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Hi [BLANK],
Thanks a lot for the email and for thinking through these
things! You bring up some good points that I'll try to address
below:
Hi Arthur,
During the last message you challenged [the TD'ers] to
go six months without movies, video games and questionable
websites.
And questionable TV shows (and their commercials I should
add), I believe I said.
You also challenged them to worship God in the creative
ways. It's not that I think that trying it out for six months
wouldn't be a blessing (if anything I believe that it will
be beneficial), but the challenge can be misunderstood and
here are some random thoughts about that...
In the beginning of the message you told the kids to
remember two things that went something like this:
1. Abstaining from certain activities does not make a
person righteous (Ex: Pharisees)
2. Nor does engaging in certain activities make a person
righteous (Ex: serving)
Yes! However, that does not mean we shouldn't abstain nor
engage in certain activities out of love for God. Going to
church doesn't make me righteous but should I be going and
do I want to? Absolutely!
I agree with these two statements and it's probably something
you're planning on reemphasizing. But what about people who
choose not to abstain from certain activities? Does that make
them unrighteous?
Please allow me to be glib for a moment. No, that doesn't
make them unrighteous because they already are unrighteous
(as am I and everyone else). Nothing we do or don't do makes
us anything. Being precedes doing. Does not going to church
make one unrighteous?
All I can say about those who decide not to take up the
challenge is that they haven't arrived at that conviction
yet. I pray they eventually do. However, two things will have
happened:
1. They have been presented and challenged with looking
more deeply into their daily lifestyles and they now know
that not everyone "is doing it" and in fact some are not.
That's good. They must see that honoring the Lord permeates
each area of our lives and that none is excluded.
2. They, hopefully, will be more aware and sensitive to
the whole area of entertainment and its influence. They will
likely at least think a little more about what they are viewing.
Clearly, yet humbly, presenting a goal to shoot for in order
to see if it may actually benefit one's life is worth the
risk to me, even if it may offend some. That's all over Scripture,
right?
We must take the admonitions of God in Scripture (flee immorality,
make no provision for the flesh, Phil. 4:8, do not rejoice
in unrighteousness, ad nauseum, ad infinitum) seriously and
not leave them merely as general thoughts. I'm trying to apply
them as they are intended to be applied.
When I say certain activities I don't mean sin in this
case, and when I say Unrighteous, I don't mean that we are
ever righteous on our own. Maybe using an example relevant
to the challenge will make it more clear.
Let's say there is a person at td who doesn't decide
to take up the challenge fully. They're not convicted to completely
cut off video games and movies. Does that make them any less?
No, right?
One of our counselors is one of these people, but this person
plans to wean himself/herself over time instead of cold turkey.
Here was my reply to this person: "Of course, that's fine.
We're after progress, right? I would like you to push and
stretch yourself, though, so you can feel the joy and pleasure
of striving hard for God. And don't forget that you never
have to be afraid of doing the right thing.
Have you thought of how, on the positive side, you might
stretch yourself in your pursuit of the Lord? And how you
plan to be more intimate and in closer communion with Jesus?"
I only challenge people to follow the Lord and to do whatever
it takes to do so. Does it make them any less? Yes and no.
No, in the sense that they are positionally righteous already,
by the grace of Jesus alone. Yes, in the sense that there
is a lessening of capacity to rejoice in, enjoy, and be pure
in the Lord. Perhaps I can weakly draw this analogy. Does
it make Vlade Divac any less a basketball player that he was
or is a chain smoker and doesn't see the need to stop? In
a very real way, the answer would have to be yes because it
limits his capacity to perform at his highest level. Coaches
must present challenges to players (and swimmers) for optimum
performance. The ones who want to cling to their habits and
not even give it a try may "feel lower" but it is the coach's
absolute responsibility to try to get the best out of them.
We run the danger of making people "feel lower" when we
encourage them to do anything: go to SS, TD, ST missions,
30-hour famine, SPCH, etc. If they don't do it, they may feel
left out. And in a way, they are, because they aren't participating.
Do I think any less of them? No. Do I wish they would/could
participate? Yes.
