Every action has a consequence. Do we consider the consequence before we move ahead?
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.–Warren Buffet
Our lives are rambling questions. Daily we make decisions, acting from our motives–our reason for doing something.
That ‘something’ may be good, not-so-good, or just plain evil. A good motive is easy to see. A not-so-good motive is often easy to understand, as well. But it is rare that we can actually understand a truly evil motive. This is because we were created to be good–in God’s likeness, not Satan’s.
BUT…the Evil One (And yes, Satan is real) fiddles around with our motives, tells us that what we know we shouldn’t do, or have, is good for us. And because we are human and possess God’s gift of free will, we often excuse evil.
Satan is all about self, and selfishness is his motive; the same motive he polishes up in us. And when he’s polished it enough, when we think we need his kind of good, then he can sell us anything.
Let’s talk about “need.” I spent twenty years in advertising; a cardinal rule is to find a need in the potential buyer, then create a campaign focusing on something that appears to fill that need, then put the cherry on the top with a deal that is too “good” to pass up.
Making something appear too good to pass up is Satan’s way, as well, and judging by his success rate, no one can fool a vulnerable buyer better than Satan. So, we let ourselves be pulled toward the good Satan presents to us, and then….we buy it.
What happens then?
We become poison to those around us. We try to lead them to our way. We don’t need God. In fact, we pitch Him–our Creator–out of our lives and start to think of ourselves as God.
This is why it is so important to guard the goodness God created in us by looking at the true motive behind everything we do.
Is the action we are going to do in line with our Faith in God–or is it only Satan’s ploy?
Translating a World on the Edge 