It’s interesting you bring this movie up today, I recently sat through some of it with my husband before I fell asleep. And yes, it was recommended to me by Christian friends. I’m shocked at anyone that cannot recall the strong language in this movie not to mention the violence. And the caller that says we have to toughen up, we have worse days ahead, the way we toughen up is to be set apart. If we think that we are so spiritual we can be exposed to anything, we are just fooling ourselves. Satan is happy with this type of thinking.
I just have a quick comment on today’s topic. I do agree with Dr. Brown’s position in not seeking ungodly entertainment, but we must remember whose dominion that we are now living under. Right now it belongs to Satan; therefore, seeking to close our eyes from all forms of evil happening in the world today, to me, is a false doctrine. I left a church that abided by that doctrine of seeking to shut out all evils, and that even included the newspaper for one can read about murders in it.
Do you know how that false doctrine can affect a church? It can make the members cold-hearted for one cannot be inspired to show love and compassion for situations that they have shut out of their mind. Read about Lot who lived in a very wicked city.
2 Peter 2:7-8 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
That’s the key to keep ourselves from being shaped by evil, not shutting our eyes from it, but vexing our souls wherever we encounter it. It takes work, and it is not pleasant to vex one’s soul.
What was said about the city Christ grew up in?
John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Yet, Jesus grew up as a perfect plant before the Lord, but as a root out of a dry ground. After dwelling on that phrase – root out of a dry ground – I gather that it means He received no nourishment from His environment.
Constant exposure to filth by degrees has a tendency to desensitize a person…after awhile, we can think, “Oh, it wasn’t that bad…compared to xyz..” I have seen otherwise pretty good movies that were marred by scenes which were not at all necessary to the plot of the movie and I could think, “Oh, it’s just a little ‘poison,’ I can handle it.” But that’s how we are weakened over time. That’s how our resistance is built up until we are no longer shocked enough to be outraged. This is what has happened with homosexuality in the media, btw. We’ve gotten bits and snippets here and there — a joke here — a scene there — a casual remark here — until the end result is we that we have been bludgeoned with it and it no longer fazes us. Then it becomes overwhelming and we think, “How can we fight it? It’s everywhere!” And that is how their strategy works: drip…drip…drip…until we’re in over our heads and we think it’s just too late to change anything. Well, if that works, then shouldn’t the opposite? Seemingly tiny acts of revolution, multiplied several times, over here, over there…can make change happen. I AM going to talk to my local store manager about Cosmopolitan (referencing an earlier show) and similar magazines at the check-out. I’ve seen the front cover story lines and yes, I’ve actually felt nauseated. But instead of giving in to the feeling of despair, I AM going to take one step.
Ruth — take the step!
Yes, Lord. Pamela wrote: Do you know how that false doctrine can affect a church? It can make the members cold-hearted for one cannot be inspired to show love and compassion for situations that they have shut out of their mind.
So too can religious insistence, as did the Scribes and Pharisees, through traditions hardening the heart by self comparisons to self assessments, pride, and the “set apart” aspects of an outlook also hardening hearts.
There must be a balance in walking with the Spirit, where a posture of lovingkindness and mercy is set in balance with justice and righteousness issues where believers are to be the Salt and Light in a dark world.
Bind us together, Lord. Heal us, fix our hearts on your Ways.
Ruth,you make some really good points.One of the end results of the media doing as you said is the world is changing the church instead of the church changing the world.A friend of mine said he went to the mall recently.He said just walking through the mall with his childern he noticed several large indecend posters hanging up.One store he mentioned was victorias secret.Thats a shame you can’t go to the mall with your kids without seeing that.
Ruth often makes good points, has a fine mind and heart toward God. We would benefit from her furthering her status in Christ to then extend ministry to others.
(o:
We all bounce off each other here (o: I’m glad for all the relevant points made everyday.
The vexing of the soul that Pamela referred to above — also reminds one of Ezekiel 9:1-11, describing the mark on the forehead the LORD commanded.
Ezek. 9:3-4 “Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
These were the spared ones, whose consciences were not dulled, but whose souls were deeply vexed over the state of rampant sin in their midst.
And as Vicky wrote, “If we think that we are so spiritual we can be exposed to anything, we are just fooling ourselves. Satan is happy with this type of thinking.” So true. We are not immune to temptations nor are we impervious to the demoralizing effects of sinfulness around us. We have to protect our own minds, fleeing from, not courting, temptation, and most definitely protect our children from this constant, desensitizing exposure. Jesus spoke very strongly on the topic of protecting the children from sin:
Matthew 18:6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
It is a shame, as Bob T. wrote, when you can’t go out shopping with your child without inadvertently seeing indecent images. We are vexed with the ubiquitous images of fornication. We do grieve the violence promotion. And we always know the Lord is just and will avenge everything, yet we can walk in that balance, as Jabez described in his post, because we know God’s desire is that we act both justly and compassionately. It’s important that the way we conduct our moral revolution is not like the rude rioters in the streets who break windows and throw rocks and hurl insults; but intelligently and effectively, in a way becoming of a Christian.
I really like Dr. Brown’s plea for help and the smart, sensitive way this should be approached:
I think this will really work if we will take it upon ourselves to act in this way. Please share this ^ link on your pages — help get the word out (o:
You know we can make a great difference, together.
Wow, well said Ruth!Jabez is right you have a special gift.Not trying to flatter just encourage.
And thank you for the encouragement of actually going to some stores and doing what Dr. Brown asked of us, his friends, Bob T.!
I haven’t done that yet. I’m going to have a vacation soon, and plan to approach it then…it will be a pleasure.
I’m hoping people all around America will decide to just take that step. The more that do, the more of a spontaneous wave of change we’ll see. Never doubt the ripple effect from just one pebble dropped into a pond. Imagine a thousand tiny pebbles, here and there, on and on.
Well, I know one thing, Bob T. God did make me a revolutionary. (But I wasted it on things of lesser importance, formerly.)
When I found God in a Jewish Bible, I also found The Messiah there, too. Our Hero, Jesus. Yeshua, Shepherd of Israel, Savior of the World. There’s nothing more I want to do than follow Him all the days I have left.
I love the small, bite-size of these seemingly tiny acts of revolution…which combined can cause sweeping change.
All for Our Lord and His Kingdom!
I have some thoughts on desensitivity. Is a measure of it necessary to function in this world?
Is life so painful and we are so always grieved as believers that instead of allowing us to feel the pain every moment, we allow ourselves to be desensitized for the sake of being able to function as we live in this world?
Like a EMT who sees death and destruction daily or a CSI investigator or a special victims unit of the police. They would not be able to function in this world or in their job without some level of desensitization.
What about military? They have much more of a capacity to endure violence or “hard things” than the average American housewife.
In regards to the Book of Eli, is it “gratuitous” violence or simply reflective of the world we live in and a way to tell a story in the context of this present age?
Is not being “entertained” as much as it is understanding where our generation is coming from? Can some watch and stay disconnected as the soldier or EMT does and not be affected like the housewife may be? Or do you think we are all “defiled” by the gritty realities of the present world in which we live?
In regards to the Bible, I have winced more in some of the passages I’ve read from the Old Testament than from some of the stylized violence seen in the Book of Eli.
I have actually had to put the Bible down and reflect on the level of brutality and violence mentioned…just as much or more than when I watched this movie.
Because it is in the Bible, is it always clean enough to read out loud to small children? I wouldn’t do it. That’s why we have the stories sanitized into “children’s versions.”
I often wonder why God allowed the graphic descriptions in Scripture if he wanted us to be shielded from it in our present age. The story of David chopping off Goliath’s head…The body of a women being hacked into pieces and send throughout Israel and many more instances of descriptive violence. The prophet “Eli”sha calling for a bear to come and maul the 42 youths who were mocking him etc.
