Appearance of evil

[Guest shiloh357]

Form or evil,  I don't really that much of a difference.   If I am wanting to avoid evil, I certainly do not want to even appear that way.  It's really part and parcel of the same motivation to make sure to the degree possible that I not only abstain from every form of evil, but that there is nothing in my conduct that can be legitimately cast as evil.

 

The Church is in many places surrendering to the culture.  The largest church in my city, a mega church has opened a "Christian night club"  for Christian singles,  More and more Christian artists are either coming out as gay or are starting to voice support for the gay lifestyle.    One of the original founders of Newsboys as finally admitted that he is an Atheist.

 

Christians are less and less opposed to shacking up before marriage, and are viewing other religions as being just as valid as Christianity.   So it is not surprising to me that moral compromise that would have been discouraged only a couple of decades ago, is no big deal now. 

[Guest shiloh357]

It's amazing how hard we try to muddy the waters when it comes to holiness and truth, as if these things have no definition.  Part of the evidence of the moral lapse of the younger, more liberal generations.  

[MorningGlory]

I'm not seeing the problem here.  To me it's very clear.  You'll always be doing something the gossips will talk about but, if you're doing nothing wrong, don't worry about appearances.  No matter what you do you can't please everyone so just please God and you'll be okay.  I seriously don't care what other people think as long as Jesus knows I'm keeping His commandments.   

[other one]

If you look at this subject through the eyes of an Muslim, eating bacon is evil....   so should we all stop eating bacon...     That married woman you speak of having dinner with is expressing evil from even being out of her house without her husband....

 

You can take this theme of thought to any level you want, So I think I agree with Alex......   who gets to decide what's evil.

[Alex Summers]

Post of the day Morninglory!

[RustyAngeL]

Who gets to decide what "compromises my faith"?

Why does having dinner with a married member of the opposite sex do it but having Dish with shows filled with sex and violence does not?

Why does walking into a bar do it but driving a Lexis or Porsche does not?

It seems it comes down to personal likes and dislikes.

 

 

Hi Alex,

 

I can be answered like this.  Would you be doing this thing if Jesus were physically  present with you?  Would you watch that "raunchy show?  This person that you are having dinner with, are they married, and is it done in secret?  I will give you an example... in my life, I don't allow any R rated movies in my movie collection nor will I watch anything on TV that is R rated.  I will not live with someone I'm not married to.  I don't drink and that is only because the Lord put on my heart that I was not to do that period.  It all comes down to knowing what the Bible says and what you know God wants from you as a believer.  

 

The Bible says we are in the world not of it.  We are to live, walk and speak as Jesus would.  We are to be that submitted vessel that He can work through.  He cannot and will not work through a believer that dates married people, or watches things that are highly questionable.  He wants us to filled with His Spirit not things of the world.

 

He doesn't care what we drive or where we eat, or if you have cable or dish, He does care however what you fill your head with. He wants us to represent Him in everything we do in our lives, we are to be His Lights, we are to shine His Love to everyone but especially those who don't know Him.

 

If what you are doing makes you question your actions I would listen to your heart, get into His Word and see what the Bible says about it.  I think you already know, but as I said listen to your heart and what God is speaking to you.

 

Because He Lives!! RustyAngeL

[Alex Summers]

It's amazing how hard we try to muddy the waters when it comes to holiness and truth, as if these things have no definition. Part of the evidence of the moral lapse of the younger, more liberal generations.

I am amazed how hard people try to make something totally innocent into something evil all the while ignoring the greed and gluttony all around us.

I guess each generation has its thing to focus more on, for your generation it is sex, for mine it is out of control materialism.

[Sevenseas]

In an effort not to totally derail the yoga thread I thought it would be best to start a new thread.

A lot was said about avoiding the appearance of evil. How far should this go into the daily decisions we make?

If having dinner with a person other than your spouse is wrong, what wouldn't be?

Should I have Dish Network? That dish on my roof lets everyone know I have it and there are some raunchy shows I might be watching, i wouldn't want to give the neighbors an appearance of evil.

Can a person have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner at a restaurant? Who knows what people might think.

Does having a nice house and nice car give the appearance of greed? What will those who are less fortunate than myself think?

If we are going to base our actions on what others might think, where does it end?

 

 

Well lets go back to the op...I have followed the thread on yoga, so I'm aware of the process there

 

If I read the op for this thread, I can agree that many situations might look evil...the dish, the wine or beer, nice house etc

 

And I come to the conclusion that in each example, it will depend on the subjective view of the individual who is considering whether or not evil is a factor in the

appearance of any one of the examples

 

Here is what I mean:  I come from a European background...kids drink wine at family gatherings...no big deal...mind you just a very little bit or mixed with pop

 

I won't think it evil to have a glass of wine if you are a Christian.  Some Christians will go into shock right there.

 

So then we have to ask, is wine evil?  Is the appearance of wine evil?  Is the act of having some wine evil ? (note I did not say getting stone drunk and viewing the ceiling from

the floor where one has fallen)

 

Form or evil,  I don't really that much of a difference

 

 

well I guess you mean form of evil vs appearance

 

Evil is a noun, an adverb, and an adjective (I looked it up to make sure) and also can be used in an idomatic fashion:  ie the 'evil' one (devil)

 

On the other hand, appearance is subjective....as I pointed out ...so I do see a difference

[Willa]

Who gets to decide what "compromises my faith"?

Why does having dinner with a married member of the opposite sex do it but having Dish with shows filled with sex and violence does not?

Why does walking into a bar do it but driving a Lexis or Porsche does not?

It seems it comes down to personal likes and dislikes.

Mostly it is about listing to the Holy Spirit. Many restraunts here make you pick up take out orders at the bar. I felt uneasy doing this, so finally I was given permission to take a chair into the hallway and wait there near to the entry of the bar. So if you drive a porsche and start feeling uneasy about being seen in it, trade it for something more modest. Or if you if you feel uneasy about having dish, change to direct TV lol.

I keep those channels that are MA or rated for sex and language in particular, locked out so I don't accidently stumble into them. But this year I am finding movies rated PG 13 that include some nudity and some really filthy language. Every year they change the ratings to include more filth and I feel helpless to stem the tide. So every year we threaten to get rid of it. And then we find something else that we enjoy watching like NRL rugby. Bottom line: so far the Lord has not made us uneasy or uncomfortable about having a dish since it affords more choices that are not objectionable, like the inspirational channel, or up, the western channels and some choices on family channels and hallmark. We are unable to receive antenna in our locality, hubby can't read anymore, and our recreational choices are limited due to our health.

So if you have dinner with a married woman, bring the kids along as well and make it informal, like at a Pizza parlor. No romantic dinners in dark corners that might start gossip. You will always bump into someone who knows you who will think the worst, and it will probably be the person you have been trying to witness to.

[Sevenseas]

I'm not seeing the problem here.  To me it's very clear.  You'll always be doing something the gossips will talk about but, if you're doing nothing wrong, don't worry about appearances.  No matter what you do you can't please everyone so just please God and you'll be okay.  I seriously don't care what other people think as long as Jesus knows I'm keeping His commandments.   

 

Hello!