We have all done many terrible things in our lives. I know that I am not proud of some of the things I have done. And just like you, I would probably go back in time and change them if I could. Well, we can dream all day, but we know that's not the way it works.
Cause you can’t change the past, only the future.
Parasites are real creatures that live off a host by leeching into its life force. Eventually the parasite will grow big and strong if not curbed while its host grows weaker and eventually dies. Paints a creepy picture doesn’t it.
While parasites are very real, we also have metaphoric ones. Metaphoric parasites do the same as their real counterparts—except the damage is much worse; they end up consuming our very souls and minds. And they are much harder to get rid of than real ones.
Parasites can be anything; addictions like porn, gambling, violence, drugs, or alcohol; idols like money, people, jobs, technology and other material things. Basically anything that becomes something you revere more than anything else. So you can’t ‘live’ without your cell phone or computer? Are you spending more time with those things over spending time with things that really matter? How about spending so much time at your job you have no more time other than Sunday for spending moments with God? Parasites can get in the way of the more important things, and while they seem fulfilling and pleasurable for awhile, after every dose you begin to feel empty, and so continue in order to get more. But keep drawing and the harder it will be to stop. Keep drawing, and you will eventually lose yourself…
Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 1 Samuel 12:21
They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do.” 2 Kings 17:15
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. Psalm 106:36
Parasites get in the way of not only our lives, but the one thing we need to keep first at all times; God. "This is what the Lord says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Isaiah 44:6
If we truly want to be Christians, if we truly want to live genuine lives, then we must have God first. He must be in every aspect; He must be behind everything that we do. We cannot allow idols or parasites to take His place.
If you truly want to love a God who truly loves you, then surrender your everything to Him and let Him shine from your very core.*
Surrendering,
Whitney
