Devotionals
When evil doers come at me. . .
Psalms 27:2a
Reflecting upon this, I think of the temptations in our society, such as our focus on buying more and more material items. Television commercials tell us we should all be a size five and look beautiful. Men and women are encouraged via movies and sit-coms to date outside their marriage. The temptation to stray from our morals is strong. What is so sad is that this unnecessary stress keeps us from having the peace that Jesus gives.
For teenagers and young adults, temptation is also very strong. Peer pressure to drink alcohol, take drugs, have premarital and promiscuous sex, or to tease and ridicule others is ever present. Our youth have many temptations to face each day. Parents, often single parents, must juggle the responsibility of creating a moral, healthy environment while working to make ends meet.
We can also be tempted and enticed to gossip about others. It’s easy to get caught up in scandal and pass along juicy hearsay, but this is something that can hurt many people, and should be avoided at all costs. Dishonest scams are another form of temptation. Sin can come in many forms, but it is easily recognizable as anyone or anything that distracts us from our desire to follow God.
These my enemies and foes themselves stumble and fall
Psalms 27:2b
We cannot let people who hurt us lead us to hurt them in return, or worse, hurt ourselves. If someone gossips about us or tells lies, we can go directly to that person and ask why they are doing such things, and ask them to stop. When we catch ourselves gossiping, we can be aware and stop what we are doing. We can gently encourage others to stop, also. If they continue to gossip and hurt others, they are also hurting themselves and will continue to feel miserable and inadequate.
Despite the media, we must realize that very few people are as beautiful as models. True beauty is within. I know we have all heard that, but have we really heard it? Do we believe it? Just imagine what would happen if no one bought any products that show only airbrushed, beautiful—but artificially created—models. The advertisers would catch on and include people who look average. If they didn’t make this change, none of their products would sell, and they would go out of business.
What about drinking and drugs? It takes courage for a teenager to walk away from those things and to be mature enough to know they won’t be able to succeed in their life goals if they go down that road. All of us have heard or seen people who have chosen that path and have seen where it leads.
I believe that the media, drug dealers, people who give alcohol to teenagers and people who gossip are not so much evildoers, but the things they are promoting are evil and can hurt others deeply. All of us have this side to us, and it draws us away from God. But our faith and God’s strength and compassion can help us deal with that part of us, so that it doesn’t devour us. So, in a sense, the enemy (which at times is us), stumbles and falls, and the part that is spiritually strong and turns to God will prevail.
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