You know, the Christian faith, when properly applied and lived out, is an amazing experience (the trouble is, most of us DON'T apply it or live it out properly -- but I'll circle back to that in a minute). If God has conditioned your heart to hear and take in His Word, then nearly every day, you see something that is a fulfillment of His Word, or a testimony to His Goodness and matchless power, or a demonstration of His mercy and unfathomable Grace. Can I get a witness?
And then, nearly every day now, even though you know that He said these things would happen before they did, you come across something on your life's journey that makes you go, "What's up with THAT?" The reaction is not based from a position of superiority, as if one thinks one is better than his or her neighbors, but rather from a two-sided curiousity: one, is what I'm looking at something that would happen in the presence of an authority this individual would RESPECT, and two, even if it is, can this individual POSSIBLY comprehend how this looks to others?"
Yes, I'm talking about the madness that is social media. I am enjoying its benefits daily, via my own twitter and facebook pages, and this blog. But daily, with increasing frequency, I'm seeing stuff that people do out here and I have to just shake my head and say, "What's up with THAT?"
Let me stop for a minute and give you the Word to which I referred earlier. I've often read this passage from 2 Timothy 3 over the years: "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power… (2 Timothy 3:1-5)" Is there anyone out here other than me who is seeing this lately? I see it everywhere: young people acting like they have no one to whom they must be accountable (other than their moms, and they don't even respect their moms half the time), middle-aged people showing little to no consideration for those around them, and even looking down on their neighbors, the elderly lost in bitterness or despair, or finally having to reap the mess they have sown over the years (hello, Bernie Madoff). And the truly messed up thing is, we all think that what we are doing is fine.
We say things like "Only God can judge me" and "Imma do ME." Well, since I am a preacher, and I am responsible for speaking the Word, this is what HE said about that philosophy. Consider Proverbs 21:2 - "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts." (That means that God knows not only WHAT we do, but WHY we did it.) Consider Proverbs 14:12 - "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Consider Proverbs 16:25 - "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." No, that's not a typo on my part. This passage is repeated word-for-word in two different spots in the book. When God says something like that TWICE, we would do well to take heed to it, hmm?
What has me all riled up this morning? Well, I'm seeing a lot of friends and people on the social media sites who use their cell phones to take their profile pictures or other pictures to post to their sites. I posted this statement to my site the other day: "Just a word for those of you that like to take your profile pics in your bathroom, using your cell phone camera, and you're shirtless, or in your underwear... Ewwww. No, that's not sexy, nor is it gangsta. That's just nasty..." And I followed it up with this sentiment: "One other thought that's running through my mind: you may take your profile pic with your middle finger up as a "salute" to your "haters", but for those of us who love you and want to stay connected to you, that mess is RUDE. Everybody in the world does NOT hate you! Put a smile on your face and stop tryin to be so HARD! Just sayin..." Sometimes I look at these pictures, oftentimes taken in the subject's bathroom mirror, and I wonder if they would have struck the same pose with their mother (or someone else that they REALLY cared about) standing behind them? I wonder if they would have blithely thrown up that finger if they were applying to find work in this recession and their potential employer were to log on to their website to find out what kind of person they are and were to see that?
We have to remember that we are not in this world all by ourselves. God made us each with individual and unique traits and abilities, but He purposely planned it that we would be a CIVILIZATION, a community of individuals who work TOGETHER to make life better for all. What I'm seeing lately is anything BUT civilized behavior. And the problem with social media is the same thing that makes it such a wonderful thing. While we now have the opportunity to connect with people around the world instantly, and share information in real time, we also can be as nasty as we want to be, in the comfort of our own bathrooms or elsewhere, and we think we're getting away with it because we were the "only ones there". (Or WERE we?)
What's up with that?
Consider Matthew 7:12-14 (we call this the Golden Rule) "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Consider Hebrews 4:12-13 - "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
Now, there may be those of you who are reading this and you say to yourself, "Preacher, you sure are quoting a lot of stuff from the Bible, but I don't even believe this stuff. I think I'm fine just the way I am." Very well, that's your right. Go back and read my 5th paragraph again. That's all I'm going to say on that.
But my real dilemma is with those who say they are BELIEVERS (!) and are doing this stuff. How are you going to contend to represent the King in a picture in your bathroom standing there with your drawers on? How are you going to tell me that you Love the Lord but you won't do what He says? (Luke 6:46) We are His AMBASSADORS! How many Ambassadors of the world's nations have shown up in the United Nations Building shirtless? How many of them have flipped off their fellow ambassadors in the name of taking a "cute" picture? How many of them have let profanity fly out of their mouths as easily as water runs from a faucet? How many of them have phrased their written communications with so much slang, misspellings and poor grammar as to render them unintelligible? Hmm, I didn't think so. But we seem to think that all we have to say is that we love the Lord and that's enough. NO, love without action is not love at all! (My wife is a great example of love and consideration in action, and she's taught me well, even though I have admittedly been very slow in learning and applying the lesson.) Jesus said, "If you love me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS" (John 14:15). Jesus said, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye DO THEM" (John 13:17). He inspired James to write, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).Some of us have been praying to God for a long time about things and wondering why He hasn't answered that prayer yet. Well, consider 1 John 3:22 - "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." Is everything we do pleasing in His sight? (Help ME LORD!) Consider Galatians 5:13 - For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
In these last and evil days, the world needs to know that their is a loving Savior who has poured out and demonstrated His love for us by dying for our sins. This was accomplished in the person and work of Jesus the Christ. When he walked the earth, He went about doing good, He was considerate, He was compassionate, He was loving, He was concerned about others. He carried Himself blamelessly, He perfectly fulfilled the law in every area, so that we by His grace and with His help could grow into doing the same, He showed us a perfect example to strive for. My main appeal is to those of you who say you are His followers. We ALL (me first) need to strive to do JUST that; follow His example in our daily living. Just imagine what it would look like for me to be in the middle of Wal-Mart in the middle of the day in nothing but my underwear... crazy, isn't it? That's how it looks when we get on these sites and show out like this.
These thoughts have been on my mind for a while now, and I've been praying for how to address them. I was reminded that I have this blog, and in a blog, you can say what you want. I have spoken at length about not being offensive in our presentation to the world, and I realize that by discussing the Word and its application like this, I run the risk of having offended someone too. I will never apologize for the truths of the Word of God. Please know that I give them from a heart of true love and concern for those of you who read this, and that this, like every personal blog, represents my own humble opinion.
Finally, consider the benediction of Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 - "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." If we do this, consistently (Help me Jesus!), we won't find ourselves in a place where people look at us and ask,
"What's up with THAT?"
Thanks for letting me vent, I feel much better now. Have a blessed week, saith the Preacher...
