"I Can't See Any Harm In It"

Sometimes, we cannot see the harm in something simply because we have not bothered to actually look for it. Consider these guidelines when determining whether an action is right or wrong:

1. The Personal Test: will doing this make me a better or worse Christian?
2. The Social Test: will doing it influence others to be better or worse Christians?
3. The Practical Test: will the results of my doing it be desirable?
4. The Universal Test: if everyone should do this, would it enhance or degrade society?
5. The Scriptural Test: does the Bible endorse it or is it forbidden -- even implied as wrong -- by the word of God?
6. The Stewardship Test: will my doing this constitute a waste of talent God gave me?
7. The Character Test: what will be the influence of my moral & spiritual stamina?
8. The Family Test: will it bring discredit & dishonor to my family, and will it embarrass them?
9. The Publicity Test: would I be willing for friends, fellow Christians, the elders, and the preacher to know about it?
10. The Common Sense Test: does it agree with plain, everyday, ordinary common sense?
11. The Fairness Test: is it honest, and it is practicing the "Golden Rule"?
12. The Problem Test: is it potentially harmful to me and / or others?

No matter what "it" may be, if "it' fails even one of these tests, we ought to be wise enough to see the harm therein. On such a case, abstinence is the only policy.

Test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, ESV

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Well, It Is A Boomerang, After All!

An American who stole a boomerang from a museum in an Australian mining town back in 1983 returned it with an attached note. The American whose name was revealed only as "Peter" admitted to swiping the boomerang in his "younger and dumber" days.

Sure, it had been 25 years, but would we expect anything different? I mean, it IS a boomerang, after all, right? Those things are designed to return to their points of origin.

There's a profitable lesson in this for us. A penitent, contrite heart will compel one to do what is right. If restitution needs to be made, then restitution needs to be made. 25 years were not enough for the mystery boomerang caper to scrub the guilt from his conscience.

Sometimes, we allow Satan's lies to convince us that the passing of time corrects the wrongs we commit. Friend, time has no power whatsoever in absolving sin. If there is iniquity in your history that has not been forgiven (by God and/or your fellow man), make it right today while there is still time.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18, ESV

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In The Shadow Of Lenin

Vladimir Lenin may be the most prominent individual in the rich history of Russia. Born in April of 1870, Lenin became a supreme leader of the Communist Revolution. He would go on to become the first head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, and from 1922 the first de facto leader of the Soviet Union. He was the creator of Leninism, an extension of Marxist theory.

Is it apparent in Lenin's writing that he was not wholly set against religion. He certainly looked upon religion as a "crutch" for the feeble-minded. Consider a few of these statements from the pages of Lenin's own writings:

"Impotence of the exploited classes in their struggle against the exploiters ...
inevitably gives rise to the belief in a better life after death."

"Religion is opium for the people. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown their human image, their demand for a life more or less worthy of man."

Lenin agrees with Marx to the extent that due to the fact that religion has deep roots in capitalist oppression, it will not disappear until the people completely overcome their oppression. Lenin writes in The Attitude Of The Workers' Party To Religion:

"No educational book can eradicate religion from the minds of masses who are crushed by capitalist hard labour, and who are at the mercy or the blind destructive forces of capitalism, until those masses themselves learn to fight this root of religion, fight the rule of capital in all its forms, in a united, organised, planned and conscious way."

Lenin was convinced that religion would be obsolete just as soon as the capitalist system could be eradicated.

Looking back through history, we can see the results of such a way of thinking. Under Communist rule, the Soviet Union became one of the most Godless and immoral nations in the history of the world -- a struggle that affects modern-day Russia and most of the Baltic states to this day.

In the Summer of 2006, I had the privilege of traveling to Ukraine to participate in a mission campaign. Some of the images I captured on my digital camera are priceless to me. One such image is the photo you see at above, depicting two Ukrainian gospel preachers handing out literature to the townspeople in Svitlovodsk, Ukraine.

As we were handing out these tracts and invitations to a gospel meeting, I witnessed this scene and noted the significance: Here are two young men who grew up under Communist rule doing God's work in the shadow of the likeness of Vladimir Lenin! The poetic beauty of this scene was not lost on me, I can tell you that!

So while Lenin has long since passed over into eternity (1924), and while his fleshly tabernacle remains preserved and on display in Moscow, his soul and his ideology have gone the way of the world. Each of us -- from the most humble servant to the head of state -- will stand before God to give an account on that great day.

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:9-10, ESV

Throughout the former Soviet empire, imposing bronze statues pay tribute to a man many former Soviets still love and admire. However, even the great Vladimir Lenin is not exempt from the great gathering of "all" spoken of in the Scripture above.

And since you and I will be there in the gathering of "all," should we not also "make it our aim to please him" (v. 9)?

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Freshly Brewed Coffee, And Philosophy While You Wait

While waiting on a cup of coffee in downtown Birmingham two months ago, I picked up a half-page flier printed on glossy card stock. It was an advertisement for I'll Make You Love Me, a monologue show written by J'Mel Davidson and directed by Doug O'Neil. By the way, I have no clue who these folks are....just reading what it says on the flier.

The photo (inset at right) shows a parent and an infant child in silhouette with the following statement superimposed: "Love means never having to be accountable for your actions."

When I picked the card up out of sheer curiosity, I turned it over and discovered that the show was being presented by The Feminist Dedutante Guild. I must confess, I have no clue what constitutes a "Feminist Dedutante."

So, what about that statement: "Love means never having to be accountable for your actions." Is there any validity to that? I submit we should consult the very source, the very personification (so to speak) of love -- Almighty God. What does God's word say about love and its relationship to our actions and accountability therefor?

Does God love us even when our actions do not align with his will? "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, ESV). So, the answer is yes...God loves us even when we stand in rebellion to him. However, that does not mean he loves -- or even approves of -- our actions. Will we be accountable for our unrighteous actions even though God clearly declares his love for us in the midst thereof? Consider the following:

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak."
Matthew 12:36, ESV

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:12, ESV

The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead."
1 Peter 4:3-5, ESV

Some of us have become so accustomed to justice bending to the will of the accused that we actually believe the Judge of all mankind will follow suit. Let me assure you, dear reader friend, that God will execute perfect justice. His love and mercy will reign on that day for those covered in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb. For those who have left this realm unprepared and unredeemed, though he love them, they will be held accountable for their unholy actions.

Notwithstanding the Birmingham Feminist Dedutante Guild's propaganda, love means the opportunity to serve a God who is willing to forgive upon our repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God's love does not somehow cancel the righteous and just facets of his nature which demand holiness (1 Peter 1:16).

Interesting what you can learn while waiting on a cup of coffee, isn't it?

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