What's the point of discipline?

 

Proverbs 3:11-12  My child, don't reject the Lord's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you.  For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

1 Peter 4:12-13  Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.  Instead, be very glad- for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

These scriptures greeted me one morning last week and I knew that the Lord was speaking to me.  They spoke on the same subject and were just part of my Bible reading on the same day.  Something was up and it troubled me most of the day until I saw the reason they were spoken.  The circumstances that day are not important but I will say the verses were dead on and spoke to the specific situation I was having to deal with that very day.

You have likely had moments in life like that. While your life is likely full of many good and happy things, it also has some moments that are just hard.  You have had to endure a trial of some kind that wasn't fun at all.  It seemed to suck the life and joy out of you, leaving you feeling alone with no one to turn to.  Many times you may have gotten through those moments wondering what that was all about.  What was the purpose in it?

At times you may have even wondered if your circumstances were a punishment for the bad things you have done.  Maybe God finally got fed up with you and decided to punish you really good for what you had done and show you who's the boss.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In our world today the line between discipline and punishment has been blurred.  Discipline is generally viewed as corrective in nature or a teaching moment.  Discipline definitely has a sting to it, but its purpose is to instruct so the person does not go that way again.  Punishment, on the other hand, is retribution for something someone has done.  In Old Testament times the "eye for an eye" law stands out as an example.  If you poked out my eye and were found guilty of doing that, I could do the same to you as your punishment.  If you burned my house to the ground, I could do the same to you.  There is a small teaching component (fear of the punishment) and a large component of just making the person pay for their actions.  These two concepts overlap pretty often, so I won't spend time unpacking a bunch of different examples.

Let's focus on the Lord's discipline, though.  Its purpose is the same as stated above:  his aim is to teach and correct so that we don't go that particular way again.  It can go much deeper though.  If you are being tested like Job was, the discipline you experience isn't because you were going the wrong way but instead is intended to deepen your commitment to the Lord.  

                  Romans 5:3-4- We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.                                                                                                                                                                                             

King David experienced discipline after committing adultery with Bathsheba, stating in Psalm 31 that his body "wasted away" and that he "groaned all day long" and that his "strength evaporated like water in the summer heat."  And once David finally confessed his sin, the son conceived in his adulterous affair with Bathsheba died.  David's actions brought the death of Bathsheba's husband, and the Lord took the life of someone dear to David.  All of that was because David refused to confess his sin. Yet David's response to all of it was correct, and I believe it was in the Lord's plan.  We see in 2 Samuel 12 that he spent time in prayer and fasting prior to the child's death, and afterward he went to the temple to worship the Lord.  He got closer to the Lord in spite of it all, and he felt the heavy hand of the Lord's discipline.

The Apostle Paul was also disciplined, being chained to a Roman guard in a dungeon for several years simply for speaking the name of Jesus.  Shortly after Paul met Jesus for the first time on the Damascus road, Jesus himself stated that he would "show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake."  Paul, it seems, would be disciplined over and over again through suffering intended to deepen his commitment to the Lord.  Paul in fact did experience that throughout his life, experiencing beatings and shipwrecks and having to run for his life over and over and over again, all because he followed Jesus.  The trials, however, brought Paul closer to the Lord.

Moses was disciplined in the desert for 40 years after killing an Egyptian.  This discipline involved herding sheep in a deserted place for his father in law, leading a life of complete isolation and insignificance.  God had to show Moses where real power and influence come from, and the source wasn't within Moses.  The Moses who steps out of the desert 40 years later is a man who is entirely different than the one who walked into it.  He is humble and realizes how weak he truly is, and God moved so powerfully in him as a result that he made himself known to an entire country through plagues and the escape through the Red Sea.

Old Testament Joseph was also disciplined by the Lord for 13 years, living a life in slavery and imprisonment before being lifted up to be prime minister of Egypt.  The Lord had to show Joseph that there was a bigger plan that he was a part of, and taught him to wait on the Lord and trust as he waited.

There was great purpose in each of these men being disciplined.  God had specific things in mind that each of them needed to learn.  The discipline for each of them was quite painful.  For some, it was emotional pain.  For others, it was physical pain.  For others, they experienced both physical and mental pain.  Discipline from the Lord, it seems, doesn't feel good and is an experience that we humans do not enjoy.

