If churches came to understand that the greatest threat to faith today is not hedonism but distraction, perhaps they might begin to appeal anew to a frazzled digital generation.
We can speak it. We can say it. We can know all the right words. We can learn the language. But until we can LIVE it, it’s just more Christian rhetoric. Actions back our words. Actions are the proof of what we believe. Be the change.
We aren’t called to renew our mind in hyped-up theories, fad doctrines, and YouTube videos; we need to renew our mind in the Word of God. Don’t miss what God could be wanting to deposit in you by focusing on the wrong thing. Stay focused. There are many voices speaking loudly right now. Make sure you are tuning your ears to hear the voice of the Father.
We aren’t just supposed to be observers, listeners, or have a bunch of opinions. We’re not here to let everyone know what we agree and don’t agree with, because, frankly, who cares? Tell me about the God you love; tell me about what He has inspired uniquely in you; tell me about what you’re going to do about it, and a plan for your life will be pretty easy to figure out from there. I guess what I’m saying is that most of us don’t get an audible plan for our lives. It’s way better than that. We get to be God’s plan for the whole world by pointing people toward Him.
People antagonistic to Christianity like to discuss the religious nut who thought he was doing God’s will by killing a family member. Indeed, there are such mentally deranged people out there, and they may be paraded on the nightly news. But let’s not let that oddity of news blind us from the fact that hundreds of thousands of people who deny God are selling drugs, working in gangs, and killing people on the streets. Very few of them are motivated by religious reasons.
I have begun to wonder if the gross empowerment and elevation of personal opinion on social media has really deluded us into thinking that our opinions hold any weight against the Word of God. I wonder if we have been so trained by a democratic, consumer-driven society that we have forgotten that the kingdom of God is not a democracy, but a theocracy. A government in which His Word and His Word alone stands. We must return to our senses and know this: when it comes to the Word of God, the online uproar and outcry of seething, opinionated objections and dissenting votes, has absolutely zero weight. It doesn’t matter. I’m not saying our voice doesn’t matter to God. I’m simply reminding us: Dissenting against His voice is absolute folly.
It is time for us to make up our minds. We have a way to get connected like never before and so many are not using it for the best things. I want to use the internet and Facebook to connect with other Christians so I can encourage and be encouraged in everyday life. I need prayer but I need the encouragement of the rest of the Body of Christ. My body couldn’t function correctly if I didn’t have a mouth to eat or a stomach to make the able to be taken to the rest of the body. Let’s start connecting for strength and training instead of complaining and gossiping.