WHAT DO YOU PICK UP WHEN YOU'RE OUT IN THE WORLD?

Behind our house is a field covered in cactus, tumble weeds and stickers of several kinds.  As I was out searching for grasshoppers there were things that found me, before I found the grasshopper.  I searched for twenty minutes only to catch one grasshopper for the praying mantis that I have in a cage, in order to use as an object lesson on Sunday.

What I noticed during my search was that my life was being affected by the objects all around me.  When I finished and entered the back door of our house I was carrying more than a grasshopper.  My sneakers had accumulated nine stickers.  My pants leg had tumble weed splinters stuck to them and there were a couple cockle burs clinging to me.

I was expecting to come in the house with one object but had accumulated lots of unwanted items in the process.  These nuisances brought pain when I tried to remove them but I knew it's better to remove them now then to leave them and be wounded worse by them later on unexpectedly.

When we enter our world each day the same thing is going to happen in our spiritual life.  We may be searching the internet for something Godly and instead a pop up shows up in front of our face.  This pop up might be one that provokes ungodliness.  We have the choice to sit and leave it or remove it.  The choice to leave it may be one that brings deep sorrow and wounds later on down the line. The best thing to do is destroy it. 

Romans 12:9 

 

Abhor that which is evil;

cleave to that which is good.

There are other things that tend to latch themselves onto us.  Foul language is something we are hearing more and more of.  Sometimes when we hear these words, we tend to use it ourselves later.  It surprises at the amount of parents that latch on to worst language and use it in front of their small children.  Futhermore, they smack the child if they ever us the word. 

Be careful when you go out into the world.  Make sure you aren't bringing things back into your home that will bring pain, confusion and suffering. 

EPHESIANS 4:29-32

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,

but that which is good to the use of edifying,

that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,

whereby ye are sealed

unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness,

and wrath, and anger,

and clamour,

 and evil speaking,

be put away from you,

with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another,

tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.