Christian Living

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The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. {1 John 2:17}

Have you ever been driving along, minding your own business when someone comes up behind you out of nowhere with no other mission in life but to make you drive faster? They ride up REALLY close and swerve from side to side flashing their high beams all the while. Then suddenly you find yourself complying - you're now going 5 - 10 mph faster than you really want simply to relieve some pressure. You're risking the safety of you and your passengers not to mention a speeding ticket all for the sake of conformity! You have just let a complete stranger force you to do something you didn't want to do. It was that easy.

No, just me? Well, I have been told I worry too much about what other people think. I guess I would have to agree! I'm constantly reviewing scenarios of what could happen if I say this or do that. How will he feel? What would she do? How will they think of me? But I'm hard-pressed to think of a situation where I thought about how God will judge me..

We are called to consider God above everything and everyone. In all matters we are to seek God's approval, not that of our family, friends, co-workers or the guy in that menacing Dodge Avenger right on our bumper! And ya know what? Usually, what God wants and what everyone else wants will conflict.

It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. {1 Peter 3:17}

A few weeks back, I went on an outing with some friends. Now, my son and I pray together before EVERY meal, but that day in that situation, I felt it may make the people we were with "uncomfortable".....so we skipped it. WHAT??! What in the world would make me want to try to please my friends over my God? I should have taken my son's hands in mine and PRAYED. Instead I showed my son that it's OK to forgo thanking The One who provided for us, and I sent a message to my friends who are not Believers/Followers of Christ that talking to my Savior is not really that important.

Don't let me be insulted and hated because I keep your rules. {Psalm 119:22 NCV}

Just the other day I was told to relay a message to an associate that was not true. What did I say? "OK." Of course, I had no intention on lying to anyone, but it doesn't matter. By agreeing to lie, I have changed the whole dynamic of the relationship. That person knows where I am with my faith but now thinks I can be swayed in other directions when beneficial. I won't be taken seriously in matters of faith or anything else for that matter. I should have explained I would not lie for any reason.....period. What in the world would make me [even consent to] compromise my beliefs and integrity to "protect" this person?

That's just it - The World. It seems so much easier to follow suit with the rest of the world than to stand our ground as Christ-Followers. Who wants to go against the grain and be ridiculed? WE SHOULD! Instead of agonizing over what others may think, we should be even more so distressed over how our words and deeds will OR will not glorify our Father. Who cares what that maniac in the car behind you thinks when you hold your ground and drive the speed limit - you could be saving his life (or his wallet from that ticket)! So what if your "friends" feel uncomfortable when you break out in praise over your PB & J - you're not depending on them for your next one! If you, a professed Believer in Jesus, don't set an example of TRUTH, how can you expect anyone else to catch on? Don't allow yourself to be pulled off the path God has charted out for you. Don't let this World dictate your eternity. It may be a rough road to salvation, but the destination is far more desirable than the alternative!

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. {Romans 12:1-2}

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