By Not Known
Most of us would not associate ourselves with many of today’s warped values such as abortion on demand, pornography, extreme violence in the media, human rights abuse, drug use and gambling, etc.
But is it possible that we, like the frog slowly boiling to death in the kettle, are unknowingly and perhaps unwittingly being seduced to embrace cultural values that violate Biblical Christianity?
For example:
• Our indifference towards Christ due to our lethargy and entanglements with the world (2 Timothy 2:4)?
• Our mediocre and hardened approach to carefully understanding and applying the word of God to our lives (2 Peter 3:16b)?
• Our unending search for recognition and affirmation by others (Matthew 23:5-10)?
• Our relentless drive for material possessions and financial security (1 Timothy 6:7-10)?
• Our judgmental attitude towards others (Matthew 7:1-5)?
• Our involvement with sensuality through literature and media (2 Timothy 2:22)?
• Our resistance to living a life of sacrificial service to others (John 15:12-13)?
Jesus understands our struggles. He prays for us that with the cleansing power of His word, His disciples would survive the evil one’s seduction and worldly forces in distracting and leading us away from the truth and compromising our stance for the calling of the Gospel.
It is precisely this that Jesus prays for us, that the Christian community may stand firm and not fall to the Devil’s deception to lead us through embracing contemporary values into obvious sins and disobedience.
His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 17:15-17) was that we who remain in this world would be protected from the evil one and that His word will continue to sanctify us by the truth.
The world around us might have changed and may still be changing but God’s word remains. We who are faithful to His word must learn the secrets of “Geared to times but anchored to the Rock.”
This is the essence of the book and life story of Daniel. It is not just a story of a Jew living during the 6th Century BC in Babylonian exile. It is a story of courage and conviction based on his understanding and knowledge of God’s word. It is about a man whose relationship with God enabled him to stand firm and tall to rise against any compromise that degrades God in any situation.
How will we stand where we are on God’s word against the tides of the times that would erode our convictions on God’s word? It’s your move.
Peter Poon