Dr. James L. Snyder
Growing up in Pennsylvania, one of my yearly attractions was Punxsutawney Phil. According to the legend, Punxsutawney Phil could predict the future. If he sees his shadow and returns to his hole, it means he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil doesn’t see his shadow, he has predicted an early spring.
I don’t know who came up with this story, but it started on February 2, 1887. It’s hard to believe people would get advice from some animal. But then again, we often take advice from politicians.
Punxsutawney Phil changes his prediction every year, just like politicians do, making it hard to trust either one consistently.
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage grew up in northern New York. She had no experience with Punxsutawney Phil, so I filled her in on what it was all about. When I explained to her that Punxsutawney Phil can predict the weather, she looked at me with one of ‘those looks’, clearly skeptical about the weather-predicting groundhog.
She cleared her throat and said, “You don’t really believe that nonsense, do you?” That put me into a predicament. If I say I did, she’s going to think that I don’t know what I’m talking about. So, I just replied by saying, “I’m just saying what other people are saying. I don’t have any clear proof.”
I paused and said, “According to the statistics, Punxsutawney Phil has been right almost 60% of the time.”
“Well,” she replied firmly, “this Punxsutawney Phil you talk about has been right more times than you have. Is that really true?”
There are times in life when you should respond to someone, and times when you should not. I had to decide whether to respond. You can guess which one I chose this time, and you can guess why.
Someone once told me, “You can tell when a politician is lying by their lips moving.” I’m not going to comment on that, but it might have some element of truth to it.
Thinking along these lines, I wondered how nice it would be if the politicians did what Punxsutawney Phil did. They could make a declaration, and then go back into their hole. I’m not very political, but I just can’t understand how politicians can do what they do. How can they say one thing one year and in two years say something exactly the opposite? But they never go into a hole.
When Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, he makes a prediction and goes back into his hole.
I should learn from that. Everything that Punxsutawney Phil says is based on a shadow. I think that’s rather interesting. He sees a shadow and then makes a declaration. I’m not quite sure what his shadow has to do with predicting the future, but it’s interesting.
After supper, my wife said, “Do you think Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow? How much are you willing to bet on it?”
There’s no way that I’m going to bet against The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Later, as I thought about it, it did seem like an interesting proposition. Because what if I win? That one win would last for the rest of my life. Imagine beating her on some bet.
Although it was tempting, I declined for several personal reasons.
While researching Punxsutawney Phil, I realized how much influence we give to animals and politicians, often trusting what they say without question.
In giving this some thought, I realized how vital honesty is. Without it, most people would have little to say, and that thought makes me value sincerity more. As a high school student, I put a lot of trust in him. I assumed that what they said about Punxsutawney Phil was absolutely correct. Why would people lie about something like this?
I realized how important lying is for some people. If it weren’t for lying, most people wouldn’t have anything at all to say.
I know I have been caught up in some lies. Some of them are unintentional, but there’s also a side of lying that helps you get out of trouble. At least I think it will.
I have tried Punxsutawney Phil’s strategy on The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Although he can get away with lying, I have yet to get away with lying. Lying to The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage opens the door for some unfortunate times. She does not like lying and usually does something to the person who is lying… Me.
I’ll take a cue from Punxsutawney Phil and hide in a hole before I say anything, because sometimes, silence is the best way to avoid trouble and keep things right.
I was reminded of what the Apostle Peter said along this line.
“For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it” (1 Peter 3:10-11).
As a Christian, I have a serious responsibility to “refrain his tongue from evil.” I am the only one who can control my tongue. If it’s out of control, I will suffer tremendously, and I have only myself to blame.
Not only will my tongue create evil for me, but also those people around me. I must be aware of the damage I can do to family and friends.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.