Most people know how Pompeii was destroyed by clouds of toxic gas and hot volcanic ash in 79AD, but not as many know it was severely damaged by an earthquake in 62AD caused by the same local volcanic activity. If the people of Pompeii had taken the warning in 62AD and moved away, they would have been saved from the devastation of 79AD. But they didn’t, they rebuilt on the rubble of the same situation. Similarly, in our lives, we often don’t take the warnings of potential devastation from our ‘vices’ (our personality characteristics equivalent to the underlying volcanic activity of Pompeii) and build on the same rubble (staying in the same life situation) while continuing our potentially destructive behaviour (our ‘sins’). The way to save ourselves is to take the warnings and move away, sometimes in a metaphorical sense of changing our personality and way of life, and sometimes also in a physical sense of moving way from people who lead us astray and encourage our self-destructive behaviour.
Most people know how Pompeii was destroyed by clouds of toxic gas and hot volcanic ash in 79AD, but not as many know it was severely damaged by an earthquake in 62AD caused by the same local volcanic activity. If the people of Pompeii had taken the warning in 62AD and moved away, they would have been saved from the devastation of 79AD. But they didn’t, they rebuilt on the rubble of the same situation. Similarly, in our lives, we often don’t take the warnings of potential devastation from our ‘vices’ (our personality characteristics equivalent to the underlying volcanic activity of Pompeii) and build on the same rubble (staying in the same life situation) while continuing our potentially destructive behaviour (our ‘sins’). The way to save ourselves is to take the warnings and move away, sometimes in a metaphorical sense of changing our personality and way of life, and sometimes also in a physical sense of moving way from people who lead us astray and encourage our self-destructive behaviour.