I think Eli would easily fit into the mold of an Old Testament hero in a new Testament world. The movie could fall into the category/theme of; what would happen if an Old Testament prophet came into a degenerate NT world.?
If I’m not mistaken this may happen again when we see the “two witnesses” calling down fire from heaven in the streets of Jerusalem during the last days. Is it literal fire? If so, those charred bodies are not going to be pretty.
I suppose people draw lines differently – but some lines are all the same (e.g. ur strip club comment).
BUT in terms of Jackie Chan biffing up bad guys, Rush Hour etc – I like those movies.
I wanna see Inception. A new movie coming out. Sure, it has good guys and bad guys shooting up each other, but is that a crime to watch? I never questioned it like that, but I want to watch it.
We have to live in this world but we are not to be a part of it.Bad company corrupts good morals,1cor.15:33.Eph.4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…..Eph 5:3-4-5 tells us there must not be any filthness and silly talk or coarse jesting.Because it is immoral and no immoral person will have a place in heaven.And yes the people in the mililary,policeofficer,emt ect… are very much affected by thier job.We here and read about it almost everyday in the news.Sin is still sin whether it’s today or two thousand years ago.God said He is the same today,yesterday and forever.
I was not saying your an immoral person and going to hell because you watch a movie that has immorality in it.Just that it is wrong [sin] to associate with anyone or anything that is immoral.
I watched a program last evening on PBS – PBS! – and normally the show is just about “history detectives” searching through extant materials for clues to unsolved mysteries: in this particular segment, it was about finding the real author of an ‘autobiography of a lesbian’ which was published in the late 1950’s under a pseudonym.
I’ve always enjoyed this particular show, and wanted to see how they would handle this controversial subject. They attempted to show by various implications that there is a direct parallel between gay “rights” and the civil rights movement for blacks. As if the suffering gay community is still in its persecution phase, but, like blacks in their struggle for emancipation, will one day overcome the stigma of ignorance and prejudice. The moderator chosen for this show clearly had gay activist leanings. At the end of the program (in which the real identity of the author was presumed to be finally discovered) she said in closing, a tinge of anger in her voice: “The battle rages on!”
It offended me that this message was tucked into the program in an attempt to sway viewers to draw the same conclusions. I wanted to write PBS and register my opinion. Haven’t done so, but I believe I will.
There is definitely a difference between becoming desensitized as part of a difficult job, such as police officer, soldier, etc., etc., and becoming indoctrinated, steadily, to the point that we can call what is bad, good, and what is good, bad. Sheer volume of exposure can also make people jaded, too, and unable to act.
But if we can deal honestly with whatever’s in our sphere — in our homes, and in our communities — at least registering how we feel, appropriately, and with respect and compassion, we can definitely help turn the wheel in the other direction. After all, we do know “the light of the World” — we have the ultimate solutions to all manner of suffering in Jesus, and in the Holy Bible.
We don’t complain, but we should, and not just about these matters. We tend to think we’re just one person, what can we do? But truthfully, one person can inspire another and so on and so on. We shouldn’t think “I’ll do it when others get involved” — we stand alone before God, and will on that Day, accountable for ourselves only and how we handled every opportunity that crossed our path. Be a part of the change you wish to see.
I will write that letter! (o:
Bob T.-“Just that it is wrong [sin] to associate with anyone or anything that is immoral.” That would make it wrong for most Christians to go to work and work with their immoral co-workers or boss, wrong for many Christians to stay married to their immoral spouse, wrong for many Christians to send their children to their immoral ex-spouse, wrong to take care of their immoral ailing parents, etc. Maybe I did not understand what you meant.
