[Steve Myers] Did you know that the Roman Coliseum was financed, at least partially, by the spoils of war taken from Jerusalem in 70 AD? Read your history sources. You can find that to be so.

It’s also interesting that it also represents control of the Roman emperors. One of the ways that they maintained control of the people was diverting their attention, giving them entertainment, amusing the people, so that they wouldn’t be worried about the ultimate dictatorship, wouldn’t be worried about their problems and the difficulties of the life of the Roman Empire.

Now of course, as they did those things, the emperors took away musing, you might say. Musing, of course, is thinking deeply about things. Amusement is the lack of thinking deeply – no deep thinking. Now, what’s interesting about that is it goes contrary to what we’re told in the Bible. If you were to look in Romans 12:2, it tells us just the opposite, especially for our world today. Are we taken in by entertainment? Are we taken in by all the things that waste our time – the movies we watch, the video games that we play? Not all that much different than the games that took place in the Coliseum. But we’re told differently. The apostle Paul told the people that lived right here, “Don’t be conformed to this world”. Romans 12:2. But we’re to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” by thinking deeply, by musing on the word of God and making it a vital part of our life.

When you see that Coliseum, maybe you think about that. Don’t be just amused, but muse and think deeply about the word of God.

That’s BT Daily. We’ll see you next time.