A message of contempt will always create barrenness in the life of those who are swayed by its content. No matter how strong an opinion or well-researched a position might be, a message of contempt does not contain the seed of life. 

A barren epitaph was pronounced over David’s wife after she mocked with contempt how David worshipped the Lord when the Ark was returned to Jerusalem. “So, Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life” (II Samuel 6:23). Each time I read that verse, I cringe in sadness for Michal and gain a new measure of respect for the subtle power of unrestrained contempt.

A dictionary definition of contempt reads, “The feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless.” Contempt is manifested in anger, disgust, or scorn. Samuel Johnson, the English essayist and social commentator of the 18th century, said this of contempt, “Contempt is a kind of gangrene, which if it seizes one part of a character, it corrupts all the rest by degrees.” Our culture is infected with contempt. The Church is not immune to this infection. 

God desires to plant seeds of life in our lives. We must offer him a healthy womb for those seeds to create life, not division, disgust, or death. Do not open your life up to the seductive spirit of contempt. What at first appears to be a welcomed union of shared emotion will, in the end, become a barren and sad place of stolen potential. 

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