No doubt; many of you will take note of this article’s title and be curious as to its contents. Not wanting to offend, I sought to word it as delicately as I could, but the purpose of this article is to spur each other on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10. 24) in the context of Canadian culture, and I could find no better title.
As we look around at the Church, I’m afraid many of us are under a less-than-healthy influence. are you living as a drunk Christian?
Once you’ve gotten over your initial shock, I want you to think about it for a moment: We have all known a drunk person. We have all heard the word “sober”, and we ususally define that by what it is not: drunk! Well, what are the characteristics of one who is drunk: they’re not themselves, intemperate, they’re unbalanced ~ physically, mentally and chemically.
When was the last time you felt your faith and the culture around you were in balance? Admittedly, the culture is far and away an enemy to our faith. However, as you live in it ~ the seemingly unattainable ‘in but not of’ ~ have ever you struck a sense of balance between your love of God and your love of People. If these indeed are the most important commands for our Saviour, they need to be pretty essential for us as well. Granted, even when we’ve balanced them, at times it is only possible to maintain it a little while before something shifts and we’re off-centre again. Seldom, if not never, can we plateau.
I’d like to get back to the passage from Titus which started this article. God has indeed appeared and shown us how we ought to live, making an example in the person of Jesus of how to fully love God and love others. The grace of God is a teacher, teaching us how to say “NO!” to the world’s ungodliness and lusts. It also is sufficient to teach us how one lives ‘soberly’, righteously, and godly in this culture. That word ‘sober’ we have already looked at above, but some other words can be put in its place (as have some translators of scripture). Sensibly [NASB] self-controled [NIV] wise [NLT]. Now, with some of these synonyms, do we not have a much clearer picture of the life of balance God intends for us?
But what if you don’t know what that grace is teaching us? We gladly espouse the truth of 2 Timothy 3. 16 & 17, but do we consult it when seeking to live life, make choices, or decide what to deny and what to embrace? Really? We know it is easier to talk about faith and culture than to actualy do something about it. Let’s fight the imbalance and get to know this Grace that appeared and sit as its student so we will know how to live relevant lives, truly loving God and loving others.
