"Cling to what is good; abstain from every form of evil." - 1 Thessalonians 5: 21b-22
I need to work more on abstaining from every form ("every hint", as it says elsewhere) of evil.
I have let it creep into my life in the midst of pretending that somehow I have made exchanges in other areas. I do not watch R rated movies, for example, so a little Anime (Japanese Animation) is okay - even if the Anime turns out to be as bad as an R rated movie (yes, this is a thing). A book has important ideas so I read it, overlooking the parts of it that almost move towards soft porn and are inimical to my proclaimed values (Atlas Shrugged, in case you were wondering).
Why do I choose to believe and act this way? Is it because I believe that truth has to be told and thus a little bad along with the good is tolerable (although in God, there is no darkness)? Am I so desperate to entertain myself that I am willing to put up with the inappropriate because it is "not real"? (Yet adultery in the mind is little different than adultery in reality according to Christ)
Apply that philosophy to real life: Is theft justified if the business is wealthy? Is the affair justified if the spouse is unresponsive? Is the gossip and malice justified towards the "deserving", even though it may be false?
In each of these situation I would say "No" - after all, those are sins. Yet in the application in my own life, am I that rigorous in examining and applying my own morality?
The sin I am responsible for purging is my own. The morals I am responsible for upholding are mine, not my neighbors. No one tries to see by a dim lamp- so why do I try to live my life in that dimly lit darkness?
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of the same questions I have now and then.
ReplyDeleteAll we can do, I think, is to ask God's forgiveness and strength to do what He would want us to do.
*hugs*
For what it is worth, SNBIO, you are welcome. I keep coming back to the witness of Christians in the world - not just what we say, but really what we do and how we spend our time. After all, if we are just like the world in everything else, how will people notice the difference?
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda! And yes, asking for God's forgiveness is almost always a requirement. That said, He does expect us to grow and mature. The question that keeps coming up is "How am I doing with that?"
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