The purpose of discipline from God is that you and I learn something new about God.  It's far too simple to think he simply wants to "impart wisdom" to us or toughen us up.  God's purpose in your life, his end for you, is himself.  While you and I may experience other benefits from being disciplined, his main purpose is that we would simply know him better.  To know him better is to trust him more.  To trust him more means he can do greater things in your life than you ever imagined.  And when he can do greater things in your life, he gets the glory for it because with you it is just flat out impossible.  It's the difference between walking across a canyon on a bridge with nice sturdy guardrails versus crossing the same canyon on a tightrope with nothing to hang on to.  Nobody is amazed by walking across a bridge;  everyone is in awe of the one who walks unsupported.  

Could the Apostle Paul have evangelized and church planted the huge area that he did on his own?  Sure, but it wouldn't have taken off like it did.

Could Philip on his own evangelized all of Africa?  Very unlikely, but God used a moment in time on a "chance" encounter with an Ethiopian (Acts 8) to make a way for that to happen by using Philip on one encounter.  And God gets the credit for that, as he should.

Could Moses have read a bunch of leadership and strategy books and effectively have lead the Israelites out of Egypt on his own?  Perhaps, but then there's the whole problem with the Red Sea.  So God instead chose to turn a plan that should have taken months into a plan that took 40 years.  And Moses, refined, the new Moses, was the product.

I'm not sure what you are going through right now that is discipline from the Lord.  You may be waiting on something and you have been waiting a really long time for it.  Don't stop waiting.

You may have thought that your life over the next 5 years would look one way and it turned out looking like something entirely different, and you are disappointed.I just want to remind you that it has a greater purpose.  Don't give in.

You may have become a Christ follower, thinking that God would use you to influence many people for Jesus and yet you find yourself with no one.  Maybe you didn't do anything wrong.  Maybe that was God's plan all along.

Discipline from the Lord is painful.  The Lord knows that, sees that, and allows it anyway.  You may be a Moses in the making.  You may be Elijah in the desert following a huge spiritual victory, camping by a dried up spring, asking the Lord just to end it all.  Just remember that the Lord's plan, his primary plan, is to change YOU and to make YOU know him better.  So rather than fighting it, rest in that instead.  Your Father cares so much for you that he would shut off all of those earthly items of "significance" in your life just so you would know him better.

 Instead of isolating yourself and believing the lie that it is all without purpose, I encourage you to go to the Lord in prayer.  Find a quiet spot and put your phone away.  Ask the Lord what it is about and read scripture prayerfully, asking God to speak.  You may not be able to figure out what it is all about just yet.  Moses and Joseph surely didn't.  But what you will find is your heavenly Father who is waiting on you with open arms, ready to embrace and comfort and strengthen you for those times when you need it most.  

So go to him, run to him, stop, and listen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Faith Forces a Decision

Why did he show up?  What was it that made the Apostle Peter show up on the night when Jesus was first put on trial?  He had just completed about 3 years with Jesus, heard the teachings, shown flashes that he understood what Jesus was there to do, and seemed to be on track in his faith.  He had eaten a nice meal with the Savior and was told bluntly at that time that he would fall away and deny that he knew Jesus.  He had just spent the night with Jesus, dozing off repeatedly while Jesus stayed up all night praying fervently about the next few hours.

Yet he still showed up after Jesus's arrest.  The Bible says that he even followed behind the procession to the high priest's house that night at a distance.  He wouldn't get close to his mentor, yet he couldn't break away either.  Later he was there in a courtyard sitting by a fire as Jesus met with the first group of his accusers.  They accused, taunted, and mocked Jesus, and all the while Peter listened in as this was going on.  I would imagine he was nervous, perhaps too nervous to get closer to the action and too nervous to leave.

And in that moment Peter was unfortunate to discover what Jesus had really come to do.  During that cold night, he began to see that Jesus's purpose in that moment was to force Peter to decide which way he would go, whether the way of the world or by the Way.  Jesus always, eventually, forces us all to make that decision.  During his several hours of waiting by the fire, it is possible some of Jesus's words flashed across his memory.

 Luke 22:31-34 (NLT)

³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. ³² But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

³³ Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”
³⁴ But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

The point is, at some point all of us have to decide which side we are on.  And our decision will be tested.  

Saying that we follow Jesus is one thing.  

