When God Speaks

I was thinking about life one day and for whatever reason the lyrics to the Beverly Hillbillies came to my mind. You know the show – this dirt poor man strikes oil accidentally and overnight he becomes a billionaire.

As I thought about the man, I felt I had stumbled onto the answer to one of life’s biggest questions. How do we live in this world content? Being ok with where we are at the time no matter the circumstances. Looking at the man, Jed gave me pause to search his life for the answer. Yes, I know Jed is a fictional character, but I believe there are Jeds around today and I also believe they live a life of contentment.

You see, Jed was beyond wealthy, but his reason for living had nothing to do with money. He would have been content staying poor. If we find that we are motivated by money, searching for answers by accumulating more money, we will not find contentment in our lives. We must be just fine with where we are, rolling with the punches, to discover contentment.

I look at Jed’s life and his person and find that although he may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, he was the smartest one. He seems to have no clue as to what others around him think about him or his family. He simply ‘lives simply’ and rolls with the punches. He never loses sight of what is important and that is being honest, giving, loving and forgiving. Those are his life’s staples. He remains the same day in and day out. Some may call him childlike and claim he doesn’t have a lot of intelligence about the world around him, but this man is happy and content. I would take this any day over being filthy rich and soulless. Only misery can accompany that.

Now others around him have vested interests in knowing him, but Jed remains clueless as to their motives. Or maybe not. Maybe Jed can see through these charades and chooses to let life deal with them. Unlikely, given the storyline, but who knows the deepest parts of one’s heart? Only God knows these depths and unfortunately the writers of the sitcom didn’t factor this in, but I do and I believe Jed knew God’s ways and exhibited them daily.

The story of Jed is just a story. One to make us laugh and not take life so seriously or I might add so selfishly. However, a lot can be gleaned from Jed’s life and in so doing and applying to our own lives, we might just find a Jed buried within.

Check him out if you have time. I would welcome your research. So, here we go:

Come & listen to my story bout a man named Jed. A poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed. And then one day he was shooting at some food and up from the ground came a bubblin crude.

Oil that is. Black gold. Texas tea.

Well the first thing you know ole Jeds a millionaire. Kinfolks said, Jed move away from there. Said California’s the place you otta be so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly.

Hills that is. Swimming pools. Movie stars.

Well now it’s time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin. They would like to thank you all for kindly droppin in. Your all invited back again to this locality. To have a heapin helpin of their hospitality.

Hillbilly that is. Sit a spell. Take your shoes off. Y’all come back now, ya hear?