The S-Word

Not sure what "S" word you were thinking of, but this post is about sin. Not the most exciting of subjects, but an important one nonetheless :-) Well, let's get into it then.

Christians often have an unbalanced view of sin. It's either we're obsessed with it or we don't pay enough attention to it. People in both camps don't believe they part of the camp they part of. HAHAHA! And that's the tricky bit. Again, like all things in the Christian faith, it comes by revelation.

We need to be fully aware of the dangers of sin. It's not wrong to ask "How do I stay away from it?" At the same time, we don't need to be sin conscious either. We need to have a healthy biblical stance when it comes to sin. If you ignore sin or think it doesn't matter "that much", then you'll find yourself in error too. We need to be fully aware of our adversary whose task is simple: He seeks to kill you and destroy you. And sin does that. We need not fear sin or be intimidated by it, but that attitude must not lead to ignorance either. Paul exhorted the church to not be ignorant of the devil's schemes!

Sin is a personal disdain towards Jesus. It's your will over His. It's choosing your desire over His. It's the ultimate form of idolatry and selfishness. To put it simply: Sin is against God. A Christian desires not to sin. But he finds at times that he does. John wrote in his first epistle, "I write this so none of you would sin, but if anyone does..." The battle is real. John knew that. And God certainly does too.

The good news is that sin cannot and does not change ones status in the Kingdom of God. No matter what a Christian does, even the most terrible sins, his position in Christ is secure. He has been made the righteousness of God, he has been justified in the courtroom of Heaven and has been perfected forever. Positionally, nothing can eradicate the finished work of Christ in a man. Not even the gravest of sins. A sinner's justification and gift of salvation is something given as a free gift. It comes by faith alone and no amount of sinning can take it away. Knowing that fundamental truth and being established in it is the foundation to victory over sin. I cannot stress this enough.

But what sin does do, is that it effects fellowship with God. It effects our intimacy with God. God doesn't leave us or create distance from His side, but it does from our side. He promised to never be angry with us and so He will never create distance out of disappointment. But when we sin, it's us that create the distance and awkwardness in the friendship and so our fellowship is effected. God has been friends towards us in Christ but by us choosing sin, we aren't being very friendly back to Him. Sin can't take away what He's done for us (regeneration) but it can take away from our future (fellowship and inheritance). It damages our souls, it hurts the Holy Spirit and it creates distance in our day to day fellowship with Him. If I sin against my wife, it doesn't cause a divorce but it does create an unnecessary tension between us and awkwardness in our marriage. Closeness and intimacy is not the same when sin is involved. Anyone can testify to this.

Christians obsessed with sin tend to be so sin conscious that their entire lives become engulfed in trying to avoid, stay clear and keep oneself clean. They live in perpetual fear that they rend themselves ineffective in the Kingdom. Their lives become so intrinsically focused and self absorbed because it's all about what they do in order to stay clean before God. It's an evil form of unbelief, actually.

Christians who live oblivious to the dangers of sin, where their doctrine of justification has enveloped or swallowed up their sanctification, to a point where they don't give much thought to sin at all, are also in danger. Sin creeps in and they find their fellowship with God becomes distant and weak. It leads to a lukewarm heart and gives worldly pleasures a place in their hearts in the name of freedom.

The Biblical warning to all believers is that we should not take sin lightly. God didn't. That's why Jesus had to die. We need to watch and pray as Jesus said. Watch what the enemy is doing, be aware of His schemes and traps, and pray. Stay in fellowship with God, it's the safest sin-free place you and I can be. Let's not be troubled or intimidated by sin and the enemy. They are both defeated. But they not going down without a fight. Stand firm in the faith, fight the good fight of the faith and stay intimate with Jesus.

Keep yourself in His love.

Keep believing the Gospel.

The Millennial Mystery

If you're born between 1990 and 2000, you're a Millennial. If you're born before 1990, you're not. Sorry, but you're not. You're classified as old school. The quicker you deal with it, the better :-) The reason why I say "mystery" is because those of us over 30 need to catch a wake up if we want to be relevant to this generation. They are light years ahead of us when we were that age. Their world now and the world we lived in when we were 18 are two different worlds. Two different galaxies, actually. If you're wanting to 'reach them' in whatever capacity i.e. business, ministry, relational, you'd better be up to speed on four Millennial traits.

Firstly, they are incredibly tech savvy. They're on all platforms and they have a mapped out purpose for at least two of them. They have accounts on the rest so they can appear relevant to their peers and so that they don't miss out on who's doing what where. Being in 'the know' and 'up to date with the latest news' is a big driver for them. And this isn't just with their peers, frienemies and celebrities....but their trolls aswell. They want to be informed. Of. Everything. 

They realize they have a voice. And they want their opinions to be considered. They blog, post, and they not afraid to disagree with anyone. Bill Gates. Kim Kardashian. Caitlyn Jenner. "Who cares who they are? I have an opinion and I'll disagree if I feel differently. Because I can." It's because of this, that millennials are a more confident generation than ever before. They've crossed the shy barrier and they've expressed their differences. Even if it's only on Facebook. 

Like it or not, Millennial, but you are also the "I Want It Now" Generation. Instant gratification is what you've grown up with and its what you know. You've been brainwashed, unfortunately. And it's our fault. Life...REAL life...is not about instant gratification. It's an illusion. Your parents and the society you live in has done you a disservice by ingraining this belief into you. Did you know that a millennial gets an average of 52 'notifications' a day i.e. emails, Whatsapps, Social Media likes, Blog comments. That's around one reply/comment/thumbs up to something they've said on Twitter, to a photo they've posted on Instagram or a blog they've written, every 30 MINUTES!!! They post on social media in order to generate a response. And they get it. Very quickly! Millennials are results driven. If they don't get a reponse or a desired result within a prescribed time frame, they will move on to something else. 'Take your time' is not part of their vocabulary. It's not part of their makeup. When I was young, we were taught the value of sticking to something, through the good and bad, in order to get to your desired result. Not a millennial. The hard work that a Marriage needs is foreign language to them. They don't understand that. If it doesn't work, move on. "Why live and be unhappy, bro?" Sticking at a job, build the blocks necessary, make sacrifices and climb up the ladder over time is stupid thinking to a millennial. You want to be the CEO? Start your own company! The only sacrifice they willing to make is sleep, so that they can live harder and make more money! 

Millennials are lonely. Because they can literally live and exist in their flat with their iPad, they don't need to socialize, in person. And this is why a guy my age (and I'm only 36) can see through the facade of 'social media'. It's not social at all. Many Millennials' identity is wrapped up in what others think of their opinions on Facebook. They measure their likability but how many 'likes' they get on a quote they posted 29 minutes ago. They quick to respond to a disagreement on their blog post but have little idea on how to do it while sitting around a meal. Facebook may say they have 1248 friends, but they still go to the movies alone. What this generation is lacking is that only few of them know what it feels like to belong. Belonging to something that only happens when practicing real socializing. Face to face interaction and building relationships over a long time. Millennials are being robbed of this human need. We all need to belong to something. To someone. And it can't come from online shopping or social media chat rooms. 

Make no mistake, Millennials are smart and they know a lot. They are the most informed and knowledgable generation ever. They can hold conversations and have intelegable arguments over a host of social ills and injustices. They have strong opinions and they are gifted in communicating these opinions. They're adventurous and they not afraid to work hard when the time calls for it. But they want results and they expect things to be done quickly, and they make no apology for it. But they need the over 30's. They need us to show them the value of time. They need us to interact over the supper table. They need friends, flesh and blood friends. They need to feel valued. They want to belong.

#peace