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April 4, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
I Don't Want Them to Change Me!, by Alan Smith
Elie Wiesel was brought up in a closely knit Jewish community in
Sighet, Transylvania (Romania). When he was fifteen years old, his
family was herded aboard a train and deported by Nazis to the Auschwitz
death camp. Wiesel's mother and younger sister died at Auschwitz -- his
two older sisters survived. Wiesel and his father were then taken to
Buchenwald, where his father also perished. Wiesel has devoted his life
to ensuring that the world does not forget the atrocities of the Nazis,
and that they are not repeated. He tells this story:
A just man decided he must save humanity. So he chose a city, the
most sinful of all cities. Then he studied. He learned all the art
of moving people, changing minds, changing hearts. He came to a man
and woman and said, "Don't forget that murder is not good, it is
wrong." In the beginning, people gathered around him. It was so
strange, somewhat like a circus. They gathered and they listened.
He went on and on and on.
Days passed. Weeks passed. After a while, they stopped listening.
After many years passed, a child stopped him and said, "What are
you doing? Don't you see nobody is listening? Why do you continue
shouting and shouting? Why?"
And the man answered the child, "I'll tell you why. In the
beginning, I was convinced that if I were to shout loud enough,
they would change. Now I know they won't change. But if I shout
even louder, it's because I don't want them to change me."
It's a constant battle.
We live in a world where there is a battle going on. I'm not talking
about the conflict in Iraq or Afghanistan or Kenya. You may not even be
aware that this battle is taking place, but I assure you that it is. It
is a spiritual battle being waged between God and his people and Satan
and his people (Ephesians 6:12). It is a battle for the control of the
hearts and minds of men and women, including you and the people around
you.
We sometimes use the word "evangelism" to describe our attempt to
influence ungodly people in a way that will draw them to God, the God
who created them and loves them. But, we sometimes forget that efforts
-- sometimes diligent efforts -- are being made by ungodly forces to
pull us away from God. Be assured of this: One of two things is
happening, either you are having an influence on other people or other
people are having an influence on you. It's a constant battle, much
like a tug-of-war.
And there are times, as in the story above, when we need to speak up or
take some action, not so much to change others, but to prevent others
from changing us.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
(Romans 12:1-2 NKJV).
---------
(c) 2008 Alan Smith <alansmith.servant@gmail.com>. Used by
permission. This devotional was reprinted from Thought for the
Day <http://www.TFTD-online.com>.
RELATED LINKS:
* How Falsehoods Diminish the Truth
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200803/20080320_diminish.html
* Is It Really Just All So Much Talk?
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200601/20060119_alltalk.html
* A Ray of Light in the Dark Night of Souls
http://www.heartlight.org/two_minute/2m_990421_raylight.html
* Thought for the Day
http://www.TFTD-online.com
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200804/20080404_changeme.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
THE SECRET MESSAGE OF JESUS: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING, by Brian McLaren
Unafraid of controversy or the uncomfortable gray areas of life,
McLaren's quest is to find the essential message of Jesus' life - even
if it overturns our conventional ideas, priorities, and practices.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?253
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