Be Different

I am entering a world that I never thought I'd enter. Why would anyone want to read what someone else is thinking? Are blogs just for people who are elite and intellectual thinkers? Are they for people with too much time on their hands? Are they for the younger generation, and if I do this I might be heading into the demonic world of "My Space" (ha - or am I supposed to write lol?)?

I had always wondered if it would be good for people to discuss the topic from the previous Sunday's message or begin discussing the upcoming topic. Then, I had someone say to me after last week's message, "I wish we could discuss the topic more." This past Sunday, I preached from Ephesians 5:17-6:16 on the topic of being different from the world (click here to listen to the sermon). The text was long and very difficult to cover in 30 minutes, so I chose to only scratch the surface hoping that people would study the text further for more application from the Holy Spirit (what a novel idea). This message was the 6th one in the series called "BE". The others were: "Be The Church", "Be Changed", "Be Love", "Be Missional", and "Be One".

If we are going to be different and stand out from the world, we must 1. Stop living like we used to live ("put off the old self"); 2. Change the way we think ("be made new in the attitude of our minds); and 3. Start looking like God ("put on the new self"). Paul mentions several issues that deal with our old self and our new self in the following verses that remind me of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). They seem to be a very high standard of living for the Christ-follower, and since I was limited on time, let me address them:

1. "each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor." When my dad was sick with cancer, my parents decided to tell me the truth (even though I was only 5). I have heard of many people who "kept the truth" from kids in this situation to "protect them". There are other examples of justification for lies. Is this ok? If you're going to hurt the other person, is it ok to lie or to withhold the truth? What does the Bible say about telling the truth? (Exodus 20:16; Leviticus 19:11; Ephesians 6:14; Colossians 3:9). Is it ever ok to lie?

2. "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Is is ok to get angry? When? When is it NOT ok to get angry? When does anger turn to sin? How does this give the devil a "foot in the door"? Do you remember when Jesus got angry (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:12-17)? Why was he angry? Why is it important for you to resolve your anger before you go to bed?

3. "He who has been stealing must steal no longer." OK, I know that I'm probably not writing to shoplifters and armed robbers, but let's look at this more closely. Is it stealing to not work hard while you are on the clock? Is it stealing to take things from your office that the company bought for you to use (i.e. paper, pens, etc.)? Is it stealing to cheat on your taxes through creative accounting? The context here indicates that the opposite of stealing is "hard work" for the purpose of being "generous". How are you doing in this area? In what other ways do we "steal" and justify it? What does this do to our integrity? (Exodus 20:15)

4. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths." Do you remember when you were younger and you used to tear others down with insults so that you could prop yourself up? Aren't you glad adults don't do that? O, you mean they do? "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Yeah, right!!! But surely it doesn't happen in the church, among God's people, does it???? Is this what "grieves the Holy Spirit of God"? We must use our mouths to "build each other up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

5. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawlings (fighting) and slander, along with every form of malice." I was driving home the other day, and I stopped to turn on my street. There was a car coming towards me, so I waited because I value my life. The woman in the car behind me began to wave her arms in the air and yell at me because I didn't turn so she could hurry on. As I turned, I looked in the mirror and she gave me the one-finger salute. WOW! Could she have been filled with bitterness? I looked for the fish or cross sticker on the back of her car! This is difficult, but let me state my opinion... There is NO ROOM in the church among God's people for bitterness towards each other, or rage, or anger; definitely there is no room for fighting or slander (back-biting). Most of this comes because we don't get what we want or because people are different than us. This should not be! We are called to love one another throughout Scripture (John 14:34-35), not fight. We have much work to do on this one. Also, why did Paul say it was ok to be angry in verse 26, but then tell us to get rid of it?

Now Paul throws in some of the "stuff" we are supposed to "put on" that makes us look like God.

6. "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other." Where do I start? I already dealt with the negative, but it is the things mentioned in point 5 that usually causes us to fail with this one. So, how do we change this? It's actually easier than you think. Do you sin? Did God forgive you because of Jesus? You have no basis for not forgiving someone else? Read Matthew 6:14-15.

7. "Live a life of love." Romans 13:8 says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another..." How do you change your way of looking at people? How did Mother Teresa do it? How do you see people? Do you truly "love" them? How about your enemies (see Matthew 5:43-45)? Living a life of love would revolutionize the world, but why is it so hard? Is this the key to the whole passage of Scripture?

Paul returns to the "stuff" we need to "put off".

8. "there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity." The Greek word for "sexual immorality" is porneia where we get the word pornography from. You are on the internet reading this blog, so you know how easy it is to find pornography or for it to find you. That one is easy to see as wrong, but Paul seems to address an even higher standard. We know that it is wrong to have an affair while we are married or to have an affair with a married person, but Paul seems to address an even higher standard. We know that the Bible states that pre-marital sex is wrong, but Paul... you know what I was going to say. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that lust was the same as adultery. Paul says there should not be even a hint of these things in our lives. He says later that "it is shameful to even mention what the disobedient do in secret." Here is where I stir up some controversy. Instead of making statements of fact, I'm going to ask you some questions: What do you watch on tv or at the movies? Do they glorify sex or sexual things? Is it wrong to laugh at or fill our minds with these things? Ladies, how do you dress? Do you reveal things in your clothing that might cause a man to lust? Are you trying to call attention to certain areas of your body? Men, do you look at women who are not your wife in a sexual way? What kinds of jokes do you read and send on the internet? Are any of them sexual in nature? Is it wrong to laugh at them or to pass them on? Is this what Paul is talking about? You decide!

9. "or greed." We live in difficult economic times. People are having to make tough financial decisions. Yet, greed still abounds. Materialism is rampant in our society. We think we have to have "stuff" to survive. New cars, new homes, new clothes, stuff, stuff, stuff... Is it wrong to have stuff? When does it become wrong? Is materialism the same as greed? Colossians 3:4-6 says that greed, immorality, impurity, and lust are part of our sinful nature.

10. "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." OK, here we go again with the stuff that offends. We all struggle with sin, and you must remember that Paul is trying to "raise the standard" for Christians. So, let me ask you some questions: Is your language different from the world? Do you cuss? Do you abuse the name of God or Jesus Christ? Do you fill your mind with books, movies and TV shows that do this? Is it sin, or just something you should try to avoid? What is foolish talk or coarse joking? How can you fill your mouth with more thanksgiving?

This post is already too long, so let me end with these two:

11. "you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Another key to looking like God is light. You need to live in love (Ephesians 5:1), and you need to live in light (Ephesians 5:8). John 3:19-21 says that good is done in the light and evil is done in the dark. In other words, when you are following God, you deeds can be exposed because you aren't doing anything you need to hide. If you are struggling with a secret sin, the best thing you can do is find someone you can trust and confess it to them. Sin loses its power when it comes out into the open.

12. "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity." The third key to how you are supposed to live is to live in wisdom. Be smart when faced with decisions of right and wrong. Walk in the way God wants you to walk - pay attention to everything, and take advantage of every opportunity to live for Him.

OK, I apologize for this being so long. Aren't you glad I didn't share all of this in the sermon... I'd still be preaching. Now, I didn't do this so I could write my thoughts down. This is for group discussion. Write a reply sharing your thoughts on any of the points from the Scripture. Bryan and I will be sharing thoughts on this blog so we can keep growing in Christ, and so that we can keep reaching for the Spiritual Summit!