Articles
“You Just Ruined It!”
“You Just Ruined It!”
It is a terrible thing to have a new dress, shirt, or shoes ruined because we spilt something on it that will not come out. Young children have probably heard their parent’s displeasure after having played baseball with their “good clothes” on, especially when the dirt and grass stains will not come out. There are many other things people ruin far worse than grape juice spilt on a white shirt.
Immoral relationships of fornication, adultery, and incest have ruined lives with divorce, disease, guilty, and anxiety. Dreams have been shattered. Hopes dissolve. It gives what God calls “marriage” a bad name. It causes some people to believe the relationship between a man and woman does not work. Maybe there is a better alternative like living with someone of the same sex or living together with the opposite sex temporarily without the commitment of marriage. Why do people want to ruin such a “good” thing like marriage?
A good name is hard to come by and the easiest thing to ruin. Judas was probably once a good natured fellow, but within a few hours turned to traitor. Cain was a good brother until jealousy led him to murder. David was as courageous as any young man you would meet, but he lost self-control and his lust for another woman gave occasion for the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme (2 Samuel 11:14). ”A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches…” (Proverbs 22:1).
The greatest ruin is Luke 6:49. “But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the stream brake, and straightway it fell in; and the ruin of that house was great”. When a soul is lost, the labor in teaching, the patience, and the prayers for that soul’s obedience is all thrown away. The trials or temptations of life through which some souls pass easily consume them. They are not prepared for the storms, the wind, and the floods, and their life lies in ruin.
We may have a hard time “estimating” the value on a soul lost, but God knows all too well the worth of each soul. Jesus said it is worth more than the entire world (Mark 8:36). The ruin of one life is bad, but when one life is ruined and lost in hell, sadly, others soon follow. “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6).
We cannot sit back and think, “This is my life. What I do has nothing to do with you! It is not ruining things for you!” Yes, it does. It ruins the virtuous traits of self-respect, decency, morality, goodness, responsibility, loyalty, and hope. It is ruined for yourself and others. We do not live in “our own little world”. We live in the only world there is. Do not ruin life for yourself or others! Obey God.