Following Him with our life is something entirely different.

So as Peter is sitting by the fire, he is approached 3 times by people who recognize him.  The first recognized Peter after the fire is lit, and Peter denies knowing Jesus.  This must have only heightened Peter's anxiety.  He probably wondered if, in admitting that he knew Jesus, he would be put on trial as well.  Yet something made him stay there by the fire.  I wonder if he was still attempting to have the best of both worlds:  the benefits of knowing Jesus with none of the pain.

About an hour later, someone else approached and recognized Peter, stating again that he "must be one of them!"  Yet again Peter denied knowing Jesus.  Peter then had an hour to think about that.  It must have been absolute torment to think about what he had just said, twice!  Remember, Jesus himself had looked Peter in the eye and said that this would happen.  I'm certain he remembered that prediction.

And finally, about an hour later someone around the fire commented that Peter "must be one of them" because he was Galilean just like the others.  Impulsive Peter then loudly proclaimed that he didn't know what the guy was talking about.

A rooster crowed, and Peter's world turned upside down.

Then Jesus, in the midst of being accused by the crowd, turned and locked eyes with Peter.  That look must have been one of the most terrible looks in all of history.  I don't believe it was a look of anger or hate since that wasn't Jesus's way.  Instead, it was the knowing look of one who has been betrayed and knew it was coming.

The point is this:  to be a follower of Jesus requires your life.  In a spiritual sense, you and I are to die to ourselves and be reborn as a new person.  That happens with the decision to follow.  But many Americans stop at this stage as though they have crossed the finish line of some race.  They think that a decision to allow Jesus in their life is it, and that they can go on living a life of comfort.  But Jesus never promised that sort of thing to us.  In fact, here's what He said about Himself:

 Luke 12:50-52 New Living Translation (NLT)
⁵⁰ I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. ⁵¹ Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! ⁵² From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

To divide people against each other means that all of us face a very real choice.  We will either follow Jesus with our lives or we won't.  I've seen this in a very real sense in talking to people about Jesus.  Simply mentioning His name generally elicits one of two reactions.  Either the person is interested and peaceful, or they get angry at the mention of His name.  Personally, the interactions I have seen fit into one of those categories.  There hasn't been an in-between.

Attending church does not necessarily indicate that you have fallen on one side or the other, either.   
Each Saturday and Sunday, lots of people in the Houston area go to church.  For many, it fulfills a mental checkoff on a list that they did it and have done God a favor in doing so, or it is part of the local culture to attend church.  Many of these may think that they've made a decision for Jesus,  yet there isn't life change to indicate that that decision was real.  They live and talk one way on Sunday (or whatever day they attend church), and a completely different way on every other day of the week.

When we lived in the Northwest, the majority don't go to church but for maybe 1-2 times for year.  They claim to believe, yet they don't regularly pray, don't know what the Bible says, and can't point to anything that has changed in their lives as a result of knowing the Lord.  Thinking of this in terms of earthly relationships, that is like getting married and then never spending time with your spouse.  Or, it is like saying someone is your best friend but then never talking to them or spending time with them.  How can you say you have a relationship with Jesus if you never spend regular time with Him?

Peter had a tough choice to make that evening, and he chose incorrectly.  He tried to make a happy medium only to discover that a happy medium in following the Lord does not exist.  You are either all in, or you are not.  

I know when Peter fled the fire pit area that he was grieved by the decision he had made.  In fact, vs 62 says that Peter was "weeping bitterly" as he walked away.  That might have been the most difficult night of his entire life.  In his mind it was over.  The Lord was right in what He had said about Peter betraying Him.  Peter wasn't as strong as he thought he was.  What now?  What did this mean for him?

Peter did what most of us would have done at this point, making the pragmatic decision to return to his former line of work.  Jesus was dead, right?  He had correctly predicted Peter's denial.  What else was there?  So we find Peter back in his fishing boat, exactly where he started when the Lord found him originally.

John 21 recounts the sweet reunion between Peter and Jesus, where Jesus forgave and restored Peter in the company of 6 other disciples.  Peter's life was never the same from that moment on.  In fact, if you read the book of Acts there are times where he seems like a different guy altogether.  He is powerful in speech, faces opposition fearlessly, and proclaims the most important things Jesus taught with certainty.  He had betrayed the Savior to his face and been forgiven for it, and was on a mission in the world as a result.

