But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 14-16; Ephesians 5:1-16
Ok…
How does this jive with what Paul said earlier about all things being permissible, but not everything is beneficial?
At least I think that’s the obvious question. The standard held here seems on the surface to be different than what he said earlier. But really it is not. There is one part of this passage that really hit me hard:
No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
What he is suggesting here is that when we habitually do these other things it is clear that they have become the center of our lives instead of God. And when God is not the center then how can we possibly follow the great commandments to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.
The love God part is obvious; so let’s talk about love our neighbors part.
A good way to examine this is with the topic of money. Of course money in and of itself is not a bad thing. It is a great tool to store wealth and an asset that we can use to maximize the freedom necessary to pursue the purpose for our lives.
But when we fall in love with money, when we put it on a pedestal as the thing to focus our lives on then things start to get ugly really fast.
I’m a big fan of hip hop music and hip hop culture in general. But as I was growing up it was interesting to see this shift. So many of my favorite rappers used to be drug dealers! What was that all about? The best of them told you what it was all about in their rhymes. A common scenario is this. The person was struggling and starving and looked at getting money as their salvation from a torturous life for them and their families. With little education and no training they looked to drugs as the only way out of a cycle of poverty that had consumed everyone around them.
Money ceased to be merely a tool, and became the one thing that must be obtained by any means necessary, even if it meant hurting their neighbors and community.
You may look at drug dealers and demonize them. Personally I do not. I grew up in a comfortable middle class upbringing. There are a whole lot of things that folks will do when they feel that they need to survive that they never thought they’d do in a million years.
But what is undeniable about this narrative is that money achieved a position in this person’s life that was greater than anything else. It became ok to do what was morally wrong in order to provide for the survival that they so desperately wanted.
But then there’s the transition. What happens if you make it to the point of making good money without being caught? By that point the love of money has transformed from a perceived necessity for survival to a drug that fuels a new and unnecessarily lavish lifestyle. The reasons for getting in the game are no longer there. Staying in the game is motivated by other factors.
The person has transformed into a kind of monster that preys on those around them for their own gain. They are become a leech to the community; sucking it dry well beyond the satisfaction of their original needs.
Like any immoral action it starts small with one conversation or one transaction and then quickly balloons into a huge problem. This is why Paul talks about there not being “even a hint” the immorality. Very quickly things can snowball out of control.
The only way that we can make sure to avoid walking down that kind of path is to keep love at the center of our lives. It is this love that will allow us to look at our actions and desires in the context of how it will affect those around us. This kind of unselfishness does not always come naturally, so it must be worked at and cultivated in the hearts and minds of us all.
And if that isn’t enough then the love of God can be that last motivating factor to keep of focused on the good path.
Hello Man of God, "Keep love at the center of our lives. It is this love that will allow us to look at our actions and desires in the context of how it will affect those around us."
ReplyDeleteBlah blah blah!!
This all sounds wonderful, but the real issue is we know what to do, but often times we don't. We have our own selfish reasons for why we do certain things and before we know it, things are a mess.
However, when we are in God's will, everything, including everyone is covered. Here lies the problem, many are not seeking God for HIS will.
TRUTH: Many are not willing to pay the cost. Knowing what to do, and doing the right thing are not the same.
The Love of God "IS" and everything else is moot. Its not until we DO what we know is right, we will continue to find ourselves going through unnecessary hurts.
SEEK GOD FIRST!!
Love you
hahahahaha Blah blah blah huh? Ok so then how does one start doing what they don't want to do? How does one start the process of seeking God? And what point does seeking God connect to loving our neighbors as ourselves. That is the question that I was trying to answer here. It's easy to say seek God but it's not so easy to actually go about doing that.
ReplyDeleteAs I said above "The love God part is obvious; so let’s talk about love our neighbors part."
There are a whole lot of people who think they are seeking God but don't have God's love in their heart. It's this love that transforms us.
Good morning Man of God, Your initial question at the beginning of this post regarding the above scripture is "How does this jive with what Paul said earlier about all things being permissible, but not everything is beneficial?"
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Its called a choice. LOVE is a choice. You will either BE love in the lives of others or you wont. Even when it does not feel good to YOU. Its still a choice.
The seeking God part comes in daily living. God is either first in your life or not. If not, its gonna be real hard to love your neighbor as yourself being that your source of love has not been tapped into.
To respond to your statement of "There are a whole lot of people who think they are seeking God but don't have God's love in their heart. It's this love that transforms us."
Obviously, you cannot get blood from a turnip. So, I'm speaking in reference to those who know the truth, and yet don't do it.
The bible talks about my people perish for a lack of knowledge and in the very next verse it says because they knew the truth and did it NOT. Often this scripture is never fully quoted.
