The Good Old Days?

The automobile, which is now a part of the very fabric of American society (there are approximately 250 million vehicles of various sorts in operation in the United States today) is only a little over 100 years old. When the auto first hit the streets, it was nicknamed "the horseless carriage," for prior to the auto the horse was the basic staple of transportation. So much so that in large urban areas, the number of horses caused a huge problem. Consider New York City for example. In 1900, New York City was the home of 200,000 horses, or one for every 17 residents. That's a lot of horses. And just as all the motor vehicles on today's highways have their down side, so did horses. The biggest of which was .... can you guess???   .... manure! That's right! Two hundred thousand horses can produce an awful lot of manure, especially when you consider that the average horse produces about 25 pounds of manure each day! Multiply that by 200,000 and you have about 5 million pounds of manure to dispose of each and every day! So what happened to all that manure? In many neighborhoods it lined the streets as large snow banks do today after a winter snow storm. It was heaped into huge piles in vacant lots (some piles reaching 60 feet in height!). And not only did it stink, it was a fertile breeding ground for flies that spread disease. City planners were at a loss of how to resolve the manure problem. Fortunately for them, the arrival of the automobile solved the problem (and replaced it with others)!

Problems. In every era, humanity has encountered problems - and will continue to do so until Jesus returns. Sometimes problems resolve themselves (as in the case of unwanted horse manure). But many times we have to apply our minds - using our knowledge and wisdom to find a solution. As we do, let's not fail to ask the giver of wisdom for his help. All too often we try to fix things on our own, leaving God out of the equation. Doing that will only result in failure in the long run. Keep in mind these words of wisdom from the Old Testament book of wisdom: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj