LightGrams
May 9, 2019
Volume 23, Number 18
Parents, beware of everything put in your child’s path. That warning comes from a story by United Press International of a box of Legos recently given to a child in Georgia. The box was purchased from a consignment store in Charleston, South Carolina, and seemed to be the perfect gift for a young child.
Legos are often the perfect gift. I’ve purchased a few sets for my grandsons, and they amaze me with how adept they are at putting these things together. But when the child in Georgia opened their box of Legos – it wasn’t Legos. The box was filled with meth, and police estimate the worth of the drugs as $40,000.
From what I’ve seen, children don’t have to go looking for drugs; drugs come looking for the child. “Friends” will offer a sample of something that will supposedly make them feel great. What the child doesn’t realize is that the drugs have hooks, and before long they are addicted. Many young people (as well as older ones) have stumbled over such blocks in their path. Building blocks? Hardly!
There are many such blocks in our world that pose as building blocks to happiness. God’s word warns us about these: “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Proverbs 23:30,31). Intoxicants of all sorts are promoted with images of glamor and fun. Where are the cameras, though, when it comes to overdoses, detox centers, and incarceration?
Think about another class of stumbling blocks, again addressed in God’s word: “For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (Proverbs 5:3,4). The lure of extramarital sex is powerful. But stop and consider where the path may lead: STDs, broken homes, jealous lovers seeking vengeance. Think before you act!
Ponder the words of Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Dried leaves don’t offer must resistance to the wind.
That last statement – “our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” – points to the powerful effects of sin. As someone once said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
Let’s end with some good news: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). God’s love and mercy are more powerful than sin.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2019, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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