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Don't Turn Around....


 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:19-23)
          Yer either fer us or agin us. North or South. East or West. Up or Down. In or Out. Yin or Yang. Our guest today is the Law of Noncontradiction. One cannot be A and A- in relation to the same thing at the same time. If you are a slave of sin, you are not a slave of righteousness. If you are a slave of righteousness, you are not a slave of sin. If you’re on Interstate 90 heading east out of Erie and I tell you you’re headed to Buffalo, insisting that you’re on your way to Los Angeles won’t get you to the West Coast. Sorry.
          The problem is, we’re like Lot’s wife. We have this desperate need to turn around, to look back, to want to hold on to what we had instead of facing what we’re sure will be hardships by moving on. It’s said that you won’t move on until the pain of staying where you are is greater than the pain of moving. You will also probably return to where you were as soon as changing hurts, because you’re sure where you were has to have hurt less than you recall, and less than what you believe you’ll face.  Except, the where you were leads to death. You’re in a horror movie. Don’t go upstairs. / downstairs. Don’t stay where you are.  Don’t turn around. Don’t look back. Run. Watch where you’re going and run until you don’t even remember how to go back where you were. Don’t sit down to take a rest, thinking you’ve gone far enough and are safe. You’ve read the books. You’ve seen the movies. When you let down your guard is when you die.

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