BE CAREFUL
«The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul» (Proverbs 16:17).
I STOPPED consuming crack and other drugs, but alcohol still has me in its grip. I have even drunk perfume as long as I could consume alcohol. I want to go back to living on the farm, with my brother, away from my friends on the street, away from the smell of alcohol, away from temptation. I’m going to try it one more time.» These were the words of Andrey, a homeless young man trapped by drugs.
I encountered him once again in March of last year. He was doing very badly, as usual: he smelled awful and it was clear that he was under the influence of alcohol. He told me that he had stopped drinking for a while, when he was living on a farm his family had in the country. There he took care of the cows and worked to keep his mind occupied, but when he returned to the city to celebrate his mother’s sixtieth birthday, his «friends» brought him closer to temptation. «I fell again, Patricia,» he said. And his gaze and voice were so sad
Andrey wants to get out of the prison of drugs; he longs to break the bars that confine him, and he knows intuitively that to do so, he must move away from temptation. It must be very hard to live shackled by the chains of an addiction, just as it is hard to live shackled by the chains of sin.
«The Bible, again and again, calls us to move away from sin, to continue living in the freedom that is in Christ Jesus. It makes appeals to us with the following words: «Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil» (Proverbs 4:27); «The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul» (Proverbs 16:17); «Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil» (Proverbs 3:7); «Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive» (Ezekiel 18:27).
Dear friend, «Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding» (Job 28:28). Do not play with fire. Be smart, distancing yourself from evil. And if you lack the will to do so because the chains Of sin bind you, go to Christ. Ask Him for divine help and seek human help. It is possible to grow, improve, progress, and change with the Lord’s help.
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Take From: Daily Devotions for Women’s 2020
«One Day at a Time»
From: Patricia Muñoz Bertozzi
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Alejandra Zavala