The Rest of the Story

By Joe Slater       The late Paul Harvey often ended his commentary with some interesting tale having an unexpected twist. His trademark ending: “And now you know . . . the rest . . . of the story. Good day!”     Knowing “the rest of the story” often keeps us from making fools of ourselves. Wise Solomon observed, “The first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). Indeed, there are at least two sides to every story, and many can “spin” their particular side to make it sound conclusive. But when someone else presents “the rest of the story,” what first seemed obvious may become far less clear. That’s why defense attorneys cross examine the prosecution’s witnesses and vice versa. The jury needs to hear all sides to reach a just verdict.     After the conquest of Canaan, the Transjordan tribes erected an altar to symbolize their identity with the tribes west of the river in the worship of the Lord. The western tribes, however, feared that their eastern brethren were establishing a rival system of worship in rebellion to the Lord, so they prepared for war. Fortunately, before firing a shot, the eastern tribes asked their brethren to explain why they had built that altar. Hearing “the rest of the story” satisfied them that no apostasy was occurring, and no war was called for (Joshua 22:10-34).     Let us strenuously avoid the common tendency to rush to judgment! Someone said that a falsehood can run halfway around the world before the truth can get its shoes tied. And for whatever reasons, people tend to believe the worst. Speaking for myself, I’ve been called everything from a “liberal” to a “Pharisee.” And those are just the ones I know about!

tJoe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com