2 Peter 2:17 – 19 “These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”
Peter is still talking about false prophets, and you can hear the agony in his voice! No parent who has ever grieved over a wayward child can fail to understand Peter’s sorrow. Someone whom Peter loved had been seduced and had returned to old sins.
Years ago, some childhood friends had one son. When this boy was growing up on the family farm, he seemed to be doing fine. The boy played Little League baseball and helped his father on the farm and attended church. The boy’s parents did everything they could to raise him properly. But somehow the boy became addicted to hard drugs, even bringing them home. Finally, the boy’s grieving parents had no choice but to advise him to leave and find some other place to stay. The boy moved in with his girlfriend. Sadly, one morning while the girlfriend was at work, the boy decided to do drugs one more time….and it was one time too many. This beloved son, once the hope of his parents, died from an overdose at the age of nineteen.
The boy’s parents never knew the people who introduced him to hard drugs, but they were the ones left to mourn for a lifetime. Jesus did not mince words about those who entice others into sin. In Luke 17:1-2 Jesus told his followers, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
The question each one of us must ask ourselves is this: are we stumbling blocks or are we building blocks? We are surrounded by people who may be far more fragile than we realize. When we have had a bad day, when we are under stress, when we are struggling, do we lash out at others? Are our lives exhibiting the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self – control? Or are we bearing some other kind of fruit?
Galatians 5:19 – 21 states, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
What has mastered you? If your Master is Jesus Christ, well and good! In Jesus there is peace and joy and freedom. But if anything else has mastered you, whether it be food or drink or sports or even “good things” such as physical fitness – you have become a slave to that which has mastered you.
God has given us free will to choose right from wrong and good from evil. Today, let us choose to follow Him and no other.
PRAYER: Father God, help us to truly love you and to truly serve you. Forgive us for following lesser masters and for becoming slaves to them. Open our eyes to see those things that we need to reject so that we can truly follow you. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment