Contemplative Bible Reading

Ephesians 4:31-32 (New Living Translation)

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

These verses describe the choice of living in the light or in the dark. Verse 31 describes the dark and verse 32 the light.

I know people whose lives are described by verse 31. They are not happy people. Drugs and addictive behavior mask their lives. They try to fool themselves into a happy life. Sometimes they succeed and raise their heads above the muck and proclaim, “What? I’m not hurting anyone.”

Then there are people who live in the light. They don’t live in any Pollyana world; they have troubles like everyone. After all, they live in a world of sin. Still, their lives are far more positive than those in the dark.

The choice is pretty simple. Sometimes I don’t know how we choose the darkness, but that is part of the human condition.