Have you ever intentionally blinded yourself to what God is saying to you? Have you ever covered your ears and yelled at the top of your voice just so that you can avoid hearing that still quiet voice that urges you to be the best you can be? I have, probably I’m actually doing that right now, but sometimes some of the things it asks, however noble they may seem, seem way out there…
Have you ever heard of a Christian pirate? Yeah, there are quite a few out there, a few who find it very easy to rationalize that what they are doing is not wrong, cannot possibly be wrong given the alternative…
I live in a country where it is virtually impossible to get one’s hands on the original thing, the genuine thing, at least, that’s what I tell myself. If I want music, especially the kind that I listen to, I am going to have to pay through my nose to get it, and even then, I will still be paying another pirate to get it for me, paying him a lot of money to do for me what I can already do for myself…and so easily too!! If I want to watch a movie and I miss watching it in the single cinema in the country, it’s gone unless I go to a video library that [surprise surprise] only lends out bootlegs, same goes for all the TV series that seem to demand you keep up with them…
So that’s my excuse, I cannot get the genuine thing even though I wanted to… but does God really want excuses? Time and again the message is made clear, we are not of this world, we are not meant to conform to this world, just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right… I could go on – easily. And every time we hear that message, we ignore it… at least, I do, even now it feels like I am intentionally blocking out what I don’t want to hear, I want to be a Christian on my terms, not on His, is that really fair?
Christ came to earth, for our sake, for my sake he was tempted, just like I am tempted, probably even more so, but He always had an answer, an answer I am reluctant to give, coz after all, I am “almost innocent”… almost, that’s the important word here. It doesn’t seem so bad after all, can’t see anyone I’m hurting… but still, it is wrong.
I know what I’m writing probably isn’t making much sense, but I’m working it out as I go along, so bear with me… for my sake, Christ died on the cross, not for any sin that He had committed, but for my sin, and for what? So I can go on and claim to be almost innocent? Somehow it just doesn’t seem like enough.
We are called to live a pure life, a clean life, and yes, it is hard sometimes, really hard, but He has made sure we have all the tools we need, not to conform to this world, but to transform it. Maybe we need to start by listening to Him, by doing all that he asks us to do without question, without holding back, without refusing to listen just because we don’t like the sound of what He is saying…
Have you ever heard of a Christian pirate? Yeah, there are quite a few out there, a few who find it very easy to rationalize that what they are doing is not wrong, cannot possibly be wrong given the alternative…
I live in a country where it is virtually impossible to get one’s hands on the original thing, the genuine thing, at least, that’s what I tell myself. If I want music, especially the kind that I listen to, I am going to have to pay through my nose to get it, and even then, I will still be paying another pirate to get it for me, paying him a lot of money to do for me what I can already do for myself…and so easily too!! If I want to watch a movie and I miss watching it in the single cinema in the country, it’s gone unless I go to a video library that [surprise surprise] only lends out bootlegs, same goes for all the TV series that seem to demand you keep up with them…
So that’s my excuse, I cannot get the genuine thing even though I wanted to… but does God really want excuses? Time and again the message is made clear, we are not of this world, we are not meant to conform to this world, just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right… I could go on – easily. And every time we hear that message, we ignore it… at least, I do, even now it feels like I am intentionally blocking out what I don’t want to hear, I want to be a Christian on my terms, not on His, is that really fair?
Christ came to earth, for our sake, for my sake he was tempted, just like I am tempted, probably even more so, but He always had an answer, an answer I am reluctant to give, coz after all, I am “almost innocent”… almost, that’s the important word here. It doesn’t seem so bad after all, can’t see anyone I’m hurting… but still, it is wrong.
I know what I’m writing probably isn’t making much sense, but I’m working it out as I go along, so bear with me… for my sake, Christ died on the cross, not for any sin that He had committed, but for my sin, and for what? So I can go on and claim to be almost innocent? Somehow it just doesn’t seem like enough.
We are called to live a pure life, a clean life, and yes, it is hard sometimes, really hard, but He has made sure we have all the tools we need, not to conform to this world, but to transform it. Maybe we need to start by listening to Him, by doing all that he asks us to do without question, without holding back, without refusing to listen just because we don’t like the sound of what He is saying…
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