22 Just One Time
Oliver was sitting alone with his hands buried in his face. He was thinking about the past, about his friend Mike. A few years ago, Oliver and Mike went to a house party. Some pretty girls were smoking marijuana and invited Oliver and Mike to join in. Mike was very reluctant to take the joint offered by the girls. He had never done drugs before. However, Oliver kept pressuring Mike to take the joint and try to smoke it. "Come on Mike! If you don't do it, the girls won't think you're cool! Just do it this one time! It won't hurt! You won't have to do it ever again. Just one time..."
Now, Mike is in the ER fighting for his life. Oliver found him at home an hour earlier having an epileptic seizure after abusing too many drugs. After that one night a few years ago, Mike didn't stop smoking marijuana after that house party. He got addicted to marijuana and eventually started abusing harder drugs like cocaine and amphetamines. Oliver was in the waiting room outside cursing himself. Why did he pressure Mike into smoking marijuana all those years ago? His friend is now on the verge of death because of him! It didn't stop at just one time...
The Apostle Paul wrote in the Bible that the devil is a roaring lion, seeking to devour whom he can. Do not let Satan gain even a single foothold in your life. Succumbing to just one sin may drag us down a spiraling path towards destruction. You may be destroyed by that one moment of weakness. Put on the full armor of God and resist temptation and overcome!
- Recommended reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11
