When Truth is No Longer Accepted

Currently, there are numerous debates in the news between what is right and wrong. Many of these discussions focus on the "rights" of Americans and what should be regulated by the government. Everybody seems to have an opinion, and those with opposing viewpoints call their opponents narrow-minded or insensitive and immediately "lose respect" for anybody who refuses to be openminded enough to share their opponent's viewpoint or beliefs. I wish people would take a second to actually sit down and listen to one another, rather than hurling insults and opting to shutdown to alternative thoughts on matters. Accusations won't get people anywhere, and closing off lines of communication just because somebody has a different opinion is childish.
Part of the problem is that the modern world has lax discipline, which makes it difficult to convey definitive rights and wrongs to people. Sure, I could sit down with somebody and explain why they need a Savior, but if they don't believe they have ever done anything wrong and believe they are generally a "good" person, they will never accept Jesus into their hearts or believe in the teachings of Christianity. This is what happens when relativism seeps into the belief system of the majority. The defined lines between right and wrong get lost in the murky mire of personal beliefs. Along with that, too often Christians don't want to offend others, so they sway away from the definitive truths outlined by God in the Bible. Rather than accept God's authority on all matters, some opt to just let people be happy as long as it doesn't impact them. When this happens, it reflects what was expressed in Isaiah 26:10, which says, "If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord." This is why discipline and teaching ones children is so important. If parents opt to be friends with their kids instead of having authority and disciplining them for their actions when necessary, they will never learn that certain actions are in fact wrong. Proverbs 22:6 expresses the importance of discipline by stating, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
What's unfortunate is that the typical response to a Christian trying to convey biblical truth is calling them hateful bigots who don't love their fellow man and are trying to shove their beliefs down other's throats. It's often misconstrued as Bible-thumping because nonbelievers do not understand that Christians answer to God, not our fellow man. In Matthew 28:20, God calls us to "teach them all that I have commanded you." Not all of humanity acknowledges the authority of God and the truth He speaks, which causes friction. I understand that, but if we show favor to those who are in the wrong, they will never understand or accept the truth. Allowing someone to continue on in their sin without acknowledging the eternal consequences in the opposite of love. I know it is not my job to judge those outside the church (1 Corinthians 5:12), but it is my duty to expose the darkness in the world, as per Ephesians 5:11, which says, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." I myself struggle with ways to do this in a loving manner, but I know in my heart that speaking the truth in love is more important than gaining favor with man. I must pray for courage to talk to people and ask the Holy Spirit for the words to express my concerns to people in my life. I doubt this will happen overnight, but my hope is that I will be emboldened by the Spirit to speak the truth in love.
I must remember that there are only two options after death: eternal life and eternal condemnation. Reading Galatians 6:8, which states, "For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life," illuminates that fact, which should serve as my motivator to sow seeds to be watered in the hopes that Christ will pluck them out of the darkness. I cannot just sit back and rest on my laurels, not expressing my concern to those living lives contrary to truth just because they feel it is right. I must be willing to take a chance and express the truth in love. It may cause some riffs and I might lose favor with some, but it's a chance I must be willing to take. You never know who just needs to hear the Gospel in a new light. God can soften hearts in those you least expect it, so trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. I will do my best to do the same. The least we can do is try in these dark times so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to accept Christ in their hearts and have eternal life.

If you have any interest in reading another post based on relativism's impact, feel free to read The Prevailing Age of Skepticism and Moral Degradation

True Character Overflows From the Heart

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'" ~1 Samuel 16:7

David was "a man after God's own heart," (Acts 13:22) but had a weak external appearance. The Lord knew that Samuel was jumping to conclusions when he first saw David, which was why he instructed Samuel to look deeper at David. David was a pint sized shepherd compared to his brothers, but the Lord knew the heart that dwelled within his chest and that David's heart loved the Lord. It was his heart that forged the way for him to become a great king, not his outward stature. Samuel thankfully trusted the Lord and anointed David king, despite his original consensus about him.

I believe that society needs to remember this key story in the Bible and return to the old ways of "judging" someone's character. Too often in this day and age people are judged based on their outward appearance, rather than their true inner character. Snap judgements keep the media stories rolling with journalists no longer willing to dig beneath the surface. It's a shame when your character boils down to the clothing you opted to wear or the social circle you decided to surround yourself with. What ever happened to getting to know someone's heart and truly understanding their character before dismissing them after a glance?

Honestly, I feel bad for people in the media who are known only for their fashion sense because once their tastes go out of style, they have nothing to fall back on. Since people would rather see what they're wearing, as opposed to peeling away the layers to expose the person's heart, their identity gets lost in the melee. Too often we focus on how smooth someone is in conversation or how sharply they are dressed. The Bible warns us of this in Proverbs 31:30, which states, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Unfortunately this advice seems to fall on deaf ears since we all seem to be too engrossed in the superficial characteristics of high society.

