Book of Sermons : The Early Years of an Ordained Minister

A Book of Sermons When I was young, I usually had a hard time trying to discern the good from the bad crowd. At least that was my claim. I usually ended up investing my time with the bad crowd and bad influences. It was almost as if that was my nature, as if I were drawn to people who gravitated toward trouble. I don't know why I took this path. Maybe it was because the "good crowd" was boring. I sometimes like to believe that I joined these ranks because I wanted to be the good influence in the group that led others toward a not-so-problematic road. That never happened. Much of the time, I found my decisions being poorly influenced. Some people just gravitate toward the wrong crowd and end up making poor decisions. I will say, that in a broken world finding the "righteous path" is not always the easiest of tasks. There seem to always be directions and suggestions acting like road signs leading us down a coiling path. Some of these directions sound great and may come from a legitimate source. We see ads that tell us to eat this or buy that to make life easier. Vote for this person or support this cause; it will make things better. Unfortunately, this is not always the righteous path. Our decisions are easily tainted by propaganda. What sounds good on the surface is not always the best option when the layers are peeled away. Much like an ear of corn, with good intentions you peel away the layer, but sometimes you find the fruit is rotten.