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“Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
Sometimes we can do things that other people might think to be wrong, even though we are not actually doing something wrong. I grew up on a farm, and there were a lot of bulrushes (cattails) growing down by the creek. When the heads dried out in the late summer and early fall, my brothers and I would sometimes cut them off, and then light the end with a match. They burned slowly with a red glow, and emitted some smoke, so that they looked very much like a cigar. Then we would pretend we were smoking cigars.
I well remember my mother quoting today’s verse to us, and pointing out that even though we were not actually smoking cigars, we were giving the appearance of doing so. It was a good verse for us to remember, and I never forgot it. Let us always remember that as Christians, we represent the Lord Jesus in this world, and that the world is watching us.
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