I guess you’ll know you’re in a moral stupor or not when confronted directly with difficult moral choices. Here is a story of one of two counseling students who paid a high price for standing by their christian morals:
Getting kicked out of a Grad program and denied a career is disheartening. But their actions did glorify God and that is what should be the basis for any decision that we make. We could try and make many rules as to what is right or acceptable Christian behavior for a specific situation but it truly comes down to what is in your heart. If you love the Lord and believe in His ways then you’ll do without gladly or stand up against adversity despite the uncomfortable consequences. What’s in your heart, what is it that you truly seek daily?
Rebecca,if you will read my post that is above the one you mentioned I believe I made it clear that we have to live in the world but not be part of the world.2 cor.6:14- “Do not be bound together with unblievers;for what partnership have rightousness and lawlessness,or what fellowship has light with darkness”.Verse 16 says Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?….James 4:4 says-you adulteresses,do you not know that friendship with the world is hostilty toward God? Therefore whoever wishs to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.I am sorry if I did not make myself clear but I was sure I did in the post above the one you mentioned.In the post you mention I was just trying clarify a point that I had made in the previous post.Thank you
Rebecca,we are to stay married to an unsaved spouse.The lord makes that clear.We are not to marry an unsaved person though.The Lord makes that clear as well.I can see that “associate”was not the best word I could have used.Please excuse me because I am far from being an intellectual.
Bob T, thank you for clarifying. I was just thinking there are situation some Believers have to be in that they don’t necessarily want. Of course the Lord can use those situations for the good. A small situation for example: A father wants to take the kids to a certain movie that the mother does not approve of. Does the mother voice her opinion and keep voicing it until she gets her way creating a bigger rift? Does she voice her opinion and not go to the movie? Does she voice her opinion and go to the movie and then latter explain to the kids what the Word of God says in contrast to what the movie is portraying? So not everything is cut and dry for some Believers.
Rebecca,Stand like a rock on the word of God.Matt.18:6-but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble,it is better for him that a heavey millstone be hung around his neck,and that he be drowned in the depth of yhe sea.When you need advice or help turn to the word of God.
It’s interesting you bring this movie up today, I recently sat through some of it with my husband before I fell asleep. And yes, it was recommended to me by Christian friends. I’m shocked at anyone that cannot recall the strong language in this movie not to mention the violence. And the caller that says we have to toughen up, we have worse days ahead, the way we toughen up is to be set apart. If we think that we are so spiritual we can be exposed to anything, we are just fooling ourselves. Satan is happy with this type of thinking.
I just have a quick comment on today’s topic. I do agree with Dr. Brown’s position in not seeking ungodly entertainment, but we must remember whose dominion that we are now living under. Right now it belongs to Satan; therefore, seeking to close our eyes from all forms of evil happening in the world today, to me, is a false doctrine. I left a church that abided by that doctrine of seeking to shut out all evils, and that even included the newspaper for one can read about murders in it.
Do you know how that false doctrine can affect a church? It can make the members cold-hearted for one cannot be inspired to show love and compassion for situations that they have shut out of their mind. Read about Lot who lived in a very wicked city.
2 Peter 2:7-8 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
That’s the key to keep ourselves from being shaped by evil, not shutting our eyes from it, but vexing our souls wherever we encounter it. It takes work, and it is not pleasant to vex one’s soul.
What was said about the city Christ grew up in?
John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Yet, Jesus grew up as a perfect plant before the Lord, but as a root out of a dry ground. After dwelling on that phrase – root out of a dry ground – I gather that it means He received no nourishment from His environment.
Constant exposure to filth by degrees has a tendency to desensitize a person…after awhile, we can think, “Oh, it wasn’t that bad…compared to xyz..” I have seen otherwise pretty good movies that were marred by scenes which were not at all necessary to the plot of the movie and I could think, “Oh, it’s just a little ‘poison,’ I can handle it.” But that’s how we are weakened over time. That’s how our resistance is built up until we are no longer shocked enough to be outraged. This is what has happened with homosexuality in the media, btw. We’ve gotten bits and snippets here and there — a joke here — a scene there — a casual remark here — until the end result is we that we have been bludgeoned with it and it no longer fazes us. Then it becomes overwhelming and we think, “How can we fight it? It’s everywhere!” And that is how their strategy works: drip…drip…drip…until we’re in over our heads and we think it’s just too late to change anything. Well, if that works, then shouldn’t the opposite? Seemingly tiny acts of revolution, multiplied several times, over here, over there…can make change happen. I AM going to talk to my local store manager about Cosmopolitan (referencing an earlier show) and similar magazines at the check-out. I’ve seen the front cover story lines and yes, I’ve actually felt nauseated. But instead of giving in to the feeling of despair, I AM going to take one step.
