Keys to the Kingdom

“I could tell you stuff about her that would make your hair curl!“ (Please don’t.) “You won’t believe what I just heard about him!” (No, I won’t.) Sometimes we find ourselves in conversations against our will. It starts innocently enough, but quickly heads south and turns into gossip. I hate gossip as much as I love chocolate. Hearing “juicy tidbits” about others makes me want to dig a hole and crawl in. I know of a godly man that wouldn’t listen to gossip. He would simply walk away without saying anything. I think his silent response and gentle actions spoke louder than any words.

Mom used to wisely advise me, “You don’t have to tell everything you know.” I often think of the New Testament scripture about Jesus’ mother: “All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often” (Luke 2:18,19 NLT). Mary pondered things in her heart; she mulled it over, meditated on it, carefully thought about it. She kept it to herself because the things she had witnessed were too personal and treasured to share. Occasionally, some experiences are so amazing that we are left speechless.

Gossip can be defined as undisciplined or idle talk about an individual’s private affairs involving details that are not confirmed as being true. However, even if the intriguing details are true, if you truly love your neighbor as yourself, you should choose not to share the hurtful newsflash. The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” would apply here. “If you are sensible you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it” (Proverbs 19:11 GNT). God’s way is to overlook a wrong and not blab it (which could possibly destroy the person‘s reputation).

Instead of setting our radar for gossip, let’s challenge ourselves to see how many people we can build up, encourage, and compliment every day through our words. Reach out in love and concern to help alleviate tough situations for others. “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT).

A gossip (intentionally or unintentionally) creates mischief in society. “A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13 NLT). I want to be a confidential friend who can be trusted with someone’s heartache. I don’t want to be guilty of James 1:26 NLT: “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.” The way we treat and speak about others reveals the true condition of our heart.

On the flip side of gossip, let’s use our words to build up those that have been flattened by life’s steamroller. “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works” (Hebrews 10:23 NLT). We can use our tongues to spur one another on. Positive reinforcement is all some people need in order to believe they can do the seemingly impossible. Words of encouragement can change everything. Let’s go for it!

The Key: When someone says, “I’m not supposed to tell this, but…,” it’s time to dig a hole or put on your walking shoes.

Community College

James Fallows, a freelance writer, became curious about the demise of small towns; so, in 2013, he and his wife, Deborah, traveled over 100,000 miles around America to find out the common factors of communities that are succeeding despite the trends.  They wrote about it in a book entitled, Our Towns (thank you to Rick Mayhew for sending me a copy), which was turned into a documentary by HBO, and summarized in an article published by Atlantic Monthly magazine.

Number seven on their list of 11 common attributes of thriving small towns is their support of a community college.  These resources are efficient, effective, and extremely accessible to our children and grandchildren in rural America; it certainly gives us a better chance to keep them here and slow the “brain drain” crippling many small towns.  Beyond the positive influence on our youth (and some adults), what is the economic impact of Fort Scott Community College (“FSCC”) on Bourbon County?  Here are some numbers:

• Total revenue for all sources in fiscal year 2021 was $13.2 million, expected to increase to $14.4 million in 2022.
• Total student income was $5.2 million in 2021; that budgeted number is $6.1 million for 2022.
• FSCC employs 170 individuals, 119 of which live in Bourbon County; annual net wages for our county residents total $3.2 million.
• FSCC does business locally whenever possible, patronizing 82 Bourbon County businesses with close to $1 million in spending in 2021.
• Tuition waivers totaling $76,668 were awarded to 127 Bourbon County residents in 2021.
• FSCC students volunteer about 6,000 hours of community service to Bourbon County over the course of a school year. I know dozens of them showed up for the recent downtown Fort Scott cleanup.

These are significant contributions to our community, all accomplished while avoiding a mill levy increase since 2012.  In 2013, the levy was 29.519, and was budgeted at 29.299 in 2022.  Given the steady increase in costs to run any organization over that same time period, one can only conclude that FSCC is run on a financially sound basis.

As with all political entities, there is going to be significant disagreement over how they are run and how the money is spent, but no one can deny that we much better off with FSCC.  Having lived in a rural Kansas county that tried and failed to attract a community college, I can tell you that we are envied.  Four of my 11 grandchildren live in or around Bourbon County and may attend FSCC, but either way, I am happy to pay a little higher taxes in exchange for the all-around economic impact to our community.  It is a must for site selectors who are considering locating a new business in rural counties.

You may be focused on the imperfections of FSCC, but I encourage you to consider the economic and academic treasure it is for Bourbon County.  We would be a much poorer place without it.