Letter 9 Over 30 years later I can still recall my concerns after the first blush of salvation had passed. While I loved learning Scripture and being with God's people, it slowly began to dawn on me that my long held world-views were under attack. It was one thing to know I had eternal security, but an entirely different issue to apply the things I was learning to my lifestyle and opinions. I also had unsaved friends and family members who were worried about what was happening to me, fearing I was going "too far" with this religious thing ... had perhaps even gotten myself involved with a cult! We didn't have our own church building, after all, nor were we connected to any denomination. That was unheard of in those days. They, and I, feared I might be getting "carried away".
Screwtape advises Wormwood to "keep knowledge out of his [patient's] mind" and to be careful to "keep him out of the way of experienced Christians" who might direct him to the truths of Scripture. The core group who started FBC consisted of mostly new believers. God in His grace provided a knowledgeable and patient first pastor to lead us. Had he been the sort who demanded obedience to a list of Pharisaical behaviors or adherence to a set of doctrines which I had no base of biblical knowledge to evaluate, it's likely I would have walked away, chalking it all up to a "religious phase" I once went through. Instead, Pastor Loren faithfully taught us God's Word and helped me fall in love with Jesus Christ ... which lead to slow, but steady spiritual growth from the inside out.
From this side of those 30 years, I am astounded that I, or anyone, would even consider it's possible that we could know better than God! I find myself extremely saddened by those who start out on fire for the Lord, but subsequently remain more enamored with the things of the world or resist biblical truth when confronted with it, slowly losing their ardor for the things of the Lord. When faced with trials, they are more likely to shake their fist at God in anger than to cast their cares upon Him and trust in His goodness and sovereignty. At those times it's good to remind myself of my own shaky faith and lack of understanding as a new believer and to recall the patient love shown to me ... a love that consistently confronted me with God's truth, prayed for me during trials and loved me even when I was unlovable.
Are you in love with Christ? What specific ways can you help other believers "grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ"? [Ephesians 4:16] How can you expand your own biblical knowledge so that you are prepared to effectively encourage others with Scriptural truths, rather than just vague Christian "catch phrases"?
This week's set of letters deal primarily with the first steps of applying faith to our lives. Letter 10 peers into the area of friendships. When first saved, it's common to have an overwhelming desire to witness God's truth, what little of it we may possess at that stage, to our unsaved friends. A point comes, however, when we realize that the influence of our unsaved friends upon us is greater than our influence upon them! Few of us like to admit our own vulnerability, but God also makes us increasingly aware of our pride, "the sin which so easily entangles us." [Hebrews 12:1] How easy it is to be attracted to the "rich, smart, superficially intellectual, and brightly skeptical about everything in the world" crowd ... especially if they want to include you! There's a fine line between being IN the world, yet not being OF the world. Fortunately, that line becomes more substantial as we grow in our knowledge of and obedience to God. We eventually discover it's much more pleasurable to desire God and we begin to wonder what we ever found so enjoyable about the alternative! But that's not always so obvious to us in the early stages of our Christian walk.
A believer "must very soon realize that his own faith is in direct opposition to the assumptions on which all the conversation of his friends is based." If the temptation proves effective, "He will be silent when he ought to speak and laugh when he ought to be silent." After a time, he will find himself living "two parallel lives ... [acting like] a different man in each of the circles he frequents" ... a classic case of hypocrisy! The thing about hypocrisy is that it can't be maintained indefinitely. The human heart will eventually expose itself in actions, creating a "crisis moment" when you must decide which direction to go in... towards God or away from God?
Which leads to Letter 11, dealing with the misuse of humor, a mark of the unsaved. Screwtape describes ungodly humor as "the all-consoling and ... all-excusing grace of life," finding it "invaluable as a means of destroying shame." He also commends the particular "value" of flippancy, which turns virtue into a laughing matter.
I've been in Christian company for so long now that I find myself shocked at the coarseness and foulness of what passes for humor among the general populace. People don't tend to speak this way in my presence, but I catch pieces of it in commercials advertising the nightly offerings of prime time TV! Most unbelievers, if they've known me for any length of time, are careful to refrain from repeating such jokes in my presence. I do recall an incident from a few years ago when a young guy at a local establishment started to tell me an dirty joke. His boss, who had known me for years, repeatedly attempted to stop him, letting the young man know I would not be amused. The young fellow was incredulous that I could possibly find his joke offensive and kept trying to tell it to me, until his boss finally raised his voice and firmly said, "No ... she WON'T think it's funny!" How many believers, I wonder, who would never repeat such jokes in my presence, have no hesitation watching entire TV programs or movies full of them behind the closed doors of their own homes? What message is that giving their children? How is it deadening their love for God? "You shall love the Lord your God with all your ... mind." [Mt. 22:37]
Take time to evaluate what you are regularly exposing your mind to. What do you find humorous? Do you think God would laugh?
