The drug commercials on television are amazing the way they treat our intelligence. They go something like this. If your legs are restless then you might have Restless Leg Syndrome. If you have dry eyes then you might have Dry Eye Syndrome. If you have diarrhea then you might have diarrhea. Really! Then comes the pitch for their product. Talk to your doctor about Xiayaflex. Xiayaflex might cause dry eyes, restless legs and in some cases it may be fatal. Really! Oh, don’t take if you are allergic to Xiayaflex.
So, I needed to say, “If you find yourself sinning then you might be a sinner.” But what follows now is not an insult to your intelligence but one of the wisest things I could ever tell you. Talk to your God about His Son Jesus. Jesus Christ will bring relief from stress, bring calm into your life, relieve you from guilt, grant you peace, forgive all your sins, make you morally stronger, give you resistance to temptation, and extend your life (infinitely). The side effects might be you are no longer comfortable with your old friends, family members might think you have changed into someone they don’t know and in very rare cases might cause a divorce from your spouse. Jesus did say, “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Matthew 10.
I do need to add here just because your new faith experience is alienating your old friends does not necessarily mean you are being a good witness for Jesus. You actually might be obnoxious. The important thing is to pray to learn to be like Jesus, kind, gentle and non-judgmental. That never causes people not to like you.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 10, 2016
PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.rg