I've endured my fair share of snap judgements. People have made up their own mind about who they think I really am based on superficial encounters, and I just laugh at their laziness in social settings. Rather than asking me about my interests, people run rampant with assumptions. Instead of learning that I wear bright neon colors because of my years as a runner and knowing that I refused to pass up an awesome $5 t-shirt deal in California, there was one person who automatically assumed I was gay based on the San Francisco shirt I wore one evening. 

The flip-side to this is that I am also guilty of making snap judgements of others, which is a trait I'm determined to change. I need to dig deeper and make attempts at getting to know people for who they truly are, and not just what I see on the surface. I have come to realize that I'm a tough nut to crack, so why would anybody else be different? Personalities are deeply intricate and can't be revealed in a single day, let alone a five minute encounter. What comes to mind for me is a Saturday two weeks ago where I began my day working for Samaritan's Purse, went to a wedding, and then finished off my evening with dinner with my SP family. Throughout the course of the day, I went from wearing multiple layers of filthy work clothes, to a strapless red cocktail dress with heels, to jeans and a hoodie advertising the punk rock band, Icon for Hire. If anybody had encountered me in only one of those scenarios, they would assume they could make a judgement based on my appearance. But if somebody had seen me in all of those outfits, they would quickly realize that there's more than meets the eye.

This is why God so thoughtfully reminds us, especially women, how to base our judgements of others, and how to present ourselves to the outside world. The following is written in 1 Peter 3:3-4 ~ "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." God doesn't want us to be attention grabbing with our clothing ensembles. Rather, He wants us to have a gentle spirit to attract people to us, which is much more enchanting than any wardrobe. Your inner beauty will shine brighter than any jewels, and will serve the purpose of drawing others to God when they realize you possess something they don't have and they can't put their finger on it. Likewise, seek the true heart of others so that you don't miss out on all that their spirit has to offer. Look past the superficial and delve into the sincerity of their hearts.

W.A.I.T Part 7: Clouded Vision When Consumed by Self-Righteousness

"If God's the game you're playing

Well we must get more acquainted

Because it has to be so lonely

To be the only one who's holy.

It's just my humble opinion

But it's one that I believe in

You don't deserve a point of view

If the only thing you see is you."

~"Playing God" by Paramore

In today's society, it is too easy to get caught up in all the finger pointing and believing that we are right and everybody else is in the wrong. All you have to do is watch any political ad and you can see just how far we've fallen in our great nation to resort to slandering others in order to paint ourselves in a better light.  The unfortunate part is that this has crept into our everyday lives and we may not even realize it. 

Too often we focus too much on the preachings and teachings of Jesus and forget that he lived his life with a great love for the people. When we are centralized on all that Jesus taught instead of on how he lived, we gain this "holier than thou" attitude that can get us into trouble. A perfect Scriptural example of this is Matthew 7:3-5, where Jesus says, "'Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.'" We are very apt to believe that we have done no wrong in a situation, placing the blame on someone else, when realistically, both are at fault and should take notice of personal fault before pointing fingers. It is then important to meditate on Romans 3:23, which serves as a reminder saying, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 

We need to remind ourselves that we are not fit for the throne of God, so we must not act like it when dealing with our peers. When we begin to focus too much on the legalism of Christianity, that is when you become prone to pointing out all the wrong others around you are doing. This is much like the Pharisees who lived during Jesus' time. They were so blinded by the laws everyone had to keep and had a trumped up view of their own goodness based upon the amount of theological knowledge they possessed that they could not see their Savior when He stood right in front of them. How easily it is to lose focus on the purpose of Jesus when we focus inwardly on the knowledge we gain about His teachings and what He expects of His followers. Even the great theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, fell prey to this line of thinking early on, and even felt devoid of even being a Christian yet because his vision was so clouded. There is a quote in his biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, that states the following: "For the first time I discovered the Bible...I had often preached. I had seen a great deal of the Church, and talked and preached about it - but I had not yet become a Christian...I know that at that time I turned the doctrine of Jesus Christ into something of personal advantage for myself...I pray to God that that will never happen again." It is scary to think that even Bonhoeffer could be so internally focused on his own knowledge, with a doctorate in theology no less, that he felt that he was not a Christian because he lost focus on Christ's true purpose.

What we need to turn our focus towards is the fact that God is love and that the one strict command we must follow is to love one another. If we are caught up in condemning each other for supposed wrong actions, we forget to love the people around us. Life is not supposed to be lived out by pointing out everybody's flaws and mistakes. Instead, we are called to embrace one another. 1 John 4:7-21 describes this beautifully: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." (emphasis mine)

My wish is that more and more we will remember to love those around us. It won't always be easy because of past hurts, but God commands us to stick with one another until the very end. If we can't do that, then there is no possible way to thrive as a Christian in this dark world. 

I'm leaving you with a lyric from a song that I discovered last week, and I don't believe it was a coincidence. I played it numerous times yesterday to ingrain the concept into my brain. The song is entitled "Dark Design" and is performed by the band Among Savages. The piece that struck me and that I now hold dear to my heart is, "I would rather live with you as my friend, than someone that I was trying to condemn."