November 22, 2017

Principals of This World

I overheard a woman in the checkout line talking to the sales clerk about her vegan son. Exasperated she said, “He won’t eat anything that has a mother!” It is so easy for people to become obsessed with food choices, diets, and perceived healthy lifestyles. Paul reminds us that the death of Christ freed us from human restriction and fad diets, “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self–imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (Col 2:20-23 NIV).

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----You make a point we sorely need. And God’s principle which you point out works even more importantly on food for thought and actions of the heart and mind. I listened to a spokesman for Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint this morning while I was driving to work. He was lamenting about how everyone excuses the misbehaviors of people on their sides of the controversial fences, yet condemn the misbehaviors of those on the other sides. He proposed that nobody should be elected to office who has made a moral breach, and supporting such a one erodes your own moral integrity. I thought that was a very interesting perspective coming from someone representing a program begun by a liar who went to prison for his involvement in covering up a political burglary.
-----This is why for the last couple years I’ve been boring people purple with my continuous repetition of, “I think one of the few most important scriptures in the Bible is Romans 3:4, ‘Let God be true though every man be false.’” I suppose we then elect no man, since Jesus isn’t running for any of these offices.
-----We know at which man running for which office this representative of the liar shot his invisible arrow. Let that arrow strike the repented man who's as much of God as is this Breakpoint representative, who's as false as is the accused politician now shot with this invisible arrow of guilt. Yes, I am sure that’s what Jesus told us to do to one another. And after having done that, we can enjoy the other candidate seating in office to continue the support of this ongoing murder of over a million children a year. Now that's moral integrity!
-----Intelligence dwells deeper in the mind than one or two thoughts. Wisdom indeed sorts broken and twisted thoughts from the mental diet as much as precaution sorts rotten apples from the food bin. But wisdom prefers some beef in its burger, milk too soggies the buns. Not a word did I here from Colson’s representative about the effects of Jesus Christ upon any life turned to Him, even Chuck Colson‘s. Not a word did I here of the life of that candidate turned to Christ. Not a word did I here of all the rest of our sins and God’s principle of reserving judgment for Him. Those ideas must have been the meat this mental vegan swapped for milk in our burgers.
-----Here’s a piece of advise this old CPA always gives his clients concerning misdeeds of employees, which well applies to electing candidates and even to persevering friend‘s obsessions: Discern a person’s character from the overall perspective of what he’s done and said. Don’t sink a boat just for an anvil dropped on its deck. Throw the anvil overboard. If the boat rises and there’s no rope tied to the anvil, use the boat. In other words, a good employee having actually overcome a mistake is a well educated employee. Don’t trade him off for one who’s not learned the same lesson, thus subjecting your business to the risk of the same mistake again. Learn discernment for quality of repentance, not for existence of perfection, for Jesus isn’t looking to hire on at your business. He’s just looking to save all us false ones.
-----Now, there’s the beef!

Love you all,
Steve Corey