Jim Bill McInteer is the author of this short piece which appeared in the Bible Herald of September 15, 1970. It was published by the Bible Herald Corporation. Clifton Inman was the editor.
In an either/or proposition, which do you choose? If you could have a million dollars or the measles, which would you rather have? If you could have a good night's rest or a tortuous trip to the emergency room of the hospital, which would you choose? If you could select a successful business or one condemned to bankruptcy, which would you choose to operate? Do you feel there is really no choice? Anyone with any degree of intelligence would know which is the better quality. Then add another choice; which had you rather have, swine or a Savior?
Oddly, some folks claimed the pigs! Two thousand swine rushed headlong over a cliff, dashed into the sea and were choked beneath its waves. The swine herders told everyone in the countryside, as well as in the town, about what had occurred. They came rushing out to see the incomparable Christ. Perhaps with some degree of facetiousness Mark adds, "When they saw the swine" (Mark 5:17) they asked Jesus to leave their shores! Can you imagine? They had rather have two thousand pigs than one Savior. They must think they're going to live forever, or they must think they have no sins, or they must think that Jesus could do nothing about their sins, or they must not think, period!
But lest one deride unduly these folks who made such a pitiful selection, how do you score on the card of choice? Does Saturday night mean so much in carousal that you have neither the strength nor the disposition to think of proper activities on the Lord's Day? Does money mean so much that even dishonest methods are justified to obtain it rather than the honest pursuits of it Jesus demands? For what will a man sell his soul; a new car, a new house, a promotion, social acclaim? If one today puts a value on anything more important than the Christ, then what right or reason does he have to criticize the person who chose swine rather than the Savior?
Make the right choice my brother, all eternity depends on it!
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