NEVER AGAIN

"Never again!" I shouted to myself. Humanity has repeated these two words since we were created. Your spouse makes you mad, and these words pop into your head out of defiance and protection of your ego and individuality. Your boss does something outrageous, and these words pop into your head out of justice for your unnoticed hard work. Someone is ugly to you or hurts you in an unthinkable way, and these words storm into our spirit to enact retaliation and spite. These two little words follow a reaction that reminds us of a nuclear bomb that is dropped on a test site.

However, you are thinking, "What's wrong with these two words? God said them, too!" Yes, He did. Once. "The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." Genesis 8:21. God's "never again" is a little different than ours.

Today, let ours be different, too. Instead, let it never be again that we lash out in hatred. Let it never be again that we hurt someone because we have been hurt. Let it never be again that we stop understanding and listening because we disagree. Let it never be again that we stop giving just because others aren't giving either. Let us value understanding and listening, for they are the foundation of respect and unity.

Never again!

Love you all,
Rev. Jim