As it was with Peter, so it should be with us.  If and when we decide to follow Jesus, things will be different.  We will think differently, look at the world differently, and behave differently.  Sin is rooted up and rooted out, friendships we maintain might look different or change altogether, and our speech may change as we talk about different things than we used to.  To be reborn is no small thing.  In being reborn we are being remade.  The road we used to follow is closed.  A new path has opened, and we can only travel on one road or the other one. 

I encourage you to examine your life closely.  Is there evidence that you have faith in Jesus Christ?  What is that evidence?  And remember, this evidence you mention should be something others can see, so we are not talking about ideas floating through your head that nobody but you can see.  We are talking instead about outward, visible evidence.  Jesus said a tree is known by the fruit that is produced.  He also said that the words you speak indicate what is in your heart.  Do you know him, or did you just pray a prayer and nothing else changed?

Jesus comes into our lives not to make us nice people, but to make us new.  A decision is required.  Will you allow Him to do that?  Will you allow Him to tear you down and rebuild you in His image.  That is what is required, and you and I should not take that decision lightly.

The Stuff that makes Faith Grow

A thought has haunted me for as long as I have been a Christian:  what is required of me to have more faith?  I find that in moments I have had faith that was truly unshakable, and at other points I have questioned what the Lord was doing in my life at the time, usually during tough times.  But how does one develop faith that is deep and unshakable all of the time?

The Bible defines faith this way:

Hebrews 11:1  Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

So faith is not something tangible.  As such it is tied to hope, and its evidence is not something we can see.  We have faith in many things on a day to day basis.  Every morning I have faith that my alarm clock will go off on time.  When I get into my car, I have faith that it will start.   At the end of the month I have faith  that my employer will pay me on time.  When I get home I have faith that I will be able to have something to eat.  At times I have been disappointed that these things haven't happened when I expected them to and my faith in that thing or event was shaken, but I didn't give up.

But having faith in the Lord is a different kind of thing entirely.  I had and still have faith that the Lord called our family to adopt kids.  I didn't receive certified letter in the mail from the Lord directing me to do that, but I'm certain He did tell me to do that.  I had faith that the Lord was calling my family to the Pacific Northwest for His name's sake, but I didn't get a text on my phone from Him saying "go now."  I believe the Lord exists although I've never seen Him and have never heard His voice.  I have faith that when I die I will actually live on with Him because He covered me once and for all for all of my sins.  I can't see that though, and I won't until it is time for me to leave this planet.

And while "faith" in earthly things is developed usually by seeing, faith in things of God's kingdom isn't developed that way, and only deepens in times of difficulty when things don't make sense.  Many so called teachers these days will incorrectly proclaim that the life of a Christian is easier or made better in an earthly sense.  That isn't true.  The further I go down the road as a Christian, the harder it gets.  When I was in college, my trials usually consisted of taking a simple stance for my faith.  As I became an adult, my faith was stretched when one of my kids made it into the hospital right after birth with a serious illness.  When I got older, my faith was stretched in adopting and is tested daily in the trials related to that obedience.  And when I thought I had it made in life, my faith was stretched further by willfully leaving my dream job, family, and friends to come to a part of the world where I knew nobody, just because Jesus asked me to do so.  And 5 years later, by faith I had our family move back to where we came from to serve at our church, and leave my career altogether.  The trials, if anything, get more and more difficult as you walk through life as someone who pursues the Lord.  In fact, many days I feel weaker and less able to do the things the Lord asks than I did even a few years ago!

The Apostle Paul knew about this more than you and I do.  In 2 Corinthians 6 we get a window into his world.

⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. ⁹ We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. ¹⁰ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

So it's not difficult to read between the lines and see that Paul was, at times, despised by other Christians.  He was slandered, ignored, weak, scarred, destitute (by world standards) and experienced sadness.  Yet he kept going.  His faith seemed to be unwavering.

James, another apostle, put it in this context.  I believe we can see Paul's example in his words, too.

² Dear brothers and sisters,^[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

So the hardships Paul experienced, and probably James too, deepened their faith because it developed their endurance more fully.

