As the pastor was praying, a memory suddenly came to his mind from 15 years earlier as the Holy Spirit whispered, “That was your worst sin.”
He had thought nothing about the event at the time, nor had he given it a single thought since. But as he watched it back in his mind, he wept and repented.
What had he done?
Ordered a pizza, invited some friends over, and watched a real life war on TV, as newscasters gave the play-by-play. Blinded by the nationalism he grew up with, he found himself numbed to the reality that he was watching real people really die as entertainment.
This moment of conviction became a part of the story of how he “left the paradigms of nationalism, militarism, and violence” and traded it in for a gospel of peace. He is not the same person he was, and he now invites people out of the kind of thinking he used to have.
Like something straight out of an dystopian movie, the American government will invite you to take part in a great sin this December, as they execute a man by firing squad and live-stream it for you to watch. But the Prince of Peace invites you to set aside your paradigms of nationalism, militarism, and violence and renew your mind to a different way. History shows us the rampant evil we will casually partake in if we don’t allow King Jesus to shake us out of the grip of the kings of this world.
Be shaken.
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