Good actor, bad man

 Think a minute…Bob grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was a young boy when he first heard of Bill Brodie. In fact, Bob’s parents had a piece of furniture in their home that was made by Brodie. Bill Brodie was not only a successful carpenter and businessman, he was also a respected member of the town council, and a deacon in his church.

So you can imagine when to everyone’s shock and horror that Brodie was caught, convicted, and put to death for many crimes, including murder!  

Years later Bob grew up and became a writer. But he continued to be deeply troubled by Brodie’s double life. In fact, through the years it still bothered him so much that Bob, short for Robert Louis Stevenson, wrote his famous story, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—based on the real life of Bill Brodie—who by day was a kind, respected man, but by night was a sexually immoral, uncontrolled gambler, thief and murderer. 

This is a troubling true story of a bad man who fooled everyone into thinking he was a good man. Brodie was a good actor, but a genuinely bad man with a bad heart. 

But the reason this is such a scary story, is it is our story. We all learn to fool others and ourselves into thinking we are a good person with a good heart because we learn how to act good in front of others. But inside our heart is dishonesty, jealousy, greed, sexual immorality, pride, bitter anger and unforgiveness.  

Remember, we humans just see the outward appearance of each other’s personality and actions, but God looks deep down inside to the bottom of our heart and character. That is why in His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said He clearly sees the real man or woman we are inside. He said that if you just lust after another woman, you are an adulterer; or if you hate someone, you are a murderer. 

But the good news is God the Son is the One Who can forgive and change your sinful, bad heart. In fact, He wants to so much that He died and rose again to do it for you. Once and for all, won’t you ask Jesus to forgive you, and to start totally changing your heart today? Just think a minute…

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