In today's age, social media is perhaps the most dominant force, redefining our culture and the way we live. And while it has in many aspects improved our quality of life, or at least parts of it, there are many different impacts that we must be cautioned to avoid. In our Christian lives, we must make sure we use social media in a certain way, in order to maximize the positives and downplay the negatives.
Most worrisome about our continued dependence on social media are the glaring negatives that shine around all people. Again, we are taking this issue through a Christian perspective. The first issue that arises is the amount of time being spent on social media outlets. This affects our lives in two ways. First, we begin to lose our social abilities, our confidence and skill in associating with people face to face. Second, our lives become a drainage of waste, with nothing worthwhile or constructive being produced from the endless hours spent updating our status. Perhaps the biggest issue for Christians are the ever present temptations on social media. Most times, as soon as you mention temptations, the mind goes right to pornography. And while this is a big issue, especially with the readily accessible social media providing an easy way to access these pictures and videos, there are other temptations as well. Social media in itself is a temptation, sucking people towards it to waste every minute of their day.
However, social media does provide some excellent opportunities for Christians. As mentioned previously, it is perhaps the most dominant force of our culture. If we can harness this force, and use it for good, the results that could potentially be produced are astronomical! We can promote charities, church events, and Christian organizations. We could encourage others through Bible verses, prayers, and more. Essentially, if we can use social media and transform it into a Christian force, the world would be faced with this different influence everyday!
Social media also provides Christians with the opportunity to strengthen their own faiths. One way to do this is by connecting with other Christians. Encouragement, prayers, and more can be shared, and a community of believers could be created. Also, social media can provide daily devotions, and Bible verses to uplift and encourage believers. YouVersion is just one example of an app that also has a Twitter and FaceBook account, continually posting Bible verses, devotions, and prayers to encourage a believer to spend time with God.
In conclusion, social media provides two different ends of the spectrum with usefulness. It all depends on the choices you make, or what purpose social media serves for you. If it is used for good, it is a very powerful tool. It's also powerful on the other end of the spectrum, providing temptations that are very difficult to avoid. Like much of what this world has to offer us, we need to make sure we maintain a heavenly perspective, and find the best of what is given to us, while staying away from the evil.
Wednesday 23 July 2014
Monday 7 July 2014
Homosexuality
Same-sex relationships are a key discussion point in society today. Your stance can define how others see you as a person. Choosing a side can ruin politician's careers or destroy the respect of certain religious leaders. Although treading through the homosexuality waters are so treacherous, it seems like there is no end to the news articles, debates, or movements surrounding the topic. Christianity provides nothing different. Within our own religion, we discuss amongst ourselves if we should choose to accept homosexuality, or take a stance against it. Sadly, it seems as if more and more churches are slowly choosing to welcome homosexuality, and not treat it as a sin, in order to boost their attendance numbers, and our religion's picture in society. Ultimately, we compromise our own beliefs in an effort to stay updated within society.
For the majority of our religion's history, we have been against homosexuality. To support our argument, Christians use multiple points. First, God created our bodies in a certain way for a certain purpose. We were created and designed to interact man and woman not man and man or woman and woman. The certain purpose of that specific design was to procreate. God's command was for us to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. The only natural way to do that is through man and woman. Finally, the Bible also contains many stories about God condemning homosexuality, particularly in the Old Testament. For instance, the story of the Great Flood, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they all speak of God acting because of their sins, one being the sexual impurity, and homosexuality. The apostle Paul was also strictly against homosexuality, citing multiple times in his Epistles that homosexuality led to eternal death.
However, recently, churches are starting to bend to the ever pressing gay rights movements. Key amongst these arguments is the fact that God should love and accept every person regardless of their sexual tendencies. A true and real and loving God would not shun, or condemn a gay person.
This is a false statement. There are two reasons why we cannot accept this. First, God is not only a loving God, but He is also a just God. When He says something is not right, He follows through with His statements! And He clearly has set out a standard for right and wrong. One of the ways He shows His love is by bringing justice. Secondly, we cannot, and should not even embark on the philosophical journey of putting actions or even thoughts/words onto our Lord's character. How do we know that He is shunning or condemning gay people?! The truth of the matter is that He is extending the same love towards them that He extends to everyone. However, because of their sin, they are shunning Him! It's not the other way around.
