Disclaimer: This is a letter written in a Christian perspective. If you are a not a Christian and you do not agree, that’s expected. A lot of people will get offended and I’ll understand. But we, Christians, are called to be the salt and light of this world. Having said so, the Bible should be the final authority in what we believe and what we stand up for.
We can agree to disagree on one thing. But let me just quote what Rick Warren once said:
“Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”
With that said . . .
I am not bashing anyone or a certain individual. This post is not an attack against a person’s character. I believe we have our free will and it’s up to us on how we would want to live our lives.
However, I only disagree with the principle/lifestyle that our society is accepting—that just because everyone’s doing it, then that means it’s right. It’s one way to say that the norms justify the sin. But it doesn’t and it never will.
Well, these are the lies that our culture now tells us:
- “You know the true character of people when you live under the same roof. So you should live together before getting married.
It’s true that it’s one thing to know a person deeply in a relationship and it’s a totally different thing to actually live with them and see all of their flaws, bad habits, beliefs, accustomed culture, failures and bad decisions, etc. However, most people have used this as an excuse to justify their fear of commitment. People want to get all the benefits of marriage but they don’t want to be married.
People are so absorbed in wanting “assurance” that they treat other people as a “dry run” to see whether or not they will consider marriage. But that kind of mindset boils down to one thing: SELFISHNESS. An ugly picture of ‘love’ that is conditional—one that basically says:
If you meet all my standards, then I’ll marry you.
If you make me feel loved, then I’ll marry you.
If you serve me, then I’ll marry you.
If you make me happy and you meet all my needs, then I’ll marry you.
If you don’t make bad decisions, then I’ll marry you.
If you earn enough, then I’ll marry you.
If you don’t hurt my feelings, then I’ll marry you.
If you give me sex, then I’ll marry you.
It’s another way of saying: “Let’s be emotionally and physically intimate with one another, but when the time comes that you no longer satisfy me and I’m not happy with the relationship, let’s just call it quits. I’ll find someone else who can give me better than what you offered. Someone who can ‘respect me more’, someone who is not as annoying as you, someone who can make me happy, and someone who’s better in bed—someone who can finally complete me. Anyway, this is just a trial and error. Well, it failed. I don’t care if I hurt you because I need to find my satisfaction, so I’ll move on and try again . . .” and again and again.
And this is sad. Truth is, we don’t have to go around hurting other people. We don’t have to suck all the good in one person and when all that’s left is their worst, leave because we’re no longer satisfied.
- “Their Living Arrangement Is None Of Our Business”
Fact: In particular, other people’s business is not our business. So maybe we should let them do whatever they want to do. And if that’s their decision, who am I to stop them?
HOWEVER . . .
TRUTH: This generation’s business is OUR business. We live in a dying world full of compromises—where sin is accepted just because everyone is doing it. However, as Christians, we are called to be the salt and light of the earth. And every time, we are apathetic—or worse, if we support this kind of principle, the enemy is rejoicing.
We should speak up and stand on our conviction. We need to be firm on our faith and live according to what we believe. We need to preach the gospel in our campus, work place, in our family, to our friends—and in any platform possible. Because if we do not, this generation will die fast, with a blink of an eye. And we will be held responsible for it.
We need to have the sense of urgency and share our testimony. We need to have eyes like Jesus—that whenever we see the lost, we will have compassion towards them. Compassion that will move us not to tolerate their sins, but to love them enough to know that they’re in desperate need of Jesus, whether they admit it or not.
- “Come on, it’s 2017 now.”
Sadly, some people think that the Bible is no longer relevant to this generation because the times have changed. However, the truth is—the wisdom of the Bible is timeless. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” He didn’t say that His Word is only as good as when we want to accept it. Then, when it’s too offensive for us, let’s consider it void. No.
Another truth is that God’s standard will never change just because the norms have. God is Holy. (Isaiah 6:3 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.) God is Holy in every aspect of His nature and character. Because of His Holiness, God cannot tolerate sin. So, no. He will never change His mind and He will never alter His Word just so the world could agree with Him. He doesn’t need people’s approval.
Another lie our society is trying to make us believe is that we can always compromise when it’s no longer convenient for us. However, Jesus never said that we should take up the cross only when we want and we can just throw out our convictions when it starts to get hard. No. Jesus wants us to follow Him and to walk with Him, from the beginning until the end. We are called to finish this race, to fix our eyes on Him, who is the author and perfecter of our faith.
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
So, pick up your cross and follow Him. Regardless if you’re the only one doing what is right. Regardless if you are being mocked and laughed at. Regardless if it’s painful. Regardless if the world will hate you. Jesus never said it’s going to be easy, but He promised that His grace is enough to sustain you and that He will be with you until the very end of age.
Come on, it’s 2017 now, they say. But let me tell you that more than two thousand years ago, Jesus died on the cross NOT for you to settle for a mediocre kind of ‘love.’ He shed His blood not for you to have a trial and error kind of relationship. He traded heaven for you to know that you are loved, you are forgiven, you are valued, you are restored, you are honored and you are precious in His eyes. And you don’t need someone else to validate your worth because Jesus already said so.
You are worth pursuing. You are worth loving. You are worth serving. You are worth dying for. You are worth committing. You are worth marrying. You are worth standing at the altar with. And if the society tries to tell you otherwise, do not believe it. Because who you are has already been declared when He said it is finished.
**This post appeared originally on JadeWritesStuff.com.
