Midweek Meditation: "Ten Fashionable Things to Avoid"

Jesus said:

"13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16)

Here is a list of ten "fashionable things" that we must recognize and be reminded about our calling. Comments in [ ] are mine.

(Adapted from "Tullian Tchividjian's Unfashionable, Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2009, p1-2).

1. You can look around at church and notice that everybody is basically the same age as you are, and they look and dress pretty much like you do. [Too Homogeneous]
2. You think it's very uncool to sing a worship song that was 'in' five years ago - much less sing a hymn from another century. [Too restless for things new]
3. It's being a long time since you disagreed with anything said by Oprah. [Too used to worldliness and new age]
4. You've attended a 'leadership' conference where you learned more about organization and props (structural renovation) than proclamation and prayer (spiritual reformation). [Too focused on externals rather than internals]
5. Your goal in spending time with non-Christians is to demonstrate that you're really no different than they are, and to prove this you curse like a sailor, drink like a fish, and smoke like a chimney. [Too ashamed of the gospel]
6. You've concluded that everything new is better than anything old or that everything old is better than anything new. [Too time driven and less truth led]
7. You think that the way Jesus lived is more important than what he said - that his deeds are more important than his doctrine. [Too lopsided in appreciating works over words]
8. You believe that the best way to change our culture is to elect a certain kind of politician. [Too much politicking]
9. The church you've chosen is defined more by its reaction to 'boring traditional' churches than by its response to a needy world. [Too reactive to perceive reactions instead of responsive to real needs]
10. The one verse you most wish wasn't in the Bible is John 14:6, where Jesus says, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' That's way too close minded! [Too afraid to accept Jesus for what He says]

conrade