15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Jn 2:15-17
Our world is so friendly. Enticing us to play. To participate. It is so hard to say, “No” and to remain separate for the the Lord. Many missionaries I have spoken with do not like traveling to the United States because the depravity is so great and the allure is so strong. How then can we as followers of Christ remain a friend to God and deny ourselves friendship to the world as we are immersed in the commercialism of our culture?
The Bible speaks of the last days in Matthew where Jesus instructs us to be on our guard so that we are not deceived. It has come to my attention that every generation is highly critical of the generations that follow. I am more aware of this now living in an area where much of the population is much older. What they fail to realize is that each generation is responsible for raising up the next in righteousness and truth according to God’s Word. But each generation in the US has proven to be more perverse than the previous. If when we are old and at the mercy of a generation that does not know God, we have no one to blame but ourselves.A teacher in my 7th grader’s class asked the class if any of them are practicing Christians. Ten percent (3 students) raised their hand. My mother cannot even imagine what it is like to attend school where everyone does not share the same beliefs or have no beliefs at all. It is the unfaithfulness of the parent that causes the child to reject family values, morality and faith.
We compromise. We fail to stand guard. We surrender our homes and our children to the enemy because it is easy. Remaining faithful is hard work. There is no “Easy” button when it comes to raising up a righteous generation. The price is high, it requires sacrifice. But I would rather pay now when the cost is an investment in our future than pay later when the cost is the price for the neglecting that future. We cannot even begin to imagine how high that price may be until we are laying in a bed in a nursing home at the mercy of a health-care provider who does not fear God.
Crave 