At first I was a bit taken back and then amused. There was an elderly lady (someone older than me) in the supermarket with a lip ring and a diamond stud in the side of her nose. I have gotten used to seeing that in young people but really now – Granny? I probably should not tell you what text jumped to my mind. It reveals that I am not such a nice person. It was Proverbs 11:22, “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.”
There are some things that just don’t go together. Ferrari pickup trucks, breeding a Chihuahua with a Great Dane, marrying a Jihadist to a Jew are just a few things that pop into my mind. According to Paul there are a few things that do not go with being a Christian. He lists them in Galatians 5. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
That is a very depressing list. So let’s feed our souls with Paul’s list of things that do go along with being a Christian. It is also in Galatians 5. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Now that’s much better. If things are good let’s think about them.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 4, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org