Daily Jewel

by Pastor J.T. Carnell, mcAlester, OK
Aug. 17, 2011

“The Living Dead”
"My sons, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, 'Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone’s blood, let's waylay some harmless soul....my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths..." – Proverbs 1:10 –11, 15

There are a couple of ways to look at this. One way is of course in the literal sense – the intentional, reckless taking of what is the most precious thing one owns, their very existence. When one is robbed of that, everything is taken away from them. There is also another way to approach this that can be deeply damaging to one’s spirit. An individual can be robbed of their dignity, character, reputation and hope. When any or all of these things are taken what does one have left to live for? You do not have to kill a person to "take their life" from them. There are a number of ways that as Solomon describes where people that can literally be "swallowed" alive. One of those is that of hope! Take from someone their hope and you render them useless. Take from them hope and everything all that was meaningful and good becomes diminished. You may as well say that individual is as good as dead! A good example of this is found in a cult movie classic called "Night of the Living Dead." I am not now nor have I ever been a big fan of movies from the "Horror Flick" genre. And yet, there are those that are so insanely dumb that they tend to grab your attention and this movie (and the many that have thus followed) is one of them. The story-line of the movie goes like this: By some freak and unexplainable act, people are dying – and then these people (now labeled as “zombies”) who are actually dead begin walking around killing those who are alive and then “feast” upon them. And then, by this barbarous act they in turn make their victims like themselves—and thus the title; the Living Dead. This apparently nonsensical science fiction classic may on the surface seem extreme and any parallel out of line but take a minute and consider this: There are zombies among us! There are many who live among us who “exist” on the outside but on the inside they are very much like… the “living dead.” They have no hope, no real purpose in life. But instead of seeking to improve their life they choose to spread their pain and hopelessness like a disease and unfortunately all that does is create more victims who then spread their misery! That, in my opinion, is how you can literally swallow someone alive. You take something from them that give them their reason to live. Are you living without hope? Living without motivation and purpose? Have they been stolen from you by those who you believed had your best interest in mind? Do your best to resist them and then resist the temptation to follow their path. Instead choose to seek another path—by trusting God through His Son. Be careful not to let those who live with no hope take that from you! There is a reason to live! And should you ever watch “The Night of the Living Dead” or a movie similar to it—take a minute to consider that there may be some “zombies” closer than you think!
Pastor J. T. Carnell