We Too Were
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
Titus 3:3 (NIV)
Paul paints the before honestly: at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by passions, living in malice and envy, hated and hating. Peace with the past begins confessing it. Memory without makeup: we were that. We too: nobody was born holy; all were rescued from the same mire.
Living deceived and enslaved: inner deceit, outer slavery. Passions promised freedom delivering chains. Pleasures charged in peace what they gave in minutes. Hateful hating: anticipated hell's portrait. Peace was a foreign word. Living like this needs more than advice: it needs new birth.
But the next verse turns pages: when God's kindness appeared. Peace owns turning points. Dark befores highlight glorious afters. Powerful testimonies are born from honest pasts. Your ugly story frames beautiful grace. Never hide befores; they prove afters' power.
Today, make peace with your before: confess without posing, thank without forgetting. And use it reaching whoever still lives there. We too were: a bridge, never pedestal. Your transparency about mire guides others to washbasins. Confessed pasts become ministries.
And remember before: confessed pasts pacify futures. Remember before today. Confessed pasts pacify. Bridge others. Guide seekers. Shine grace. Testify.