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Breaking Bad or Breaking Good?

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So what would you do with a fatal diagnosis that gave you two years to live? For many I would wager that news of that nature would send them spiraling into a dark and hopeless spot.  Still others might see it as a chance to ramp up the completion time for their ‘Bucket List’ contents before it was too late.

Then there would be a few who would choose a “breaking bad” approach.  If you’re not familiar with this term, it is a southern phrase describing someone who makes a radical life direction change towards illegal and/or immoral behavior.

Like, being “bad”…right?

Now this little known phrase is the title of a popular television program that poses an intriguing plotline.  Meet Walt White - a middle-aged, underpaid chemistry teacher who broke bad in a big way when he learned that he had terminal lung cancer.  He needs to make bank fast to support his family after his death, so what are the financially beneficial options for a man who can rock the Ca(NO₃)₂   formulas with ease?

Why becoming a drug dealer - of course!  Apparently chemistry teachers come in handy down at the meth lab - and Walt found a way to supplement his measly educator salary much more effectively than workin’ at the car wash - yeah!

I guess sometimes life forces people to cross the line - eh?  Desperate times call for desperate measures, especially when you know that the need is staggering and the time is short.

Have you ever thought about breaking bad?  It’s probably in our nature to occasionally daydream about cutting loose and taking a walk on the wild side, but then the little voice that helps keep us out of prison convinces us to stay on the straight and narrow path…which is good thing indeed!

But I would challenge you to break good.  I would encourage you to make a radical life shift and jump into a world of life or death choices that has been playing out on the stage of reality for over 2000 years now.

Why?  Because, and I hate to be the one breaking bad news,  but you have a terminal disease…and so do I…and so does everyone on Planet Earth.  It’s called “life,” and word on the street is that no one gets out of it alive.  And the desperate part that calls for our desperate measure is the fact that we don’t really know how long we have to help meet the most desperate need in the universe - which is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that starts in the here and now and lasts forever.

So what does “breaking good” look like?  Simple:

When He saw the crowds, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36 Amplified).

When Jesus looked out at the multitudes of people who would eventually crucify Him, He didn’t condemn or judge.  In fact, His heart was moved to the point of tears because He looked past outward appearances and listened to the cry of their hearts for a Savior.

When you see the “crowds” at your school, where do your mind and emotions go?  Judging?  Anger?  Jealousy? Apathy?

Or do you see past the clothes and the labels and the “coolness” rating to what’s really happening in the soul of everyone who is harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless?

It’s past time to quit fantasizing about breaking bad and get down to the real adventure of breaking good by showing true compassion for your friends who don’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior.  We must keep in the forefront of our minds and hearts that the terminal illness called life doesn’t mean the same thing for Christians as for those who haven’t trusted in Him for salvation. For us, it is a pathway to eternal life in a place more wonderful and enjoyable than we can possibly imagine-

But for them, death is a gateway to eternal death and separation in hell. 

So I will ask you again:

What would you do with a fatal diagnosis that gave you around two years to live?  What about two months?  What about two days?

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, your answer will be the same for all three scenarios.  It matters not if my time in this world is two days, two months, two years, or two hundred years, because each moment granted to me will be engulfed by prayer, enlightened by God’s Word, and enabled by the Holy Spirit to live out THE Cause Jesus has called me to – to reach my friends with the life saving message of the gospel and make disciples who make disciples.

Ready?  Break Good!

 

One of the first steps we can take towards breaking good and deepening the level of compassion we have for our unsaved friends is too start seeing people as Jesus did.  This week, go to a restaurant or mall, and as you see people come and go, remember the descriptions Jesus used as you see them: “harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

 

Dear Jesus, please give me Your heart for the lost that you’ve placed in my life.  Empower me to be bold in sharing the gospel and being a compelling witness for you.  Take away any desire to “break bad” and give me a drive to make a radical change for the good in my life.

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me (1 Corinthians 9:16-17).

THE Cause Circle. This free, simple tool can help you be purposeful about reaching your friends for Christ and making disciples who make disciples.