Monday, February 23, 2015

Angel or Devil?

Monday, February 23, 2015

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Romans 12.2a (NLT)

I cannot, for the life of me, remember where I read it, or who wrote it (memory suggests maybe C.S. Lewis or William Barclay), but the two-liner is:

Every day, and with every choice you make, you are becoming a little bit more of a heavenly being, or a little bit more of a hellish being.

Throughout my life, and especially in my role as a pastor, I have heard the same droning rationalization for selfish behavior:  It’s my life; if I want to do            it’s not hurting anyone else.

Fail.
Let me say that again, slowly and clearly….FAIL!

There is a corollary truth, an upshot with global implications that grows from individuals moving towards heaven or hell with their behavior:

With each individual choice moving you towards heavenly or hellish ways, the whole world conforms that much more to an Eden or Inferno…starting with your children.

The children are always affected.  When a person who is supposed to be an adult, role-model, inspirer, leader, wholesome, always true, dependable…(you get the idea)…when the adult indulges in behavior that is hellish our world changes.  Granted, it may only be a drop-in-the-ocean kind of change – but, without question, change occurs. 

We move towards hell by millimeters, not miles.

But the change doesn’t always have to be towards hell; behavior that is transformed by God’s Spirit is heaven-like and leaves the world that much better. 

For You Today

In what direction will you move all of us on this planet today?
Heavenly or Hellish – we have a choice.




[1] Title image:  via Wikimedia Commons

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