You Be the Judge

The devil had a convention to address his evil angels. He said, “We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep then from reading their Bibles & knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding experience in God. If they gain that connection with God, our power over them is broken.
"So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in God. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"
"How shall we do this?", shouted his angels.
"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life & invent un-numbered schemes to occupy their minds," the devil answered. “Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then, borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work because they have to and the husbands to work 6 or 7 days a week, 10-12 hrs. a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work.
"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, the VCR, & their CD's going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store & restaurant in the world plays music constantly. This will jam their minds & break that union with God.
"Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hrs. a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services, & false hopes.
"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted & unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts & movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions."
"Let them be involved in soul-winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from God. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause."
It was quite a convention in the end. And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing God's folks everywhere to get busy, busy, busy & rush here & there.
Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge.

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