Again, with this issue we come to the heart of the matter, and that is the character of God. I have discovered that perhaps all our lives here on Earth are a journey to reveal and know more and more about God. This comes with many tricky situations, such as this one. Can God really be loving if He says homosexuality is wrong? The answer is yes!
Finally, we also come upon the issue of catering to society. Should the church be concerned about the image we are producing to society? Some might be surprised with this, but my answer is yes! We should continually strive to present ourselves in a way that makes people interested with our relationship with God! However, while we are working towards a good outside view, we cannot compromise our beliefs or God's commands of us. There comes a point where what people think does not matter at all, but rather what God thinks. Like so many other things in life, it's all a balancing act.
And while homosexuality is an issue that we need to firmly stand against, we have to watch how we treat gay people. Even though we may have the stance that homosexuality is sinful, we have to watch how we treat these people and approach them. The popular saying, "Love the person but not the sin" is entirely correct in this situation. We should be extending God's love towards every person we meet, no matter their history, previous or present sins, or reaction towards you. Yes, homosexuality is wrong, but we can still accept these people! Don't openly trash homosexuality, instead respectfully state your opinions, and try to be friends with these people. The best way to change sin to good works is by loving relationships, not harsh words.
For the majority of our religion's history, we have been against homosexuality. To support our argument, Christians use multiple points. First, God created our bodies in a certain way for a certain purpose. We were created and designed to interact man and woman not man and man or woman and woman. The certain purpose of that specific design was to procreate. God's command was for us to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. The only natural way to do that is through man and woman. Finally, the Bible also contains many stories about God condemning homosexuality, particularly in the Old Testament. For instance, the story of the Great Flood, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they all speak of God acting because of their sins, one being the sexual impurity, and homosexuality. The apostle Paul was also strictly against homosexuality, citing multiple times in his Epistles that homosexuality led to eternal death.
However, recently, churches are starting to bend to the ever pressing gay rights movements. Key amongst these arguments is the fact that God should love and accept every person regardless of their sexual tendencies. A true and real and loving God would not shun, or condemn a gay person.
This is a false statement. There are two reasons why we cannot accept this. First, God is not only a loving God, but He is also a just God. When He says something is not right, He follows through with His statements! And He clearly has set out a standard for right and wrong. One of the ways He shows His love is by bringing justice. Secondly, we cannot, and should not even embark on the philosophical journey of putting actions or even thoughts/words onto our Lord's character. How do we know that He is shunning or condemning gay people?! The truth of the matter is that He is extending the same love towards them that He extends to everyone. However, because of their sin, they are shunning Him! It's not the other way around.
Again, with this issue we come to the heart of the matter, and that is the character of God. I have discovered that perhaps all our lives here on Earth are a journey to reveal and know more and more about God. This comes with many tricky situations, such as this one. Can God really be loving if He says homosexuality is wrong? The answer is yes!
Finally, we also come upon the issue of catering to society. Should the church be concerned about the image we are producing to society? Some might be surprised with this, but my answer is yes! We should continually strive to present ourselves in a way that makes people interested with our relationship with God! However, while we are working towards a good outside view, we cannot compromise our beliefs or God's commands of us. There comes a point where what people think does not matter at all, but rather what God thinks. Like so many other things in life, it's all a balancing act.
And while homosexuality is an issue that we need to firmly stand against, we have to watch how we treat gay people. Even though we may have the stance that homosexuality is sinful, we have to watch how we treat these people and approach them. The popular saying, "Love the person but not the sin" is entirely correct in this situation. We should be extending God's love towards every person we meet, no matter their history, previous or present sins, or reaction towards you. Yes, homosexuality is wrong, but we can still accept these people! Don't openly trash homosexuality, instead respectfully state your opinions, and try to be friends with these people. The best way to change sin to good works is by loving relationships, not harsh words.
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