Pride and Joy

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6 KJV


Many years ago I worked in the town office of Thomaston Mills with Willie Ellerbee as one of my salesmen. I handled his invoicing and it was quite an experience for me working with him, as he was quite the jokester. One joke he was happy to fling upon any unsuspecting new ear was to show them out of the depths of his wallet, his “pride and joy”. Without exception each beneficiary of what was to be his prize joke thought he was going to pull out pictures of his grandchildren. Instead he pulled out a commercial picture of Pride and Joy dish detergent. I can still hear him chuckle and everyone turning around to see the latest target of Willie’s practical joke.

I suppose all of us have our own “pride and joy” we carry with us… some carry jokes, some carry mementos, pictures, reminders, good luck charms and such. At one time I carried Bible verses because I was in a Master Life class and some of the verses were not ones that I had put to memory before. Some verses I had, but continued to get them confused with other verses or got the location wrong….or simply couldn’t remember well. Out of that group Philippians 1:6 is a favorite. It means that God is not going to quit on me. It means that once He starts working He is going to keep going until one of two things happens…either I go home to Glory or Jesus Christ returns. It’s a promise that He is going to be working even when I am not. It means it’s not up to me to do the work; it’s up to Him. I’m the vessel to be filled by Him and poured out to do His will. It means whatever happens in my life God is aware and is going to work it to be sure that His work continues.

There really isn’t anything left to be said except Praise God.