We call it by a lot of different names: peer pressure, people-pleasing, co-dependency. Proverbs tells us it is a trap into which we can easily fall. What is it and how can we be free from its grip?
Just as our sin nature blinds us to the danger of people-pleasing and co-dependency, we can be blinded about the nature of true freedom. Could something that looks like freedom actually bring you into bondage?
We live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christ and Christianity. Religious freedom and tolerance have been replaced with intolerance and, even, hatred. Are you prepared for what could very well come in our lifetimes and, indeed, is already happening?
Back during the height of the pandemic, I heard one commentator say that some pastors, actually, want to spread COVID-19 because it furthers their political agenda. We have all heard comments claiming Christians are uncaring about others and their struggles with sexual issues and unwanted pregnancies. Many believers actually work tirelessly to help those who struggle with sin and heartache. But that doesn’t stop God’s enemies from making blanket statements that would have been roundly criticized in times past.
And try defending your faith in a university or high school classroom. Young people are regularly humiliated and even attacked for speaking the truth. Christian teachers and professors are often denied positions in the name of tolerance, a word that has come to mean anything but that.
Or watch your average movie or TV program. I cringe when they make it obvious a character is a minister of some kind. He will probably be made to look foolish, hypocritical, or mean-spirited before it’s over.
Yet, we have probably just begun to experience the hostility and persecution that the Bible tells us will come. So, what can we do to prepare?
Serving God well in our anti-Christian culture can be challenging. We live in a world where many things that were once almost universally condemned are now celebrated. Christian values like virtue, morality, and even common sense are ridiculed. Those who stand up for God’s standard can become a target themselves. But we must choose … will we fear God or fear man in the increasingly anti-Christian culture in which we live?
The effects of rejecting God’s authority and its resulting spiritual darkness are not pretty. As one sin leads to another, the results are sad, costly, and damaging. The book of Judges ends with some truly bizarre examples.
But as bizarre as those true stories are, in reality, they could be taken from today’s headlines. Our news is full of murder, even mass murder, sexual immorality, sex trafficking, abortion rights, and demands that we give approval to every sinful lifestyle. I’m not sure where the bottom of it all will be, but just as He did in Noah’s day and just as He did with the Israelites, God will one day say … enough! In the meantime, what should we be doing?
When sin entered the world it was accompanied by an uninvited guest … FEAR. Yet, the Bible tells us over 450 times, “fear not” or similar words. Find out the two root causes of fear and learn to overcome it biblically in your own life.