The other part of what I'm trying to accomplish has nothing
to do with who's better or worse or more or less. This part
is not a moral thing. I'm just trying to give people a chance
to see what life would be like without large amounts of exposure
to the medium of the media. Will people see any difference
in their life and clarity of their thoughts? I don't want
people to be so dependent on media for their existence. As
I taught, I believe that the medium as well tends to deaden
senses and abilities. So, I'd like people to taste what it
would be like without it for a while. Perhaps they'll like
what they discovered and choose it in their own lives from
their own heart. I don't really see it as such a big sacrifice.
And if it is such a big sacrifice to some, then perhaps that
should tell them something.
All I'm asking really is to give it a chance and not to
attribute more to it than necessary.
You already mentioned the person who decides to take
the challenge is definitely not better.
He's not better than anyone else but he has a chance to
be "better" than he was before in living in the Lord. The
measurement doesn't have to do with anyone else - just himself
and God.
But I can see how a person who decides not to take the
challenge feel lower. It sounds like the same thing as #1
but somehow it's two different things in my head. Maybe it
doesn't need clarification. Let me know what you think about
that one.
Another thing about the challenge is that second part
still kind of makes me wonder. I totally understand why you
put it in, but it seems like I have enough difficulty worshipping
God in the "non-creative" ways and it's important not to forget
to keep on worshipping in these ways. I think we talked a
little bit about this on Sunday already and I remember you
saying that the presupposition of the challenge is that the
person would be engaging in these activities. It would be
great if people started trying different things to worship
God like ministering to those in need or writing songs, but
the last thing we want is for the "new activities" to replace
the old (for the lack of a better word) activities.
Good point. My aim with the "creative" ways is to find ways
and avenues for people to experience God via His Word. Any
way to get the Word into lives and to "force" us to think
through it and meditate on it more. The main idea that I stated
clearly, I think, is to spend lots more time with the Lord.
There's no other way around it. Quality relationships take
time. So then, regarding the challenge, the time that would
have been used to take in the media could now be used to meet
with the Lord. Hopefully, it will be beneficial.
Thus, I suggested things such as reading larger portions
of Scripture, retranslating chapters, memorizing chapters,
doing Bible studies. Other things I suggested were more artistic
but anchored in having to think upon the Lord for longer periods
of time. If someone takes me up and writes hymn texts or musical
lyrics, they'll have to hopefully meditate on Scripture more.
The painter who may paint something must have a very clear
idea of what it is they want to convey. Hopefully, that means
more time in considering the different nuances of passages
and verses, and, ultimately, the Lord
I know for me, when I stretch myself in ministering to new
people or new types of people, my faith is stretched and I'm
silently praying a lot more (like l did last week at SPCH)
for guidance and direction. I then often find myself quoting
verses that remind me of what I'm doing.
The key here, I think, is this. If we don't express what
we've been impressed with, then what we've been impressed
with starts to lose its impression and starts to get stale.
We need to be passing on the grace passed on to us so that
God can give us more. If we don't express it and give it,
we have no capacity for more. God wants us to be rivers not
reservoirs.
Let me know what you think
The goal is the true En-Gedi, the Lord. He doesn't want
us settling for cistern water!
However, I do understand that there are risks and dangers
with putting out a challenge as I have - a danger to divide
people and put them in camps, a danger to give people a false
sense of righteousness and unrighteousness.
Therefore, we must walk very humbly and graciously and carefully.
But we still must walk. I believe that out of concern for
people, churches and preachers have been very sensitive in
many areas and subjects. That's great! But I also think it's
gone too far in many, many cases and out of our sensitivities
to one another, we've diluted and/or eliminated much of God's
message and truth to us as well - hard truth, but truth intended
to help transform us for our good. We've lost a lot of sensitivity
to the Lord.
The fact of the matter is this, I honestly and truly believe
what I've taught on this subject and that people are becoming
diminished because of their media intake. Souls are being
poisoned, discernment is being clouded, evil is being delighted
in, the Lord is being disregarded, and the most terrible thing
is, it's all being done voluntarily!!! No fight, no force
needed. The Christian is volitionally taking in the world
in large volumes and the Lord is being pushed out - all so
we can entertain ourselves. It's too high a price to pay.
I'm with you and share your concerns but I'm not sure how
else to approach it. Let me know how you think we can proceed.
Let me know what you think!
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