00:00It is a beautiful Sunday morning here in Virginia. It is overcast and it does seem as if it's going to rain, but the truth is it may not.
00:13You know, I just want to tell you something. A friend of mine once told me that I was a hypocrite in that I'm trying to tell people how to live their lives based upon my experiences.
00:27And you know something, he was right. He said, how can you, a person who has been married four times, get advice about marriage? I said, well, I can because I discovered that all of my wives are wonderful, beautiful, and brilliant women.
00:48The failure in marriage was due to my flaws, not theirs, my flaws. But it takes a long time for someone to reach a point in their life to say, it's my fault, my fault.
01:04For example, I'll give you a very good example of what I'm talking about. Look at that bee. I'm sorry, you can't see him, but he's right there. Isn't that wonderful?
01:14Anyway, oh boy, all of us, if you're over 14 years old, you know for a fact that there is no man up in the clouds drinking milk and honey.
01:29Some man, some man, some man, some man, some man, some man, some man, some man, some man because we always call him he or him.
01:37We know that instinctively. But we are a hypocrite in that we don't want to offend our peers or families because we're born into believing that.
01:49So, the same applies to me. There are a lot of flaws that I have, and until I reach a point where I can work on these flaws, I will continue to be a hypocrite.
02:03Okay? First of all, think about this. I'm in my backyard right now, and this that you see was a gift from my wife. My wife tells me that she loves me very much.
02:20I know that I love her very much, and she tells me that she loves me very much. But, it took me a long, long time to actually absorb that fact of life.
02:36And I'll tell you why. I am so glad that I've reached a point in my life where I can take a look at my problems, my flaws, and I can erase them.
02:48You cannot erase a problem if you don't know you have got a problem. This garden right here, this Eden that you're looking at, is a gift from my wife.
02:59Yeah. And for the longest time, I had a difficult time accepting the generosity of other people. I grew up believing, okay, fine, if they're giving me this, what do they want in return?
03:15But it took my friend Melanie to show me that receiving a gift is also a very spiritual thing to do. She tells me, I give because I want to give. You have got to learn to receive in the same spirit and the same generosity and the same honesty that the gift was given.
03:45So, now I do that. So, now I do that. So, what does that mean? It simply means this. If somebody asks me to do something, and I know that I cannot do it to the best of my, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, the hummingbirds that are everywhere this morning.
04:03But I will do that. But I will do my very best to fulfill their request. And I will do everything in my power to do the best that I can to give them the best effort that I know how.
04:20Now, in doing that, they may say to themselves, oh my God, this guy is awful. He's awful. I expected more from him. Well, there was a time when I would take it personally, and I would say, well, I will not be giving gifts to others.
04:40But you see, that's the wrong attitude. This person is not accepting my gift as the way they look at what I give. Not because of the way I have given. Do you understand the difference?
04:56Look, here it is. If I should give you a $5 bill, once it leaves my hand to you, oh my God, the bees are everywhere. Such a beautiful gift my wife gave me.
05:10But once it leaves my hand to you, if you choose to tear up that $5 bill and throw it away, that is your choice. I should not be affected by that because I gave in the spirit of generosity. What you do is your behavior. Do you understand the difference?
05:33Okay, so there it is. I am out of my backyard, and this gift is incredible. My wife gave me this gift. So, and she's teaching me a lot. She will never tell you how beautiful, intelligent, and how wonderful she is because she's modest. But I know. And people are a recipient of her talents and skills. They know.
06:00So, that is my little spiel for this Sunday morning. And I hope you'll have a super wonderful Sunday morning.
06:30So, that is my little spiel for this Sunday morning.
07:00So, that is my little spiel for this Sunday morning.
07:30So, that is my little spiel for this Sunday morning.
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