Endurance is a great word, but it isn't a fun word.  I think of that word when I think of running.  If you are a runner you know what I'm talking about.  When you decide to start running you likely were not able to just jump out there and go 4 miles.  It took you a long time to work your way up to that level.  During the time in which you worked your way up to that level, it hurt a lot.  You were sore later and tired.  You probably faced many times in which you didn't want to go out ever again.  Hopefully you got over that and went out there, but some of you may not have.  

Faith is like that too.  It is strengthened in difficulty, in things that aren't fun, in things that don't make sense, and in things that may look foolish to someone who is watching you.  And situations requiring faith are more than a bad day.  Everybody has those and many of them have nothing to do with developing faith or endurance.  Instead, the trials Paul went through and the ones you go through will likely be things you simply have to trust God on.  Paul had to believe that his difficulties had to do with opposition to his message, and his faith made him keep going.  Your trials of faith probably look different, but they are always things you are having to trust God for.

I don't know what you are being called to have faith on right now.  Perhaps it is just finding a job after a long time of not working.  Perhaps it is reconciliation in your marriage or in a broken friendship.  It might be having faith that your child who is in active rebellion against the Lord finally comes to know Jesus.  Maybe you have to have faith to get through depression or anxiety, just believing that Jesus is with you in it and has purpose for it.  Whatever it is, know that the Lord is teaching you something.  These things give us a choice to desperately cling to our Lord or to push away.  If we cling to him we will know him better and see his deliverance in whatever form that eventually takes.  If we walk away, the trial has not taught us anything meaningful because we still think deliverance can come from us.

Only the Lord can turn a terrible circumstance and make it into something that would benefit you.  Only one can do that.  Only he can see the full scope of everything going on around you and can steer things for your ultimate good.  No one else can do that.  No one else knows how.

So whatever burden you carry today, get on your knees, be quiet, and hand it over to the Lord.  And in the moments when you want to take it back and carry the burden yourself, go back to that place of quiet before him, offering it up yet again.  In these still moments you will learn to know the Lord better than you ever have, and will rediscover hope.  And hope rests in him alone.

Dare to be Different

 

I am often troubled by how my own behavior is no different from that of people who don't follow Jesus.  I get irritated by something someone says or writes and feel like I have to respond.  I spend most of my day thinking on things of myself and not things of the Lord.  I criticize others in private when I should either be silent or offer to help.  My list of failings in this area is quite long, with recent examples.

Christians need to be interested in what it means every day to be "in the world but not of the world (Romans 12:2).  When we allow God to move in us like this, we are naturally different from everyone else we encounter.  It should be that way!  Scripture says that our home is not here.  We are literally foreigners in this land, and foreigners do not follow the customs of the local culture.  All they know are their own, and even when they learn the local ways, they do not often adopt those ways.  

What, instead do we see in these days in America?  We see far too many supposed followers of Jesus Christ who are indistinguishable from those around them.  These folks listen to the teachings of Jesus and agree with them, but then don't follow them at all Monday through Saturday.  Too many are quick to argue, quick to judge even when the "plank" hasn't been removed from their eye, quick to fight, quick to get angry, and quick to use harsh or insulting language against someone who disagrees with them.  And on top of that, they support public figures who do these things and even defend their actions.  

When the world sees Christians behaving that way, why would they want that?  The apparent difference is in words only, with no actions to back it up.  

In contrast, the Apostle Peter wrote some wonderful words describing what daily life of a true follower of Jesus looks like.  These days it seems that many who call themselves Christians have forgotten them, or feel they don't apply in all contexts.  And yet the words are timeless and are spoken as commands!  Let's have a look.

1 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT) Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters.[a] Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 

There is a lot here.  Let's start with "be of one mind."  Peter is speaking here to Christians being of one mind, which means we agree on the important things.  We agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died for our sins and was resurrected and seen by many, and then ascended to Heaven.  These are the foundational things that we must agree on.  And being of one mind means that there are secondary things that we may feel a little differently about but can move past.  There's a huge list of those things, depending on the local church and circumstances.  Being of one mind means we will let it go when someone says one of those secondary items and we don't die on that hill.  We maintain peace between us because Jesus Christ is the only thing that matters.

