Horrible Warnings

Wednesday, Oct. 8 There’s another facet of the McIntosh statement, the part about the warning. “If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning. The problem with that is that if I live a sinful life—and especially if I claim to be a Christian, my bad character might cause people to want to be different, to avoid the mess I’m in, but also without getting a remedy. People are not going to flock to God if I, claiming to be a Christian, am not living the life. When I was a kid I remember thinking that I didn’t want to be like . . . For the most part, my Dad was a fine, ethical man and I revere him highly. But my Dad was not perfect (no surprise, there) and there were a few things that he did or didn’t do that I said to myself “I’m not going to be like that.” So being a “horrible warning” could be a positive thing. I believe God left the account of Ahab and Jezebel in the Bible for that reason. But I’d much rather be on the other side, the side of being a good example.

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