It's not quite a quiver full, but it's a start!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Living upRIGHT in an upside-down world

It's especially hard in this day and age not to notice how like-minded Christians and non-Christians are becoming. Obviously, if we as Christians are to have the "mind of Christ" how can our standards line up so closely with those who have not chosen to follow Him? We immerse ourselves in this culture. Watching the same movies, reading the same books, listening to the same music, going to the same places. We quote scripture to back up these choices, "to be in the world," claiming that that is what we are doing, that we are in the world while denying that we are really of it. So how can we really be in and not of? It really is all about denying ourselves, and accepting the mind of Christ. Dying to ourselves daily, and picking up our cross to follow Him Luke 9:23. So how can we use Facebook, a website that in even the best of times promotes vanity, Pinterest, a website that promotes greed and envy, and Google, which provides so much information at the click of a button with no filter to sift through it all, with the mindset of Christ.

These sites, like money, are not "evil" in and of themselves; rather, it is what we choose to do with them that sets us apart. Do you see Facebook as an opportunity to witness or to show off? Do you use Pinterest as an opportunity to be creative, find fun activities for your children, enrich your life, or do you use it as a way to think of all the things you do not have but wish you did? Do you Google with a filter of Scripture, or do you accept whatever information you find as truth? Do you rely on your self-help books or do you rely on THE Book? Do you need advice on finances? Did you know there are over 800 scriptures covering the topic of money? Trouble with your marriage? Why not seek what the Creator of marriage has to say about it? And there truly is no better guide to parenting than the one written by our perfect Father. What book can better tell you what to do with your life than the book written by the One who is the meaning of life? Not to say we should not listen to the godly counsel of others. God intended for us to encourage, teach, and hold each other accountable, but He did not intend for us to worship each other's opinions, to seek first our friend's experiences, or to keep our Bible on the shelf while fervently studying someone else's opinion of the Scriptures.

The only way we can live upright in an upside-down world is to take captive every thought, turn over the desires of our heart to God, adopt the mind of Christ, and seek Him in everything that we do. And we need to hold each other accountable as the Scriptures tell us to. We need to allow grace for those who are not yet mature in their faith, but we need to make sure that these claims of "Christianity" are not damaging the Kingdom of God. We need to grow each other up in the Word, and we need to separate ourselves from the teachings of this world. We need to immerse ourselves daily in the study of Him. We need to start recognizing the difference between upside-down and right-side-up.

5 comments:

  1. Hi. I'm visiting from No Ordinary Blog Hop. Even though I don't self identify as Christian I can relate to your concerns about damaging expressions in our culture. I think you a spot on about things like Pininterest and Facebook being tools, and that it is our intent that defines our experience of them. We can just as easily choose to use them in promotion of positive values and instead of for greed, vanity, etc. Awareness is key. Have a great day.

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  2. Thanks for visiting! I totally agree that these are not "Christian" issues, but a break down of society in general. Pride, envy, and self-absorption are definitely areas we all need to work on! I hope you enjoy the blog. Even though it is from a Christian perspective and you may not agree with everything posted, I hope you are encouraged!

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  3. "the truth shall set us free"

    Most don't want to hear this as it would require inner reflection that would be painful. Great post! I hope you will link it up at my other blog Women of Noble Character. http://womenofnoblecharacter.blogspot.com/2011/11/sincerity.html

    Thank you for sharing this at NOBH!

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  4. Thank you so much and I would LOVE to link it up! I love your blog, I love the message, and I especially love the encouragement!

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  5. Even if, as you said, I don't agree with everything, I appreciate your strong convictions. I mostly read blogs familiar to my own spiritual path, but I also venture out, so as to not be in a bubble. Have a great day!

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