Scripture
If you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.
~1 Corinthians 10:12, NRSV
Quote
Our character is determined by what we would do if every restraint were removed.
~Charles Cowman
Today’s quote should crank up your search engine. Wow, what would Jack be capable of doing if all the restraints were removed? We have a tendency to look down on the Jews; after all the scripture says repeatedly, they were rebellious and obstinate. I have a philosopher friend who lives in Huntsville and he says, “God made them obnoxious so no one would want to intermarry into their culture. It is God’s way of keeping them pure racially.” I don’t know; he may be right but the one thing I do know is: we have to be careful about judging them and others. Paul gives us a list of stupid mistakes they made: [1] They demanded their own way, [2] They perverted worship [3] They became increasingly pagan when it came to sexual morality, [4] They tempted God, tried to get God to serve them instead of them serving God, and [5] they became contentious. They stirred up contention, strife and fear and it destroyed their chance of taking the land.
Here is the point: we cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking, “We are just not that stupid.” After all, would we worship a golden calf? No, we would melt that sucker down, cash in the gold bullion and go Cracker Barrel or Dollywood. The sin that came to my mind was David roll in the hay. Are you and I capable of such behavior? Imagine the same scenario with all the restraints removed. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it.
A young man poured his heart out to me just a few nights ago: in his confession he said again and again…“It was so stupid.” I told him, all sin is stupid and all sin will eventually make us feel stupid. Using drugs is stupid, sleeping with someone else wife is stupid, getting drunk is stupid– lets face it, sin is stupid. Sin is lame and we have to remember; that except for the grace of God, we can make the exact same mistakes as the Jews or David. The wise thing to do is to stay humble. The lower we are to the ground, the shorter the distance we have to fall. Micah 6:8 comes to mind, “What does God require? But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
According to James Spann and Big Mama, seven days of sunshine coming. God bless you, have a great Saturday and pray for your President and your pastor.