The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

Resisting the Intrusion of the Irrelevant

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"When Peter asked our Lord, concerning John, 'Lord, and what shall this man do?' (John 21:21), the reply was, 'If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me' (v. 22). Our Lord was never sidetracked by the secondary. Whether questioned about tribute to Caesar, dividing an inheritance, or why a Jew should ask a drink of water from a Samaritan, He always stuck to the main issue. We must resist the intrusion of the irrelevant. 'What is that to thee? Follow thou me.'"

from Pepper 'n Salt by Vance Havner. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1966

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