And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out from the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" And there were lightenings and noises and thunders, and a great earthquake. It was such a terrible and massive earthquake that none like it has ever happened since humanity has been on the earth. And the great city disintegrated into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the furry of His wrath. Rev. 16:17-19.
The concepts of a raging God doesn't always sit well with people today. But one thing we have to keep in mind is that John wrote Revelation primarily to people who were suffering as they heard the book. In a time of ease language like this can seem inappropriate, but in desperate situations the thought of a mighty avenger can seem almost sweet to the abused and the downtrodden.
But more than this, God uses such language as a motivator in some circumstances. He knows that we often want to do the right thing, but we need some sort of prompting to pull it off. The sense of negative consequences can go a long way toward changing our behavior.
A high school principal faced a problem of motivation one day. It seems that a number of the girls thought it was great fun to coat their lips with lipstick and then plant a big kiss on the mirror in the girls' bathroom. The sight of all the lip marks seemed too hilarious for words. This, however, increased the janitor's workload greatly, as the oil-based substance was quite difficult to remove.
So the principal made it a rule: no kissing of mirrors in the girls' bathroom. Did it stop the practice? Of course not! Now there was not only the fun of smudging the mirror, but also the thrill of breaking a rule. So the lip imprints on the bathroom mirror increased rather than decreased.
The principal then levied a fine on the behavior, which made it even more attractive. Not only did the girls have the excitement of breaking a rule, but also the challenge of avoiding punishment. So that didn't work either.
Finally he came up with an idea. Clearing the girls' bathroom one day, he called in 10 of the most talkative female students for a demonstration. He would show them how hard it was to remove all the lip smudges. So with the girls looking on he called on the janitor to wipe down the mirror in front of them. The janitor dipped a sponge in the toilet and began to wipe the mirror. Needless to say, within two or three days the kissing of mirrors had stopped in that school.
Lord, I need a little extra motivation today. Help me to apply the principle of consequences to everything I do. May my choices result in a brighter future.
The concepts of a raging God doesn't always sit well with people today. But one thing we have to keep in mind is that John wrote Revelation primarily to people who were suffering as they heard the book. In a time of ease language like this can seem inappropriate, but in desperate situations the thought of a mighty avenger can seem almost sweet to the abused and the downtrodden.
But more than this, God uses such language as a motivator in some circumstances. He knows that we often want to do the right thing, but we need some sort of prompting to pull it off. The sense of negative consequences can go a long way toward changing our behavior.
A high school principal faced a problem of motivation one day. It seems that a number of the girls thought it was great fun to coat their lips with lipstick and then plant a big kiss on the mirror in the girls' bathroom. The sight of all the lip marks seemed too hilarious for words. This, however, increased the janitor's workload greatly, as the oil-based substance was quite difficult to remove.
So the principal made it a rule: no kissing of mirrors in the girls' bathroom. Did it stop the practice? Of course not! Now there was not only the fun of smudging the mirror, but also the thrill of breaking a rule. So the lip imprints on the bathroom mirror increased rather than decreased.
The principal then levied a fine on the behavior, which made it even more attractive. Not only did the girls have the excitement of breaking a rule, but also the challenge of avoiding punishment. So that didn't work either.
Finally he came up with an idea. Clearing the girls' bathroom one day, he called in 10 of the most talkative female students for a demonstration. He would show them how hard it was to remove all the lip smudges. So with the girls looking on he called on the janitor to wipe down the mirror in front of them. The janitor dipped a sponge in the toilet and began to wipe the mirror. Needless to say, within two or three days the kissing of mirrors had stopped in that school.
Lord, I need a little extra motivation today. Help me to apply the principle of consequences to everything I do. May my choices result in a brighter future.
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