been brought up in one of the worst slums of New York rose to fame and fortune in the theatrical field through his literary talents. He bought a yacht, and although he hired a man to run it for him, he himself assumed the title of "Captain." He got himself a resplendent uniform -- complete with gold braid and brass buttons -- and invited his old mother to go for a cruise.

His mother had come to the United States from eastern Europe, and she had retained the native common sense that many such immigrants have. The boat stood out from the harbor, and the young man went below to change into his uniform. A few moments later he came out on the deck to parade before his mother. "Look, Momma," he said, "I'm a captain." The old lady surveyed him calmly and then, as one accustomed to deflating the ego of a bumptious child, she answered, "Sammy, by you, you is a captain; by me, you is a captain, but by captains, you is no captain."

Many people need to realize the importance of this illustration. By you, you're a good man; by your neighbors, you're a good man; but by God, you have no goodness. "... all our righteousness are as filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6).

Proverbs 26:1 - Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

1. What “uniforms” do you wear to impress others?

2. Who is the friend you can trust to do what the mother did in the story?

3. How would you respond to such a rebuke?

 

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