March 23, 2006

I had a discussion today with a friend, about a subject that I feel is important for every Christian to think about, whether or not they put terms on the subject like the ones I use.

The discussion was about the topic of straight edge Christianity. This calls into play conviction, and flat out what is alright as a Christian. I don't deny that everyone makes mistakes, but this is basically where I lie on this topic (not lying as in not telling the truth, but...eh, you get the idea):

If something detracts, in our habits, from getting to know God better, why do it? If something is not good for us, and doesn't help us to know God better, why do we need it?

There are those that would say "Even Jesus drank wine".

That's true. I won't, for a second, say that Jesus never had wine, or that communion shouldn't be served with wine. What I'm saying is that many of the things that I watch my brothers and sisters in Christ doing, I feel, will lead to things that will eventually become a mini-idol, if you will.

Something I have to work on, spiritually, as a brother of others in Christ, is my loathing of fads. I just have this tendency to dislike anything that falls into fad territory, especially if the fad tends to be dangerous. This includes binge-drinking and the various forms of smoking. I feel like despite how much we try to strive for the kingdom, we always end up doing the things we're told are cool and trendy, especially if it's uber-hip.

Woe to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.

Isaiah 5:11

I use this verse not to intimidate or say that the people that do get drunk are hell-bound, it's just that this expresses how I feel about the topic of partying, which even some Christians tend to find very fun. I take woe in the sense of not meaning hell-bound, just that there will be a point when it will make sense that getting drunk is actually a pointless endevour in our lives, and that drunkenness will seem like a waste of time when we could have been getting to know God much better instead.

I don't really know how to get my point across with people without hurting feelings, because I think we as people assume that if a person feels a certain way about something, it's a personal attack. Because I think that spiritually, people are just better off without some vices, I feel that many people have been offended by me. It just seems that at least for me, a temple devoid of chemicals makes me better suited to keep my heart on God.

Make no bones about it, He still loves us plenty anyway.

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All pages written by Clay Gorton, 2005.