IN THE NAME OF GOD STOP

His name was Telemachus and he often wondered why God wanted him in Rome. But he felt led by God to be there so there he was, and then one day he found out why. Swept along by a crowd he found himself in the Roman Coliseum where gladiators were murdering each other as a sport. Lions and tigers moved about adding to the gore and mayhem. The crowd roared its approval. Of course, they approved. It was an accepted norm. An accepted habit. And once something has the approval of the multitudes, well….

But Telemachus didn’t accept such behavior as a norm. He was sickened by it all. He knew it was a descrecration to the name of God, a living profanity and so he leapt over the wall that protected the crowd from the carnage. Rushing forward, he cried out, “In the name of God, stop.” It was the name of God he was using, but it certainly was not a profanity. “In the name of God, stop.” And the crowd began to laugh. They thought it was something new. They thought him a comedian, a clown, a buffoon, a prude.

“In the name of God, stop.” But they did not stop. And then with the roar of the crowd calling for his execution one of the gladiators obliged them; placed a sword where the little man’s heart beat with compassion, and ran him through.

It was now too late to save Telemachus, it was not too late to change public opinion. The foulness of it, the indecency of it all, the very stench of it finally reached those who had not known that on that day they would hear a man cry out in the midst of their fun, “In the name of God, stop.” But now, with his words echoing in their ears, they became terribly aware of the cruelty of this sport, and all those in attendance slowly began to leave.

It was the last time in recorded history that there was a gladiatorial contest in the Roman Coliseum.

Proverbs 9:10, 11 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Tomorrows story is about a teenager who started playing a game that started playing games with him.

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