stop!

He was heading straight for me with the police officer right on his tail. Figuring I’d help out, I jumped into the man’s path, held my arms out in front of me and yelled in a stern voice for him to “Stop!”

Amazingly, he did stop. Why I’ll never know. Perhaps he thought I was an undercover cop or something. Regardless, I escaped unscathed as the officer wrestled the man to the ground, cuffed him and took him away.

Afterwards, I walked the rest of the way to the convenience store, purchased a chocolate shake and went back to my apartment. The next day I read a small story in the local paper about a man who was arrested on a drug charge. I’m guessing that was the same guy who almost ran me down.

As I think back to that episode from my college days, I still wonder why I did what I did. I mean, I wasn’t a hero then and still aren’t. And yet, there I was on my Friday night mission to acquire something sweet and somebody needed to do something. Otherwise, the chase might still be going on.

What about you? Does somebody need to intervene in your life right now? Does somebody need to stand in front of you and tell you to “stop” whatever it is you’re doing?

Is it pornography? Gossip? A foul mouth? Drunkenness? Lust?

What is it? Come on, you know what I’m talking about. Please don’t act like you don’t.

What are you doing that you know is outside the will of God and needs to stop? As in right now.

“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.”1

Did that register with you? We’ve “spent enough time in the past doing what (non-Christians) choose to do.”

I say again: What are you doing right now that needs to stop? Do you really need somebody to literally jump in front of you as I did to that man so many years ago? Isn’t this written rebuke enough?

“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."2

Stop it.

 

1 1 Peter 4:3

2  1 Peter 1:15-16