Ruth — take the step!
Yes, Lord. Pamela wrote: Do you know how that false doctrine can affect a church? It can make the members cold-hearted for one cannot be inspired to show love and compassion for situations that they have shut out of their mind.
So too can religious insistence, as did the Scribes and Pharisees, through traditions hardening the heart by self comparisons to self assessments, pride, and the “set apart” aspects of an outlook also hardening hearts.
There must be a balance in walking with the Spirit, where a posture of lovingkindness and mercy is set in balance with justice and righteousness issues where believers are to be the Salt and Light in a dark world.
Bind us together, Lord. Heal us, fix our hearts on your Ways.
Ruth,you make some really good points.One of the end results of the media doing as you said is the world is changing the church instead of the church changing the world.A friend of mine said he went to the mall recently.He said just walking through the mall with his childern he noticed several large indecend posters hanging up.One store he mentioned was victorias secret.Thats a shame you can’t go to the mall with your kids without seeing that.
Ruth often makes good points, has a fine mind and heart toward God. We would benefit from her furthering her status in Christ to then extend ministry to others.
(o:
We all bounce off each other here (o: I’m glad for all the relevant points made everyday.
The vexing of the soul that Pamela referred to above — also reminds one of Ezekiel 9:1-11, describing the mark on the forehead the LORD commanded.
Ezek. 9:3-4
“Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
These were the spared ones, whose consciences were not dulled, but whose souls were deeply vexed over the state of rampant sin in their midst.
And as Vicky wrote, “If we think that we are so spiritual we can be exposed to anything, we are just fooling ourselves. Satan is happy with this type of thinking.” So true. We are not immune to temptations nor are we impervious to the demoralizing effects of sinfulness around us. We have to protect our own minds, fleeing from, not courting, temptation, and most definitely protect our children from this constant, desensitizing exposure. Jesus spoke very strongly on the topic of protecting the children from sin:
Matthew 18:6
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
It is a shame, as Bob T. wrote, when you can’t go out shopping with your child without inadvertently seeing indecent images. We are vexed with the ubiquitous images of fornication. We do grieve the violence promotion. And we always know the Lord is just and will avenge everything, yet we can walk in that balance, as Jabez described in his post, because we know God’s desire is that we act both justly and compassionately. It’s important that the way we conduct our moral revolution is not like the rude rioters in the streets who break windows and throw rocks and hurl insults; but intelligently and effectively, in a way becoming of a Christian.
I really like Dr. Brown’s plea for help and the smart, sensitive way this should be approached:
http://lineoffireradio.askdrbrown.org/2010/07/21/a-plea-for-moral-sanity-and-a-request-for-a-little-help-from-my-friends-2/
I think this will really work if we will take it upon ourselves to act in this way. Please share this ^ link on your pages — help get the word out (o:
You know we can make a great difference, together.
Wow, well said Ruth!Jabez is right you have a special gift.Not trying to flatter just encourage.
And thank you for the encouragement of actually going to some stores and doing what Dr. Brown asked of us, his friends, Bob T.!
I haven’t done that yet. I’m going to have a vacation soon, and plan to approach it then…it will be a pleasure.
I’m hoping people all around America will decide to just take that step. The more that do, the more of a spontaneous wave of change we’ll see. Never doubt the ripple effect from just one pebble dropped into a pond. Imagine a thousand tiny pebbles, here and there, on and on.
