What is Your Reply?

I'm addicted to Angry Birds. But that's not the point of my story.

However, I was playing Angry Birds while out shopping with Josh. Well, Josh was doing the shopping. I was standing in an aisle playing Angry Birds. I just couldn't beat this one level, and I was getting frustrated. I paused to regroup and put on my game face for another round when I heard this conversation between store owner and homeless man:

Homeless: Man, I sometimes wish there wasn't such a thing as the devil.

Owner: I agree. Why do you say that?

Homeless: Because right now the devil is sitting on my shoulder telling me to go drink. And I want more than anything to go drink, but I just can't do it. Every time I drink, I love it so much while I'm drinking. It's fun. I love the taste. But the next day, I am so sick I can't even move. I get shaky. I'm dehydrated. And all I want to do is keep on drinking.

Owner: Have you been to AA recently?

Homeless: Well, I go every once in a while, but I just don't enjoy the meetings.

Owner: Perhaps you should go out and do something nice for a stranger to get your mind of drinking. Mow a lawn. Pull some weeds.

Homeless: (Full of anger)-Look, man. I'm not looking for a handout. I don't want your money. I don't want money from strangers. I'm not going to mow a lawn and then take their money because all I'll do is spend it on booze.

Owner: Calm down. I wasn't meaning you're asking for money. What I meant was, if you went and filled your time with something good for someone else, maybe you wouldn't be so tempted to drink.

Homeless: Sorry, man. I get what you're saying. I hear you. I just want to drink, that's all.

My heart was filled with compassion for this man. He hadn't had a drink in a few days, but he was itching to get his hands on the stuff.

The following day, Josh and I tried out a new Baptist church in Greeley. The sermon was about what consumes our minds. It was about being mindful of the things we fill our minds with. Sin or Christ?

I thought of the homeless man, whose mind is consumed with alcohol. And then I thought of myself. I realized that we all have something that eats at us, consumes us, is that little devil sitting on our shoulder. Our devil varies, from alcohol to TV to bad thoughts to gossip to jealousy to Angry Birds. The list goes on and on.

What consumes your mind?

What is the devil shouting in your ear?

And what is your reply? Do you listen? Do you comply? Do you give in?

Or do you consume your mind with Christ? Do you pray? Do you mow a lawn to get your mind off it? Do you shut the devil up?

What is your reply?