We need to continue to HUMBLE ourselves in the PRESENCE of GOD. It is through this humility we are filled and restored to be all that God has called us to be. Without getting into God's presence we are lost. (Imjustsayin)
I think you wanted me to go in a different direction than I chose to on this one. I don't disagree with you tho I wasn't making a point about what you are saying. My point in the beginning is how do we make sense of all things are permissible but no profitable, vs the high standard Paul comes with in the scripture quoted above. The point of sin being a form of idolatry is what I was responding to here.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I wasn't clear.
So true–it’s not easy to display the love of neighbor. This world functions on the love of money, and its neighbors are but competitors. When in reality, we’re all competitors seeking the love of God, whether cognizant of it or not. For, ego blinds the mind, and then hardens the heart and soul of man. Pity…. But it is this way, it appears to be, in present life on earth. It depends on one’s perspective, which than experiences such mindset. But this is a big world, with possibilities, whose need is too learn that God’s first, not the ego, but the love of God that shows beyond self. For it is, earth is a learning ground where ego must surrender its loftiness to what we’ll sooner or later be accepted by man [James 4:13-15 (AV)].
ReplyDeleteSuzanne McMillen-Fallon, Published Author (available early 2011)
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/Mommy’sWritings.html (currently not active)
@Suzanne "When in reality, we’re all competitors seeking the love of God, whether cognizant of it or not."
ReplyDeleteHuh? I'm confused.
Interesting point about the drug dealers.
ReplyDeleteYour saying, initially there isn't any idolatry because "the grind" they are on is to survive even if doing so in an illegal and possibly immoral way (depends on who ya askn.) And it is their ignorance that leads them to this option as a choice vs. greed.
I get ya. Cognitively. Spiritually nope. But that seems(?) to be your point.
So as the dealer grinds on eventually their reason is no longer for survival but GREED. Idolater of the mighty mullah. There's the rub. It seems God can be forgiving of the innocently ignorant not though of the intentionally greedy. As they have made their life's pursuit one of God's 7 deadly sins, yes? No longer a simple means to "stay alive."
So for us, when does our "play" with wrong move from play to idolatry? It appears when we loose the sense of how our individual actions effect our neighbors. One of God's most fundamental and frequently emphasized requests. I most definitely agree with you on this point.
I.e., yelling fire or gun in a crowded theater as a joke. When the crowd of 200 screams and tramples each other trying to get out leaving some hurt and broken as a result, was the comment still a joke? Substitute the yell, for dealing drugs in our community, speaking lies and rumors to harm lives, willingness to do anything for money inclusive of sacrificing personal goal and morals. Idolatry.
We are responsible, one to another. We are whether we like it or not, our brother's keeper. That was/is God's plan.
Our greatest God given powers are to reason and choose. With great power, comes great responsibility. Again, whether we like it, or not.
@Alegria What i'm saying is that "good" people can end up doing monstrous things. Things may turn tough right? To the point where you feel like your back is against the wall. If you don't have God and the love of others in your heart... other things will take over... you still start to value yourself more than anything else (idolatry)... that's how you get to the selfishness required to get more by hurting others.
ReplyDeleteAnd then once you get started on that path of skewed focus it just gets worse and worse and worse.
"So for us, when does our "play" with wrong move from play to idolatry?" Yes yes yes! exactly. Maybe it becomes that when we first screw up! But the further we go down that path the harder it is to pull ourselves from it.
One thing that is great tho is that redemption is always possible tho that doesn't mean that a price wasn't paid or won't be paid for the wrong doing.
Forgive me, but don’t’ be confused. It’s just the way earth’s present reality see’s life. Man, or ego, sees only “the me attribute” in its created world who endeavors to succeed and yet be giving; and thus life is competitive instead of seeing it as our creator sees it. When in reality, the earth isn’t man’s claim, but it’s of God’s ownership. It is that of a universal creator, of whom we are his own, which is plainly stated in the Holy Bible in Psalm 50:10-14 (AV). Man seeks to show a love thy neighbor and this is good. It’s only in God’s light, instilled within man, which seeks to reflect what the soul knoweth right well (Deut. 4:39-40). “Enjoy life, for it’s of God.”
ReplyDeleteSuzanne McMillen-Fallon, Published Author (available early 2011)
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/Mommy’sWritings.html (currently not active)
@Suzanne Ahh gotcha. I wanted to be sure I understood what you meant. I agree. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteClarence, you’re welcomed. If I may, always remember: “Life isn’t always fair, but God is.” I hope you’ll consider reading my true story, “Mommy’s Writings: Mommy, would you like a sandwich?” As it’s quite different, in the perspective, in believing in something bigger than ourselves. It doesn’t preach. I’d like to think that it’ll make a difference in this life, at least for those who find themselves lost in religions and the like. God bless you, Clarence.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne McMillen-Fallon, Published Author (available early 2011)
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/Mommy’sWritings.html (currently not active)