What is happening in our culture today has one explanation. It is NOT an outlandish conspiracy theory conceived by man but it is about the deceiver (Hebrews 3:12-13 NKJV) desperately seeking those who are being unwatchful (1 Peter 5:8 NKJV). By only being a God-fearing person can this nation achieve God's guidance. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10 NKJV). What is missing from ALL sides are people who refuse to walk in the light. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7 NKJV). The concluding section of Proverbs 9 does parallel the first. In this chapter, two meals are prepared. One for wisdom and one for foolishness. For when foolishness is busy preparing for a meal, they call loudly to whoever will listen. Those that sit down to that meal unknowingly join what has been prepared for those who walk in darkness. May we all be careful when we sit at tables to know who's table we sit at. Look under the table. If you do not have wisdom in the topic 'on the table', then remember to first seek the wisdom of God's Word.
What about sitting at the table of social media?
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| "Rocks" by The Isaacs (img source) |
Because Satan's weapon is deceitfulness, we must outfit ourselves against it. Be ready to encourage one another, worship together, be able to clearly warn against those dangers. Most importantly, show the benefits of faithfully following Christ. Worry about those around you first, then those where you walk every day, then your city, then county, then state (Acts 1:8 NKJV). Yes, our electronic devices have become our default form of being connected. Even that is a deception. Those forms thrive from disconnection - people responding to negativity. Responding to negativity is not connecting with people. Put your preferred form of social media down. Put it down. Go talk to your nearest person. See if they need anything. Do they need a gallon of milk, a carton of eggs, something warm to wear? Provide it. (Romans 12:21 NKJV) Remember that God meets you where you were in your life, first. He provides. To develop this thought more, think of your area of your influence. Work in those first. Then our success steps us further and progresses us beyond (2 Corinthians 10:15-16 NKJV). Never forget to boast in the Lord. Even in writing this post, I'm reminded that it is not what I say about others, it is what God says about me that is important (vs 18). Getting back to posting comments, Paul understood that what he wrote in his letters when absent from people had to be the same actions and messages as when he was in person (2 Corinthians 10:11 NKJV). What a concept in these times of social media. To say the same thing in a comment as we would fact-to-face with them.
2 Peter 1:3-8 starts by telling us that God has given us all things needful concerning life and godliness through the knowledge of him. It talks of becoming partakers of that divine nature and making every effort to supplement our faith with, "virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love." And if those qualities are ours (the "if" means we need to do those things) and are increasing (meaning we must daily do those things) that they keep us from being ineffective. Starting with verse nine, the text shifts to talking about those who lack those qualities (they do not seek them out, they do not increase in them). The Bible calls them "blind" (vs. 9). The last part of that verse tells the "who" the verse is referring. Those "cleansed from his former sins". Christians. Yes, we must be purposeful in loving our neighbor (Mark 12:30-31 NKJV).
Paul said, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22; 9:19-23 NKJV)" While that is not a free ticket to sin (Romans 6:2; 6:15 NKJV), [become all things] is telling us that instead of being a cause to making others stumble but [by all means] win people to Christ. We are either winning people to Christ, or we are losing them by causing them to stumble. Is that being excessively harsh? I don't think so. I think the fact of eternity is important enough to let people know, including the location of it, that they will live in eternity (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV).
