You may recall the phrase
“One bad apple won’t spoil the whole bunch.”
Even though we may have heard that phrase, it doesn’t mean we believe it. How many times have you seen someone throw away a bag of apples because one was bad? Or a bag of potatoes, the smell alone will cause you to lose your appetite! Strawberries? We may walk past the whole section if just one has a little fuzz on top.
I have been there before, I can’t say I am not guilty of throwing away perfectly good fruit because of one bad part. But there have been times that I remembered the ‘ONE BAD APPLE’ and acted on that phrase. By taking the bad off the top and seeing that underneath there was unaffected fruit that is still good to the touch, taste and smell. It is hard to imagine that somehow we can still benefit from the oranges underneath the bad that we can see. And we sometimes see a lot of bad.
ROTTEN EXAMPLES:
In the world today we can find a lot of bad fruit that hits close to home:
· Christians, whether laity or clergy that say and do things that make all of us look bad. We get a bum rap because they decide (wrongfully using the name of Christ) to hurt others, ridicule unbelievers and basically go against God for their own cause.
· Muslims that kill and cause chaos for those of the same faith who are actually peaceful family oriented people.
· Whether Black, White, Hispanic or Asian… we all know and have seen EVERY RACE of people do things that hurt our heart and our reputation. Whether it is a crime or racist actions or even comments that pretend to speak on behalf of an entire race.
· Police officers who are sworn to protect and serve can turn as bad as those they are apprehending.
· Disgruntled coworkers that go off and kill their fellow workers. It used to be that the best revenge was “living well” not dying in your own cloud of glory.
We have seen some really bad apples!
But why do we assume that means the whole bunch is bad?
Last night I watched in horror as the news began reporting about the deputy that was ambushed and gunned down. Some automatically thought, “He may have been one of the bad cops.” Some never considered the time he has served, the family he has or the fact that no life should EVER end like that. The suspect had a ‘dark complexion’ which many already figured meant “black”.
A Little earlier, I read a post from a fellow Christian that was stopped by police on his way to church. He was treated as though he was a criminal. He allowed for a search because he knew 1) the car was his, and 2) he had no drugs or weapons. (And they asked even though it was only a traffic stop- one actually laughed a bit when he said he was headed to church) Kind of scary to allow someone to search your car when you think they now have been given opportunity to leave something that was not yours, or the thought that if I decline and point out my rights, what will happen?
The bible tells us that evil will wax worse and worse. We see that happening every day. The world has no conscience anymore. It is nothing to hurt an elderly person, a child or an infant. Used to be a rule in prison that crimes against women and children were considered the worst. But today, some of those women and children are the ones doing it. When a person kills an entire family, children included… what can you think? The scary part is that when you hear the news, it further demonstrates that perhaps the whole bunch is bad.
THE VALUE OF LIFE - ALL LIVES MATTER!
Somehow we have lost something important when it comes to coexisting with each other. We have lost the understanding of the value of life. Some may believe it began when we allowed humans to be sold and bought as slaves, others may note our allowing unborn babies to be killed. Regardless to when you think it originated, the value of life is losing a battle to survive.
When we see people involved in road rage shootings just because someone beeped their horn at you. People getting angry because someone you liked no longer wants to be with you. So you choose to take them out and the new person they are with. Not getting your way at work? Feeling overlooked for a promotion? So you plot to kill someone, anyone that looks like your job. Then there are the instances that even in a place of worship, you don’t entirely feel safe. Whatever our issues in life, they are not worth taking a life. Life is by far more valuable. Understanding that God and God alone has the right to take life, is a dying thought in itself.
We have somehow become selfish in determining whose life matters more.
To the blacks, black lives matter. To the police officer, police lives matter. To the Hispanic, Hispanic lives matter. To the homosexual, homosexual lives matter. To the Caucasian, Caucasian lives matter. To the Muslim, Muslim lives matter. And so on……
But to GOD, all lives matter. This is not political! When Jesus died, He didn’t pick out a particular group to die for. He died for all. All lives matter. Until each of us really gets out of ourselves and realize that one bad apple does not spoil the whole bunch, we will not care about anything else in the bunch.
SO WHEN WILL IT ALL END?
I’m sorry to let you know this if you didn’t know already, but ….NEVER. At least not on this earth.
So what good is it going to do for us to pray if it is not going to change? What hope do we have for tomorrow?
The gospel is good news is for everybody, but not everyone will receive it. Unless YOU and I decide to receive what God has said about all humanity, unless YOU and I choose to live and treat every person with the love and respect that God requires, unless we determine that people are more precious than possessions or position, we will never see the difference in our lifetime.
I choose to treat all people well.
Does that mean they will give me the same benefit of the belief? NO it doesn’t. But I am not judged by God based on how others treat me, I am judged by God based on how I treat others.
I refuse to let One Bad Apple stop me from enjoying the God given benefits of the good ones.