Well, I know one thing, Bob T. God did make me a revolutionary. (But I wasted it on things of lesser importance, formerly.)
When I found God in a Jewish Bible, I also found The Messiah there, too. Our Hero, Jesus. Yeshua, Shepherd of Israel, Savior of the World. There’s nothing more I want to do than follow Him all the days I have left.
I love the small, bite-size of these seemingly tiny acts of revolution…which combined can cause sweeping change.
All for Our Lord and His Kingdom!
I have some thoughts on desensitivity. Is a measure of it necessary to function in this world?
Is life so painful and we are so always grieved as believers that instead of allowing us to feel the pain every moment, we allow ourselves to be desensitized for the sake of being able to function as we live in this world?
Like a EMT who sees death and destruction daily or a CSI investigator or a special victims unit of the police. They would not be able to function in this world or in their job without some level of desensitization.
What about military? They have much more of a capacity to endure violence or “hard things” than the average American housewife.
In regards to the Book of Eli, is it “gratuitous” violence or simply reflective of the world we live in and a way to tell a story in the context of this present age?
Is not being “entertained” as much as it is understanding where our generation is coming from? Can some watch and stay disconnected as the soldier or EMT does and not be affected like the housewife may be? Or do you think we are all “defiled” by the gritty realities of the present world in which we live?
In regards to the Bible, I have winced more in some of the passages I’ve read from the Old Testament than from some of the stylized violence seen in the Book of Eli.
I have actually had to put the Bible down and reflect on the level of brutality and violence mentioned…just as much or more than when I watched this movie.
Because it is in the Bible, is it always clean enough to read out loud to small children? I wouldn’t do it. That’s why we have the stories sanitized into “children’s versions.”
I often wonder why God allowed the graphic descriptions in Scripture if he wanted us to be shielded from it in our present age. The story of David chopping off Goliath’s head…The body of a women being hacked into pieces and send throughout Israel and many more instances of descriptive violence. The prophet “Eli”sha calling for a bear to come and maul the 42 youths who were mocking him etc.
I think Eli would easily fit into the mold of an Old Testament hero in a new Testament world. The movie could fall into the category/theme of; what would happen if an Old Testament prophet came into a degenerate NT world.?
If I’m not mistaken this may happen again when we see the “two witnesses” calling down fire from heaven in the streets of Jerusalem during the last days. Is it literal fire? If so, those charred bodies are not going to be pretty.
I suppose people draw lines differently – but some lines are all the same (e.g. ur strip club comment).
BUT in terms of Jackie Chan biffing up bad guys, Rush Hour etc – I like those movies.
I wanna see Inception. A new movie coming out. Sure, it has good guys and bad guys shooting up each other, but is that a crime to watch? I never questioned it like that, but I want to watch it.
We have to live in this world but we are not to be a part of it.Bad company corrupts good morals,1cor.15:33.Eph.4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…..Eph 5:3-4-5 tells us there must not be any filthness and silly talk or coarse jesting.Because it is immoral and no immoral person will have a place in heaven.And yes the people in the mililary,policeofficer,emt ect… are very much affected by thier job.We here and read about it almost everyday in the news.Sin is still sin whether it’s today or two thousand years ago.God said He is the same today,yesterday and forever.
I was not saying your an immoral person and going to hell because you watch a movie that has immorality in it.Just that it is wrong [sin] to associate with anyone or anything that is immoral.
I watched a program last evening on PBS – PBS! – and normally the show is just about “history detectives” searching through extant materials for clues to unsolved mysteries: in this particular segment, it was about finding the real author of an ‘autobiography of a lesbian’ which was published in the late 1950’s under a pseudonym.
