A Piece of String

One famous short story is the masterpiece written by Maupassant, "A Piece of String." The story's central figure is a peasant named Maitre Hauchecorne. One day as he was walking through a busy market place, the frugal old peasant saw a bit of twine lying on the ground. He bent down to pick it up and was later accused of having picked up a wallet that had been lost at that spot. He protested his innocence and exhibited the string as evidence, but he was arrested and taken to the police station. The next day the lost wallet was found and he was released, but Maitre Hauchecorne was unable to forget the insult and he began to brood over it. He told all of his friends about the incident and called all of his family members to tell them, until finally the piece of string became an obsession. He neglected his farm to go about telling strangers how he had been mistreated and wrongly accused, and he neglected his normal daily life to go around spreading the story. Eventually the old peasant died of a broken heart. And in the delirium preceding his death, he was still mumbling something about a "piece of string."

This story touches one of the most serious weaknesses in our lives. Sometimes a fault or grievance gets caught in our minds in such a way that we can't forget it, and often it stays there until it has ruined our lives. The Bible contains several hundred scriptures advising us about the importance of memory. We are told to 'always stay in remembrance' and yet we can't always seem to remember our blessings or our duties or our debts. But isn't it an interesting fact that creditors have much better memories than debtors? Sometimes we're too busy concentrating on how we've been "robbed" instead of living up to what we owe. How ridiculous to go around with our pockets full of Mr. Hauchecorne's string to remind ourselves of all of the grievances we have against the world- our greatest danger often comes from our own resentments and poisonous negative thinking.

But as serious as is our problem of not being able to remember, we often have an even more serious problem in not being able to forget. Because Maitre Hauchecorne couldn't forget the injury to his pride, he had fallen down in his work, made himself ill, and finally died of an unhappy and broken heart. Millions of other people also allow their own grudges and grievances to ruin their lives, with or without cause. Usually we make our own selves mad and we sometimes allow ourselves to become so touchy that every little thing upsets us. In a single day, a person might have a dozen experiences that may not be to our liking, but with the right kind of protective armor, those poisonous arrows will fall harmlessly to the ground and never be found still sticking out of our backs.

EPHESIANS 6:13-18
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance."