The other day I read a story about a reformed alcoholic that had given his life to Christ. Some of his out of town friends were visiting him and decided it was time to have a couple of drinks to celebrate. Knowing the temptation was too great this man walked away. Sometimes it’s best to walk away from our sins and live to fight another day.

Prison taught me a lot about walking away. A confrontation with another inmate or guard could lead to two worse case scenarios. The first one is obvious. Getting beat up is never a good option especially when you are my age. But more importantly, we become an ineffective witness for Christ.

An argument would lead to yelling, yelling, to threatening and threatening to fighting. I have read the Bible numerous times and have never found these actions listed as good character traits for a Christian.

A couple of days ago I walked away when my anger was about to get the best of me. I walked away and followed the Holy Spirit to our church to pray. God confirmed that I had made the right decision when I was met by our associate Pastor as I was going in. I explained my struggles; he hugged me, told me he loved me and left me with a prayer.

If you ever run into a situation that you feel you just can’t handle the best advice is to walk away and run to God.

• walking away