A Way That Seems Right

In the last 24 hours I have been confronted with people dealing with school suspension, teenage runaway's, threats of  restraining orders; as well as people questioning their own value and sense of worthiness.  These are people I care so much for and the weight of all this hits me.  Ministry can be messy. 

Some of these issues are brought about by their own poor choices,  some by the poor choices of other people, and some a combination of both.  We live in a world marred by sin and see so vividly, when we look for it, its effects.

I am reminded of the words from Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV)  There is physical death and then there is figurative death, but death none the less.  Don’t get me wrong, when we do what we naturally think is best and live for ourselves, the end is death, and that’s not just figurative.  It is eternal separation from God.  But while we are alive here on earth, our poor choices can cause so much more death.  The death of a relationship.  The death of our reputation.  The death of our feelings of personal worth.  The death sentencing could go on. 

I almost find it ironic, living in America in the 21st century, how so many in our culture critique the Bible—declaring it to be irrelevant, old-fashioned, or just a tale.  Many of those same people ignore the truths of the Bible and have a string of dysfunction trailing their life path.  Can they not see the transforming power of Jesus as mentioned in the pages of the Bible? 

As believers, we must rely upon the truth God has revealed to us in the Bible.  God knows so much better.  His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) and will always prove to be the true source of wisdom when we find our desires colliding.  It is in that moment that we have a choice to make: will I opt to go with my natural reasoning, or will I go with supernatural reasoning—that which comes from God through the  Bible?  

Think about whatever it is you have been faced with this week in life.  Use the list I mentioned earlier in this article as a starting point to get your mind thinking.  How will you respond?  If you try to solve this on your own, void of God and His Word, you will find yourself spinning in circles.  It’s a nasty circular ride that might seem pleasant for a while, but always ends in death. 

 

You Can't Go Wrong

When I was in high school I struggled with feelings of insecurity.  I questioned who my real friends were and whether or not I was truly accepted for who I was.  I recall having a conversation about these feelings with my dad during my sophomore year of high school.  My dad gave me advice I still use to this day.  He told me, "Nathan, treat everyone - no matter how cool or un-cool you think they are - with the same amount of respect.  You can't go wrong when you do this."

I decided to give this advice a try.  I remember sitting down next to a girl who I would have labeled in the "un-cool" category my dad spoke of.  I made a deliberate decision to speak with her that day and find out how she was doing.  The funny thing is, a week prior, I would have chalked her up as being someone I was too cool for. 

As I reminisce and think back to my behavior in high school, it's almost embarrassing.  I felt slighted by some of my peers, but I was equally slighting some of my peers too.  The very thing I was hurt by, I was doing to others.  I wasn't receiving attention from the peers I desperately wanted attention from.  Concerning the peers I wasn't giving attention to - well, I just didn't care. 

Whenever we deal with people, it can get a bit difficult.  God has designed up as relational creatures and it hurts deeply when we feel rejected by our peers.  Because of our sinful nature we are all capable of duplicating the hurt that rejection brings.  Sometimes I think we even cause hurt and are unaware of it.  We may exclude without realizing our actions.  

My dad's advice was well worth listening to.  I grew to value my dad's advice because it viewed all people as equals.  Rather than seeing people from a human standpoint and giving labels of status, it helped me view others from God's standpoint.  All people have significant value because they are made in the image of God.  Whenever I make a judgment of the "worthiness" of another person, I am giving in to the fleshly part of me.  God is not part of that.  As I allow God to dictate how I treat others, these selfish walls go down and God's love is free to flow through my life to everyone I meet.  

Through the pain often associated with friendships, I learned a critical lesson.  Treating all people with the same amount of respect is worth it.  What my dad told me back then still rings true today: you can't go wrong when you show kindness and respect.  

What Has You Captivated?

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 (NIV)

Have you been taken captive?  Has your mind made room for what our society believes is acceptable?  God’s Word warns us to guard that it doesn’t.  And if there is a warning, it can only be because of the potential—the potential that we might be held hostage to the deceptive way of life this world holds as true.  

When I was in junior high, I found music to be one of the most powerful tools the enemy tried to use against me to transform my Biblical upbringing and water down my faith.  If I would have been honest, I would have told you that for a short period of my life, most of my music was displeasing to God.  Today I am so thankful that my dad discovered the music I was listening to and told me as long as I lived under his roof I would not be listening to that. 

In high school my music choices were heathy, yet the pull to conform to what peers (even Christian peers who should have known better) was ever so strong.  And the battle of my flesh only made this inner turmoil all the more difficult.  As I look back, it was the help of a few people who made a spiritual investment in my life, the prayers of my parents, and the strong inner conviction of right and wrong that the Holy Spirit produced in me.  I knew the truth and could not deny it. 

Colossians 2:8 tells us that the worlds philosophy and basic principles are hollow.  That means they are completely empty.  But they are also deceptive.  And this makes sense.  They must be deceptive since they are hollow.  Most people don’t succumb to belief that is empty.  There must be trickery involved if people are going to fall for it.  The devil flirts with our old sin nature and gets us to believe that his ways are better than God’s ways.  But when we give in to this, we find that we are held captive.  We become enslaved to that which is hollow. 

The solution?  According to this Scripture verse, it is that our philosophy be embedded in Christ.  Our very way of thinking, values, and beliefs should be grounded in who Jesus is.  After all, in Him is true life, an abundant life (John 10:10).  We also must be honest with ourselves.  As Christians, we can become prisoners of an empty, worldly way of life.  So take a moment and examine your life—have you been taken captive?