In 2007 Jerry Bridges published a book called, "Respectable Sins" concerning the "small sins" we tend to tolerate in our lives. Letter 12 reminded me of the inherent danger of these "small" or "respectable" sins. Whether through a lack of watchfulness (Lewis) or through our desire to place sins on a scale, comparing ourselves with each other instead of with God's holiness (Bridges), unattended sin serves to deaden our spiritual life. How often do you become aware of sin in your life and dismiss it to a list entitled, "Get To It Some Day"? Both Lewis and Bridges warn about the ability of "small sins" to increasingly dull our relationship with God and quietly head us off in a direction we never intended to go, ultimately starving us of the richness and power which repentance and obedience could have brought had we only dealt with it. I've noticed that "small sins" have a way of taking over our hearts if left unattended over long periods of time. Eventually they come to color our entire walk before God, and any good we might have done for His glory is choked out by the undergrowth of our "small sin". I look upon them as the "kudzu" in our lives. If you've ever lived in the south, you know what kudzu is like! Beth waged battle against it on the hillside in her backyard in West Virginia. Left unattended, "small sins" act just like kudzu, wreaking havoc and eventually taking over until your life becomes characterized by your "small sin".
"You will say that these are very small sins ... But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy [i.e. God]. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing." [Screwtape to Wormwood]
[Week #1; Week #4]
4 comments:
Debi, it’s interesting to read about your experience over the last 30 years of being a Christian, while I spent over 30 years thinking I was a Christian, while in reality it was only in my mind, and not in my heart until October 2003. For a while, on the surface it may have looked like I was living the Christian life, but as you say, eventually you must decide what direction to go in, and I clearly and decisively chose the world and sin - and I would still be living there if it were not for God’s grace revealing the truth to me. Now I find that because I live my daily life surrounded by unbelievers, that like the deer pants for water, so I pant for Christian fellowship and teaching. Somehow God has changed my desire of who I want to hang out with, and unless I see it as a mission field, I would choose to be with other believers.
Because of my specific background of studying Christianity and the Bible as an intellectual exercise for 30 years, I think God has granted me a great gift in knowing that if your heart is not affected by what you’re studying, your studying means absolutely nothing at all whatsoever. As God says in 1 Corinthians 13:2 “if I understand all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, I am nothing.” It’s just a bunch of empty worthless works that are not pleasing to God, no matter how wonderful they might look on the surface. God ALWAYS looks at the heart.
In the first year that I was saved, I noticed a subtle shift in my enjoyment of TV. It got to the point where I was asking myself, why do I want to turn the TV on and fill my mind with all that worthless garbage masquerading as “entertainment”? The commericals alone got to be too much for me. I was constantly processing and filtering in my mind what I was watching and comparing it with biblical truth, and needless to say, finding it sadly lacking. Now I try not to watch TV, except for news, weather, and to share watching the Red Sox with my husband, because it is something that we can enjoy together. But if I had my druthers, I’d nix the TV altogether. There is very little one would miss from ones life by not having a TV (or three or four…). I think one of the very real dangers in being a regular television viewer, especially if you watch to be “entertained”, is that if you do not actively watch with a critical eye and consciously process everything you hear and see, you will find that your mind is taken away from biblical truth and straight down into the sewer of sin. Think about the colloquial expression “veg out in front of the boob tube”. If you’re not careful, you will fall into this attitude and get lax about analyzing what you’re really learning especially if you’re in front of the TV to “relax”. That’s exactly when you’re the most vulnerable to unbiblical sinful thinking.
-SPB
There were certain friends we would get together with that were unsaved. There was always alcohol and gossip at those gatherings which we took no part in but felt pressured to. We would come away with a such an awful feeling of just being there. We knew we needed to break away from such friendships. When trying to witness to one of our closest friends who had no religious upbringing, his wife cut in and said she liked him as a nothing, it was so sad and still is. They are still unsaved and divorced. It's hard when you are at your job and surrounded by the unsaved who are so friendly and nice. I say a lot of quick little prayers through out the day asking for strength. Because conversations can get out of hand quick. God is so good to me he has always given me the strength I need. It's interesting though that a lot of the unsaved are so much friendlier when walking into a room or attending a sporting event than some of my fellow saved church "friends" if you are not part of the "inner church group" you go unnoticed just walking through church or special church events. Not everyone is like that there, but alot are. I have sisters who won't return to church for that reason. (very sad) I turn to God, for He is my one true friend. The dangers to sabotage our walk with Christ are everywhere! LMD
That's certainly a challenge to us! I admit I have very little time to say hello to anyone between SS and morning service, and then after service I'm often approached with "church secretary" needs.
You can bet I'll make a beeline for you when we get back from vacation 3 Sundays from now! Ha! You're a "marked" woman. ;) Knowing how that feels, you are probably the first to approach all the new people! I'm thankful for your sensitivity for others.
"It's a slow fade when you give yourself away, it's a slow fade - black and white are turned to grey" that was my favorite song for awhile. And it is so true - it really is the "little" things that can fool us into thinking they're not so bad, and then the next thing is "okay", etc. It seems like the world is almost faded to grey - there will be no black and white if we're not careful. That's not to say to be judgemental, but to be discerning. Being around people who aren't believers all the time can make you start thinking differently, and you might not even notice the difference - it will be so subtle. I wish I could only be around other Christians - I love to be in our Small Group Bible Study every week - and I need that fellowship! When we were in the French Quarter in New Orleans many years ago, it just felt "wrong" to be there. All the people "having fun" - or what they thought was fun. I know at those times, it is the Holy Spirit nudging me. But that was very obviously wrong - it's the other times we really need to be paying attention.
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