Seeing is Deceiving

Though I do not get a chance to play very often (hardly ever, now) I do still love video games (especially Madden and other sports games). Recently I was thumbing through the video game magazine “Game Informer” and saw an ad that caught my attention (sorry - I tried to find the ad online, but was not successful).

It is for the game “The Conduit” (coming this month on Wii). The ad shows a scene from Washington D.C. and has the phrase: “Seeing is Deceiving.” While their catch phrase is simply a selling tag line to hook gamers into wanting their game, there is much truth to this statement that extends far beyond the gaming world.

The popular world philosophy right now is “seeing is believing” (has been for a long time). In other words, we’ll believe in something when we can see it:

- When someone lets us down, we require proof of their loyalty before they are trusted again (“I’ll believe it when I see it…”)

- When something is too good to be true we refuse to demonstrate excitement until it comes to fruition (“I won’t be excited until I have those tickets in my hand.”)

This same philosophy is the foundation of spirituality for most. Either they say “I’ll believe it when I see it” (or “I can’t believe what I can’t see”) or “No one can know anything for certain, therefore I choose to only believe what can be seen.” To truly live according to this way of thinking (without exception) is to disown faith altogether. Abandoning faith is impossible! ALL people have faith in something:

- We put our faith in God (or nature) that when we suck air into our lungs it will be there to breath

- We put our faith in the roller coaster car and its operator that we will finish the ride the same way we began – in one piece and alive.

- Archeologists and paleontologists (and those who hold their studies as absolute truth) put their faith in their findings as fact (even when those findings are often limited).

- Evolutionary theorists (or scientists, if you will) put their faith in an event and random occurrences that can never be duplicated or recreated or seen with the naked eye (just like Creationists cannot recreate or duplicate God creating everything by His voice). Truth is, Evolutionists and Creationists conclusions are deductive hopes based on limited information (information that can be studied, but not proven beyond a shadow of a doubt).

Ultimately, seeing is not believing, at least not for much of our lives (no matter how much science wants to state that it is). At some point in matters of life our eyesight and understanding can only carry us so far. The rest becomes a matter of Faith. As I tell my children every day: there is only one Truth. Either there is a God or there is not. If there is, then we all answer to Him.

Regarding our faith, the question for the Believer is: “Is my faith in the invisible God (who became visible through His Son Jesus Christ and now through His Church) reasonable?” For me, based on much studying, reading and the order I see around me in the world I believe it is.

The question for the non-believer/non-religious is: “Is my faith in myself, the limited information I can see/understand and the faith I put in ‘experts’ and their view of the world, existence, life and death reasonable? Do I truly believe the people or my beliefs are sufficient for answering life’s major questions (birth, death, afterlife, the existence of evil/suffering, etc.)?”

PARENTS: Use the two phrases (“Seeing is Deceiving” and “Seeing is Believing”) to discuss with your kids/teens about Faith and Truth. Ask them what they think about each of the phrases and why they feel that way.

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Image borrowed from http://www.yolochildcareplanning.org/news.htm

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Christianity Takes a Vacation

I loved the Cheers theme song when I was growing up...

 

"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name..."

 

It seems, however, that many times Christians seem to take these words too literally and think that being somewhere people don't know their name gives them liberty to do things they wouldn't otherwise do at home. These are "Geographic Christians." Their faith is semi-solid within their personal limits. Step outside those limits and all bets are off.

 

For some it's going on vacation somewhere.

 

For some it's going somewhere family or accountability is not. 

 

For some it's going where "no one will know" (spouses, kids, family, church family, etc.)

 

For some it's being with people who are doing the same thing, so therefore (to those people) "what I'm doing is no big deal"

 

There are any number of scenarios that fit the bill. Settings change from person to person – for some it’s going out with the guys/girls, for some it’s hangout with non-church friends and for others it’s being somewhere no one knows you (like on vacation somewhere). Instead of loving God in those moments, their faith takes a vacation. Instead of running from things that could hurt themselves, their family, their marriage, their friendships, their church, their reputation as a believer (which also soils the name of Christ), or, worse-yet, their faith, they run to those activities thinking they’ve got a “license to ill.” Thus, when they would never consider doing these things in their “hometown,” church or family company, drinking, drugs, illicit sex (or sexual acts/activities), going places they ought not be, etc. become their new-found expressions of “freedom.”

 

Make no mistake about it – truly loving God never goes on vacation. Scripture tells us to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls – this has no geographic limitations. It is to be the desire of our heart at home, in church, at work, with Christians, with non-Christians, in public, in private, in our hometown and on vacation. God could care less about “rules” of living, however, He very much desires to be loved and worshiped. Do we do that everywhere we go? Or are we simply looking for our chance to “get away” and love ourselves or other things more than we love Him who literally gave His life for us?

 

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Image borrowed from travelight.

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50% Student/Employee, 30% Internet/Online Community Member/Video Gamer, 10% Family Member, 9% Athlete/Club Member (for students), 1% Christian

Unfortunately, the above numbers are typically more true, than not; in particular the 1% Christian part. I don’t believe Christians set out to be 1% Christian, but somehow their lives have developed so that only 1% of their time/effort/thoughts are Christ-centered, the rest is merely “life.” This is what I refer to as “Categorical Christianity.” Categorical in that they live their lives in categories: “right now I am being an employee, later I will be a student, after that I will be a Christian.” Yes, I know that Christians rarely throw away their title of “Christian,” but rarely do I see it influence or become the foundation of the other “areas” of their lives (with the exception of maybe being persuaded to be more moral – not doing as many “bad” things). In family life, relationships/marriage (to include deciding WHO to marry), school, work, online communities and other areas/categories, faith is something that is typically done on Sundays (and occasional Wednesdays or other days). Here’s how this (categorical Christianity) plays out in everyday life:

• Christians support rights more than Biblical standard (such as a well known Christian politician supporting a woman’s rights over protecting the lives of unborn children)


• Christians choose to date/marry non-Christians rather than pursue a relationship where God is supreme according to both partners (yes, I know many non-believing spouses become believers because of their spouse’s faith, but so to do many marriages crumble because of such foundations… it even crippled a nation – checkout King Solomon dividing Israel in 1 Kings)


• Christians embrace being entertained above purity, choosing to accept and allow movies, music, television, fashion, etc. into their lives that rarely reflect anything of Godly character


• Christians choose to work (or anything – school, clubs, sports, etc.) over church (yes, I know – “you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian,” but obviously it must have some sort of importance otherwise Christ wouldn’t have created it… this is another conversation for another time, so I’ll digress for now…)

These are but a very FEW examples (I didn’t even really touch family, friends, school, jobs, etc.). In each of these examples, a Christian’s faith is categorized – separated from their lives and/or decisions. I’m not saying Christians should live according to a bunch of Christian rules and regulations, but that their so-called “faith” (the “Rock” upon which they are supposed to build their lives) ought to be the foundation for their lives and decisions. That it ought to be: more important than anything else, the goal/drive of their lives and the place from which they make their decisions.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (James 1:22-26)

And that’s what being a 1% (Categorical) Christian is all about, Charlie Brown…