Double Trouble
Today’s scripture selection: First Kings 14-16
Key verses: First Kings 16:30-32
Ahab and Jezebel – their names are associated with the worst kind of evil. Ahab is listed among a long list of evil kings and all the scripture can say about him is that “he did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.” And Jezebel – well, even popular culture understands what the phrase she acted “just like a Jezebel” means – enough said.
To put it mildly – they were “double trouble.”
But, for all the damage they did, maybe their mere existence serves an important purpose. Their legacy is a warning.
We can live out our years making choices, both good and bad, and in the end be someone of whom others speak well.
Or we can live out those same years, again making choices, and in the end leave only destruction in our wake.
Life is about choice – and those choices all have consequences.
And even when someone is tempted to say, “Hey, I’m not hurting anyone but myself!” that is rarely, if ever, true.
No, we are connected to others in a powerful way. And how we live out each waking day impacts the “big picture” in ways we probably can’t even fully imagine.
So – which shall it be?
To be known as a troublemaker or a trouble-solver; to live life as an Ahab, or Jezebel, or as a beloved child of God?
The choice is all ours.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, show me the way to weigh the consequences of my choices – and to make the right ones. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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