Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022
“Are you a 1 or a 2?” I asked 22 inmates on a recent Sunday afternoon Gideons’ Bible study at our county jail. They looked at me with blank stares.
“A 1 is who you are without God. It’s who you want to be. It’s being self-conscious. A 2 is who you are with God. It’s who He wants you to be. It’s being Christ-conscious.”
“So you’re talking about being saved or unsaved,” Tyler said.
“No, I’m not,” I answered. “That’s a given. I’m talking about those of you who are saved but drive your own car instead of handing the steering wheel over to Jesus.” I drew this line on the board.
1……….x……….2
This entire line represents those of you who are saved. The 1 represents your own self-centered self, the world, and the temptations of Satan. The 2 represents the Spirit of God here on earth. At any given time, you are either closer to the 2 or closer to the 1. The X represents equal shares of God and you. The closer you are to the 1, the more likely you are to use drugs or alcohol again or commit other crimes; the closer you are to the 2, the less likely. When there is more of God in you than you, you will be safe. When there’s more of you than God, anything is possible.
Heads nodded. They got it. How about you? Are you a 2 some of the time, most of the time, or all of the time? When you are closer to a 1, that’s when you lash out at people, kick the dog, or otherwise do things you would never do if you were standing next to Christ. When you are closer to a 2, that’s when God is having His way with you.