Romans 14:7-9 For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself. Look at those concentric rings growing wider and wider, rolling their fair ripples among the reedy sedge, tipping the overhanging boughs of yonder willow, stirring the nest of the startled water-hen, producing an influence, slight but conscious, to the farthest margin of the lake itself. That idle word — that word of heat or scorn — flung from my lips in casual company. "Oh," you say, "it produced a momentary impression upon the mind of those who listened to it, and that is all." No; it is not.:Believe me it is not. It deepened that man's disgust at godliness; and it sharpened the edge of that other man's sarcasm; and it shamed that half-convinced one out of his penitent misgivings; and it exerted an influence, slight but determining, upon the destinies of that immortal life. Oh, this is a terrible power that I have — this power of influence. And I cannot get rid of it. It clings to me like the shirt of Nessus upon Hercules. It looks through my eye: it speaks from my lips; it walks abroad with me. I cannot live to myself. I must either be a light to illuminate or a tempest to destroy. (W. M. Punshon.) Parallel Verses KJV: For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.WEB: For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. |
    |