Music
Method of Schooling
Birth Control
Tattoo's and Piercings
Dancing
and Halloween
I can just about guarantee that any of the above topics would result in an immediate disagreement between most Christians. Every single one of God's people hold to their own convictions and opinions concerning what they believe is right and wrong in God's eyes. This is completely acceptable! I am thrilled to see Christians hold themselves to a standard they have set, but what concerns me is when they look down on fellow believers who do not hold to the same convictions.
There are instances in the Bible where God strictly gives commands in black and white. "Do not murder", "Do not commit adultery", and "Do not steal" are some of the most common ones. But when God does not vehemently forbid the drinking of alcohol, public school education, or even trick-or-treating on Halloween, what is a Christian supposed to do?
Based on the guidelines found in Scripture, along with the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will eventually come to the right decision for yourself and for your family. If this were a perfect world, we could stop right there and you would be done reading this post. :) Unfortunately, as fallen human beings, we are prone to judge when others do not come to the same conclusion as we have.
We look at the person with tattoos and are disgusted that he or she has "marred their body" after becoming a Christian. We are shocked to see a couple from church dancing at their son's wedding. We are even offended when fellow friends mention that they drink a glass of wine with dinner.
I hope these situations hit home with you as much as they did me. I too, find myself battling the urge to look down on a fellow believer just because we hold to different sides of often controversial topics. God gave us Christian liberty for a reason, one of which I honestly believe was so we could practice not judging others! We are not the determining authority of others' actions and should not be so concerned about how others are following the Lord. We are only responsible for ourselves.
Romans 14: 4 says it best,
"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands and falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
Remember, in the end, who you are going to stand before - not a deacon board or even your pastor. You will stand before a holy and righteous Father.*
*This post resulted from an ABF discussion with John Tracy - many thanks to his powerful insight!
Stay tuned for Part 2 - Flaunting Your Christian Liberty, which will be posted next week!
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