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?
