Liberty or License?

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:15–17

 To live a countercultural life that is separate from the popular norms of our day is a hard sell to Christians today. No one is much for standing out from the crowd. We want to be looked on favorably and fit in with the world around us. It is easy to get caught up in the crudeness of the world’s humor, desire the coolness of the world’s dress and look, buy into the openness of the world’s morality, or pursue the vastness of the world’s material goods. The world offers so much, and yet, it never delivers that which truly and fully satisfies. In fact, we will go away empty and unfulfilled. This world’s music, message (in this social-media crazed world), and moral impurity (ever-changing definitions of sexuality & such) must me rejected. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (2 Corinthians 6:14, 17).

  It is time for believers in Christ to wake up and stand out from this world, by seeking “first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Our life does not consist of the things which we have. This contentment extends to the way in which we appear to God. We are created in His image and likeness. We should show forth His glory and beauty in our lives. It should never be about us, as the world tells us, but about our God and Savior. This world needs to become acquainted with our God by the display of His beauty with which He has endowed us. There is no need to mark (with tattoos), mutilate (with piercings), or manipulate (with hairstyling/coloring) what God has brilliantly made (1 Peter 3:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:9-10; Leviticus 19:28). His simple design is enough, and it is impossible to improve upon. Let us not spurn God’s design with marring and defacing of His property. Modesty in dress, speech and conduct will deflect attention from us to the God we seek to reflect in our lives.

Our Life’s Motto: Take the world, but give me Jesus!