The Joker. Cruella Deville. The Big Bad Wolf. Kryptonite. The Wicked Stepmother. The Devil.
Needless to say, these are the bad guys (and gals) of all kinds of stories. Most stories have that character that you just DESPISE. They're mean, and evil, and the try and hurt the innocent. They're the problem. The antagonist.
But, the truth is-- they keep the story going. If there were no Wicked Stepmother, Cinderella would of gone to the ball in a gorgeous dress made by someone other than little birds and chipmunks. She wouldn't of even needed to go to the ball, because she probably would of already had a husband by now.
But what kind of story would THAT be, right? Who wants to read about a girl who has it all, and doesn't need any help whatsoever. It's plain. It's uninteresting. It's boring.
It's worthless.
Today, our reading had some pretty bad characters. There were three that spoke to me, anyhow. And I'm sure that after I start describing them, you'll be able to think of a few people that resemble these meanies. If you haven't already, please read today's chapters with the BIBLE READER widget to the left of this post, or at http://www.bible.com/. I'll be here -- waiting. Don't worry.
So first off, we have Nabal.
As you can hopefully tell, he's the one on the left. David was begging his for some help, because he needed some food and things to help him travel. Poor David had been fleeing from Saul (who we'll talk about later) who wanted to KILL David, for no reason in particular. He was jealous, actually.
But back to Nabal. He was extremely rich, he had hundreds of sheep and livestock that David could have. But, Nabal had been evil his whole life, apparently. He was SO STINGY he was actually known for his meanness.
So, you guessed it, when David asked for just a fraction of his stuff, Nabal was like "I don't even know you! Why should I feed you when I have other people I can feed others, like my workers?"
Nabal didn't know David, and that was his loss. If he had heard of David, he would of known that David was really tight with God, and Nabal died shortly after he denied David. Then, David took his wife, and all of his stuff was worthless now. That showed him, right?
Obviously, Nabal is bad guy number one. He has been mean his whole life, and focused on getting stuff, and never giving it to anyone. His whole life was organized around his flocks and his money and all this STUFF. Then, had an opportunity to help someone, and didn't. Nabal died, his wife was thankfully given to David, and his stuff was worthless.
Then we have Saul.
His face looks pretty innocent here, right? Even though he's holding a spear thing... he could be nice at times. Which, is in fact... true. Saul isn't evil all the time, unlike Nabal. Like I said earlier, Saul was out to kill David. So, he was pretty evil in parts of the reading. But yesterday, he was actually really nice! David decided that there was no reason to fight, and be after each other. So, he called a truce, and Saul agreed, and it was a happy pappy moment.
And then... (drum roll, please...) we have...
David. Shocker, I know. He's bad guy number three in today's reading. Why, you ask? Why is poor little David a bad guy?
I'm not going to come out and list the reasons. But I think he fits the role of bad guy number three. Bad guy number one has been evil all his life. Number two is one evil on the inside, and is nice sometimes.
And David, bad guy number three... he just started to be evil. I mean, yeah, he killed Goliath. That was to protect his land in a war, which I guess is allowed. And yes, he spared Saul's life TWICE, which makes him a pretty nice guy.
But if you read today's reading... chapter twenty seven is all about how David went on random raiding streaks and started killing various nations throughout the land. So, David just started sinning and being evil (for today's purposes, he just started. That doesn't mean he has never sinned until now, but he's starting to increase his evilness.)
Hopefully, some people have come to mind. I know that sounds bad, but sometimes people make mistakes and don't bother to fix them. The might even enjoy it a little, and decide to go out on a mean streak to sin over and over again.
Does that make them bad, per say? Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean they can't be changed.
So, my message today is about the evil people, and evil things in the world. All this badness, all this SIN, makes me wonder, "why doesn't God just remove all the evilness in the world?"
I mean, Jesus brought people back to life! He walked on water, he rose from the dead. Why isn't he relieving us of our troubles? Why don't we live in perfect harmony? Why is there death, and sin, and poverty, and divorces, and pain, and guilt? WHY?
Let's get back to the main reason we're put on this earth. As believers, we're supposed to tell others about Jesus, and we're supposed to be rewarded one day. So, if we're telling others, and trying to live a good life, why aren't we happy all the time?
Let's say there's a person that looks up to us, or wants to believe in God, and they're seeing how you deal with life. It happens whether we realize it or not-- people watch us as Christians. They might think that your life becomes ultimately better instantly with Jesus. Granted, it does become better... but that's a different message.
Let' get back to the message for today, or the question of the day, rather. Why is there sin? Why is there sadness?
In my opinion, Christians are faced with troubles because of our purpose here. That person, or group of people, that watch Christians... when they SEE that pain does happen to believers, and it becomes better with Jesus, don't you think they might be interested?
If there were no pain, and no sorrow, there wouldn't be a need for prayer, or thanks to God. If there were no death, and no grieving, no one would need to lean on Jesus. No one would even believe there was a God-- there would be no purpose.
Just like with fairy tales.
The bad guys make the story get going. They make the good guy look even better and make the ending seem even more victorious. The make that happy ending moment worth it for everyone watching. If there were no bad guys, then the main character wouldn't look so accomplished. If there were no stepmother, there would be no reason to cheer for Cinderella when she gets true love, she already has everything. There would be no pain for her to endure through.
Same thing with us. God puts problems in our lives so we can handle them with ease, He puts troubles there so we can rise above them and thank God that we did. Everyone would see that there IS God that can help us through everything. They would know that there is a purpose for Him, and that we don't get everything handed to us.
So, next time you're faced with a problem, whether it be big or small, don't disregard God during is. Don't blame Him, either. He put it there for a specific reason, and we need to deal with is and give thanks afterwards. That way, everyone will see that we CAN overcome trouble with Jesus.
We'll be living and breathing witnesses that God exists. WE tell the world.
Understand? I know I rambled on and on about this, but I think it's really important. I hope it makes a little sense. Alright-- Peace out!
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