I’ve always enjoyed this particular show, and wanted to see how they would handle this controversial subject. They attempted to show by various implications that there is a direct parallel between gay “rights” and the civil rights movement for blacks. As if the suffering gay community is still in its persecution phase, but, like blacks in their struggle for emancipation, will one day overcome the stigma of ignorance and prejudice. The moderator chosen for this show clearly had gay activist leanings. At the end of the program (in which the real identity of the author was presumed to be finally discovered) she said in closing, a tinge of anger in her voice: “The battle rages on!”
It offended me that this message was tucked into the program in an attempt to sway viewers to draw the same conclusions. I wanted to write PBS and register my opinion. Haven’t done so, but I believe I will.
There is definitely a difference between becoming desensitized as part of a difficult job, such as police officer, soldier, etc., etc., and becoming indoctrinated, steadily, to the point that we can call what is bad, good, and what is good, bad. Sheer volume of exposure can also make people jaded, too, and unable to act.
But if we can deal honestly with whatever’s in our sphere — in our homes, and in our communities — at least registering how we feel, appropriately, and with respect and compassion, we can definitely help turn the wheel in the other direction. After all, we do know “the light of the World” — we have the ultimate solutions to all manner of suffering in Jesus, and in the Holy Bible.
We don’t complain, but we should, and not just about these matters. We tend to think we’re just one person, what can we do? But truthfully, one person can inspire another and so on and so on. We shouldn’t think “I’ll do it when others get involved” — we stand alone before God, and will on that Day, accountable for ourselves only and how we handled every opportunity that crossed our path. Be a part of the change you wish to see.
I will write that letter! (o:
Bob T.-“Just that it is wrong [sin] to associate with anyone or anything that is immoral.” That would make it wrong for most Christians to go to work and work with their immoral co-workers or boss, wrong for many Christians to stay married to their immoral spouse, wrong for many Christians to send their children to their immoral ex-spouse, wrong to take care of their immoral ailing parents, etc. Maybe I did not understand what you meant.
I guess you’ll know you’re in a moral stupor or not when confronted directly with difficult moral choices. Here is a story of one of two counseling students who paid a high price for standing by their christian morals:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/28/court-university-expel-student-opposes-homosexuality/
Getting kicked out of a Grad program and denied a career is disheartening. But their actions did glorify God and that is what should be the basis for any decision that we make. We could try and make many rules as to what is right or acceptable Christian behavior for a specific situation but it truly comes down to what is in your heart. If you love the Lord and believe in His ways then you’ll do without gladly or stand up against adversity despite the uncomfortable consequences. What’s in your heart, what is it that you truly seek daily?
Rebecca,if you will read my post that is above the one you mentioned I believe I made it clear that we have to live in the world but not be part of the world.2 cor.6:14- “Do not be bound together with unblievers;for what partnership have rightousness and lawlessness,or what fellowship has light with darkness”.Verse 16 says Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?….James 4:4 says-you adulteresses,do you not know that friendship with the world is hostilty toward God? Therefore whoever wishs to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.I am sorry if I did not make myself clear but I was sure I did in the post above the one you mentioned.In the post you mention I was just trying clarify a point that I had made in the previous post.Thank you
Rebecca,we are to stay married to an unsaved spouse.The lord makes that clear.We are not to marry an unsaved person though.The Lord makes that clear as well.I can see that “associate”was not the best word I could have used.Please excuse me because I am far from being an intellectual.
Bob T, thank you for clarifying. I was just thinking there are situation some Believers have to be in that they don’t necessarily want. Of course the Lord can use those situations for the good. A small situation for example: A father wants to take the kids to a certain movie that the mother does not approve of. Does the mother voice her opinion and keep voicing it until she gets her way creating a bigger rift? Does she voice her opinion and not go to the movie? Does she voice her opinion and go to the movie and then latter explain to the kids what the Word of God says in contrast to what the movie is portraying? So not everything is cut and dry for some Believers.
Rebecca,Stand like a rock on the word of God.Matt.18:6-but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble,it is better for him that a heavey millstone be hung around his neck,and that he be drowned in the depth of yhe sea.When you need advice or help turn to the word of God.