Have we always paid close attention to these many warnings?
Over the years, we tend to make things more complicated, and in doing so, we often forget or set aside certain biblical studies that once stirred our hearts - those moments when Scripture made our eyes open wide and led us to meditate deeply throughout the day.
One example that had been tucked away in my drawer, and which I now find fitting to bring up, is the passage where Jesus speaks to the Pharisees about the importance of changed behavior.
If there is no change in behavior, there is no true transformation. And that change begins in our consciousness.
There's a verse I love that says we should not conform to this world ( Romans 12:2). Sometimes, we think that "this world" refers only to what's outside of us - the external system. But there is also a world inside of us.
Do not conform to the worldly way you're thinking. Transformation must always begin within. I begin to agree with certain ideas, and from there, I start to feel and act accordingly. So, this is where the change must happen.
And what must change? The thought, the direction, the way we think.
It is the Word that confronts us - it is our living library.
At the very least, if you "turn on the radio," so to speak - if you choose to be attentive to the world around you - you'll be able to live alongside the sins of others without being desensitized. You'll also see how destructive these patterns are, for them and maybe even for you.
You don't have to destroy yourself to gain this awareness - I'm not recommending that, obviously - but you will begin to perceive the depth of human emotion, of how the human psyche works.
Part 1
Have we always paid close attention to these many warnings?
Over the years, we tend to make things more complicated, and in doing so, we often forget or set aside certain biblical studies that once stirred our hearts - those moments when Scripture made our eyes open wide and led us to meditate deeply throughout the day.
One example that had been tucked away in my drawer, and which I now find fitting to bring up, is the passage where Jesus speaks to the Pharisees about the importance of changed behavior.
If there is no change in behavior, there is no true transformation. And that change begins in our consciousness.
There's a verse I love that says we should not conform to this world ( Romans 12:2). Sometimes, we think that "this world" refers only to what's outside of us - the external system. But there is also a world inside of us.
Do not conform to the worldly way you're thinking. Transformation must always begin within. I begin to agree with certain ideas, and from there, I start to feel and act accordingly. So, this is where the change must happen.
And what must change? The thought, the direction, the way we think.
It is the Word that confronts us - it is our living library.
At the very least, if you "turn on the radio," so to speak - if you choose to be attentive to the world around you - you'll be able to live alongside the sins of others without being desensitized. You'll also see how destructive these patterns are, for them and maybe even for you.
You don't have to destroy yourself to gain this awareness - I'm not recommending that, obviously - but you will begin to perceive the depth of human emotion, of how the human psyche works.
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