I have been contemplating posting this blog for a while… Just a preface to this blog… My blog is my opinion and doesn’t require approval or rebuttal; it’s just simply a way of getting my thoughts out. Maybe in turn it will provoke a little thought or something? I’m not asking you to agree or disagree, I do not condemn others who don’t have the same views as I do and I ask the same of others, not to condemn me for my views and choices.
Lately I have been very challenged to live a different kind of life. I do believe in living a life set apart from others. Each of us has choices to make in our everyday lives. Choices of what we watch on TV, what we listen to, what we say, how we respond, the way we treat others, how to raise our children, among many others. I believe that my choices and the things that convict me are between God and I. If I choose to not watch a certain TV Show or Movie because of nudity, excessive cussing etc that’s my choice. I’m not the kind of person to sit around and judge others for watching things I do not agree with so I get extremely frustrated with people who judge those who actually choose to have a higher standard. So many people today use Grace as an excuse to do whatever they want to do. Yes we have grace but I do not believe grace gives us the freedom to sin purposefully and act the same as the world. We are called to be different, to be set apart. Non-Christians are constantly looking to Christians to see what the difference is, to see something that may cause them to want to become a Christian. I know several non-Christians who simply say I would never become a Christian because I don’t see any difference. They simply see a bunch of people claiming to be different but doing nothing different than the non-Christian does except going to church.
The choices we make as a Christian should not only bring glory to Jesus but they should show for his love and set us apart from the non-believer.
Matthew 5:16 (Amplified Bible) 16Let your light so shine before men that they may see your [a]moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and [b]recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.
This verse speaks profound words to me! It causes me to think! Is this action going to shine a light? Is it praiseworthy? Does it bring glory to God? If not then I shouldn’t be doing it. I am not perfect and I make stupid decisions daily. But I am choosing to learn and grow from those mistakes and choosing to live a life that shines a light of hope and is actually praiseworthy.
If I am overweight and I go around trying to tell everyone how to be skinny but I keep eating the same old crap, doing the same old stuff and making no changes. I may believe those things work but I am putting no works or actions to that belief. Why would anyone want to listen to me? They’d be like hey crazy fat girl look in the mirror, lose some weight then try to tell me how… Same with my Christian walk. If I go around professing to be a follower of Christ but have no actions that lead people that way, if I’m doing the same old crap, people simply view me as a hypocrite.
Again like I said before I am not judging those who don’t choose to make the same choices I do, I’m just saying to other Christians, quit condemning other Christians who choose to have a higher standard. If you want to watch a movie that says the ‘f’ word over 100x (which you probably don’t even realize bc you have become numb to it) that’s your choice. But don’t look down upon me and call me a prude because I have chosen not to. If you choose to go have some drinks, that’s between you and God, but don’t try to force your opinion on others that it’s okay and make them feel stupid or crazy because they have made the choice not to for their family.
Side note… I use pluggedin.com to check out movie information before even attempting to watch a movie. It tells me exactly what’s in it, how many cuss words, how many sex scenes etc. It helps me make an informed decision and not waste money on a movie that seems great but turns out to be one great disappointment.
Love this post! Thanks for sharing and I totally agree with you!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. We have been made out to be strange because we don't drink, Really? That's a good choice we have made for our family. I love what u said about not judging others because they choose a higher standard, I have been guilty of that myself, Sometimes it is hard if you have a conviction, to think that it is everyone elses or that it should be everyone elses, Hard balance to find.
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