Honest Brokers

 

 

 "At one time, a person's handshake was their bond - nothing else was needed"

 

Last year just before the ground froze, we had a knock at the door. I did not recognize the gentleman who was waiting for me. He said he had been here years ago and cut down some trees. Truthfully, I did not remember him. He told me he was driving by and noticed we had some dead pines just off my front yard. He had his crew nearby, and if I was interested, he would give me a "heck of a deal" on cutting down six trees, hauling them away, grinding up the branches, and taking care of the stumps. He shot me a price, and I agreed - it was a good deal. I asked what he wanted me to sign, and he said nothing. He held out his hand and he said "Lets shake". No contract, no legal mumble jumble, just a hand shake. His crew finished the job, it looked great, and I wrote him out a check for agreed to amount.

 

This is the way things use to be. A hand shake. No lawyers, no forms, just a person's word. The hand shake was nothing more than a symbol of that trust. If you broke your word, reneged on a deal, word got around quickly. Nobody would want to deal with you anymore. A person's word was his or her bond. Period.

 

Today, we are exposed to a cornucopia of false prophets and false promises. We see positions which at one time were crafted "in stone" all of sudden become very fluid. In a time where people crave universal truth and clarity, we are exposed to just the opposite. It is enough to make the most stoic of us, cynical.

A friend of mine is running for the state house in a district close to ours. My intent is to support her financially and with what ever she needs me to do. I have met her in meetings, I have followed her in Facebook. Last week I saw her again at her "meet and greet". My instincts about her were totally "right on". She wants her platform to center around one main value - TRUTH. We live in an age where falsehood has been shined up to look like truth. To hear a person of faith and conviction tell the world that TRUTH is the cornerstone, well, I almost started to cry and shout for joy at the same time. TRUTH is what makes honest brokers, honest.

I will support my friend who is running, but I cannot vote for her. Like I said, she is not in my district. If she was, there would be no question. Years ago the group Casting Stones had a hit Christian single called The Voice of Truth. Listen for the truth. Listen to your heart. Ignore the lies and falsehoods that bombard us daily. You will know where the truth starts and where the falsehood stops. We have had enough lies. We need the TRUTH. We need honest brokers. Most of all folks, we still need God.