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How about this expression? “The bad apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” You’ve heard that, right? Hmm, maybe that’s acorn. Or lemon. Doesn’t matter. The point’s the same. But there’s another expression, too.“One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch.”
That, of course, originated from the Jackson Five, where the wise and glimmering guru of pop, EmJay began his journey. But I digress…
Could there ever be a time when a bad apple leads to good fruit?
Metaphorically, I think this is possible. And I think you’ll agree after these examples.
Let’s say a father curses at and beats his son. In that scenario, father equals bad apple. But let’s say those bad deeds motivate the son to seek and discover words of wisdom in the Bible. And then he passes the compassion, love, and mercy he finds there, to his own kids. So, the son equals good fruit.
OK, here’s another example.
A mother does too many drugs and ridicules her daughter on a daily basis. In that scenario, mother equals bad apple. But then the daughter reads about the great women of Bible. And she passes on those stories to anyone who’ll listen. So, the daughter equals good fruit.
Or how about this example?
A famous athlete has a public meltdown because he’s too immature to handle his fame without alcohol or drugs. In that scenario, famous athlete equals bad apple. But a young Christian boy sees this and uses it as an opportunity to learn how to focus on others. Then, he establishes foundations for the less fortunate. And he creates a legacy of giving. Christian boy bears good fruit.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Paul used examples of the people who followed Moses out of captivity and into the wilderness. He said “but with most of them God was not well pleased” and that “their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
Paul showed how we can use what they did as examples of what not to do.
Most of them just wanted to eat, drink, have sex, and complain. Ironic isn’t it? Because, if all you had to do was eat, drink, and have sex, what would you have to complain about? Ponder that for a second.
And that kind of crazy nonsense is pandemic (used that word on purpose) right now.
Here in America we have it exponentially easier than our forefathers. Most people can easily and comfortably sit around and watch TV or play video games for hours a day.
And way too many people eat an almost endless cornucopia of foods and snacks while they watch TV or play video games. And even believe they can have sex anytime, anywhere, and with anyone they want.
But here’s the irony again.
Even as they do all that, they complain about how rough and tough and unfair life is. They falsely believe they somehow deserve their piece of the wealth and resources of others. And they believe if they could get their hands on those democratically gotten gains, they’d miraculously have a more fulfilling life.
That, dear neighbor, is envy.
Envy turns good apples bad real fast.
You might get what they got. But it won’t last.
Be glad with a little or a lot.
Look for what’s eternal. What they’ve got’s not.
Stay tuned,
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