Sympathizing with each other means we care for each other.  We know what is happening in each other's lives because we care, and we work to share those burdens.  That means when another is hurting, we hurt with them.  When another person is joyful, we rejoice with them.  We are in their lives and they are in ours.  We have sympathy for them because we know what has been going on with them and have been down that road too.  We are the good Samaritan who stops to help the man who has been beaten and robbed so that we can bandage the wounds and nurse them to health.  We are the one who sees someone without enough food or who has lost a loved one and we sit there with them in that mess.  We are Job's friends in the first few chapters of the book of Job who simply sat in silence as Job mourned his countless losses.  We don't avoid the trouble others are having because we ourselves have experienced trouble and hurt and hardship and were helped by Jesus.  I am thankful he never abandons us or walks by when he sees us in a tough spot.

We also love each others as brothers and sisters.  Brothers and sisters don't always agree and they don't have to.  But brothers and sisters never give up on each other because they are family.  Brothers and sisters apologize when they have offended the other.  Brothers and sisters step up when the other is in hardship or hard times so that they can help.  That all comes from love, which is a bond that isn't meant to be broken between siblings.  In fact, Jesus himself said that Christians will be known by their love for each other (John 13:35).

Being tenderhearted and maintaining a humble attitude means we know we are not always right, and we don't have to be right.  We listen before we speak, and when we don't agree we just let it go as long as it doesn't have to do with the main thing, which is who Jesus is and what he did.

And perhaps the words that cut the deepest in our society are from verse 9.

9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 

In our society loaded with public figures and social media posts which regularly label others as idiots, liars, totally evil, etc, we need to remember these words.  If you share your opinion, particularly on spiritual matters, and are called by one of these names or worse, you are to do nothing in return but bless the person.  That's right.  Nothing.  No words need to be said in anger or otherwise.  Even if you share your opinions on other matters and are insulted, do nothing.  You don't need to respond!  That's what the rest of the world does, and you are not part of this world, Christian!  Jesus went so far as to say if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn your head so they can slap the left one too (Matthew 5:38-42).

And what about those around you who engage in such behavior and profess to be Christians?  Here we find an interesting statement from the Apostle Paul that runs completely counter to the way many churchgoers today feel.  Many today believe that they should isolate themselves from the world and do everything they can to insulate from nonchristians.  This affects the friends they have, the schools their kids attend, and the neighborhoods they live in.  And yet the Apostle Paul said these words:

1 Corinthians 5:11  I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believerj yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

If you have read the New Testament you see a picture of Jesus living this out.  He spent all of his times with society's outcasts and the worst of the worst sinners, even eating dinner with them.  And his most harsh words were for the ones who supposedly were the religious leaders.  Let's follow his example in our day to day life!

Now let's wrap this up by making it practical in your life.

• If we aren't supposed to repay evil for evil, why do we tolerate public figures and politicians who do the same with their words?
• Why do we give our attention to podcasts and talk radio hosts and TV personalities who frequently call people names because they have a belief different from their own?
• Why do we pay attention to friends and family members on social media, and even respond, when they have posted things that are inflammatory towards other people?
• Why do we entertain ourselves by watching TV shows or YouTube clips of people who tear others down or deliberately get into arguments?

Just.  Stop.  Paying attention to media like this is a choice.  Defending the evil, cutting words of others because they happen to agree with you on a matter is also a choice.  It isn't something you are forced to do.  And consider this:  has paying attention to any of those things actually improved your life?  Do you feel better about things or worse when you spend your time on the items above?

The danger is that we get into the mindset that we must follow these things as rules.  It becomes a Christian checklist.  What Peter is actually describing, though, is the outcome of having Jesus in your life.  Having him in your life is different from praying some prayer to "ask him in your heart" and then going back to life as it was.  His description is what it looks like for someone who has surrendered themselves to the Holy Spirit and allows him to work everyday in their behaviors and speech.  That makes all of the things that Peter listed become indicators of the work that happened in the heart.

Think of it this way.  How do you tell when a piece of fruit is ripe?  You look at the color and the smell and the feel of it.  An apple that is red on the outside should be sweet on the inside.  

In the same way, the outward actions and words of a Christian should reflect what has happened on the inside.  It is impossible to fake this for very long.  Either the change has occurred inside or it has not.  To do this right, I think we need to be silent before the Lord and allow him to work to change us.  We should read the words in the Bible and ask the Lord to help us work these things out in our lives.  We should submit our mouths, and our keyboards, to the Lord before we say anything.

Let's dare to be different.