18
My Dilemma
Posted on November 18th, 2004 in Faith by Fred McKinnon
Hey Ya’ll -
So Joy and I were talking last night … we were sharing about the things God is speaking to us and areas of our lives he wants to make better. I began to dialog about some issues that I’ve been seeing in my own life and as I did, I realized something … I HAVE A DILEMMA!
Seriously, I do – but then again, I suppose we all have it. Now is the time to just “go deeper” with God and be more like Him. The dilemma is something like this:
How do I break free from “RELIGION” but remain “HOLY”?
How do I live as a “PECULIAR PEOPLE/PERSON” yet remain RELEVANT and approachable in my CULTURE?
You see, I’ve been enjoying a remarkable departure from some die-hard “religious” mindsets and actions. As a result, I’ve found so much freedom and my relationship with Christ as been more authentic. At the same time, I’ve found it to be very easy to go too far the other direction …
Example (hypothetical) – “self-imposed religion” may say “it’s a sin to go to a movie” … I get freedom from that, and know that I can enjoy a movie and be entertained w/o it being sinful … the dilemma – I begin to allow myself to go to movies that ARE SINFUL for me to watch, etc. It is not holy.
Holiness – there is the second dilemma. How can I be “holy” …. a “peculiar person” … a “chosen one” … but still be relevant in my culture and society. Still be “approachable”.
I’m sure we can seem “peculiar” easily – especially when we put on our religious garb and begin acting as if we are “set apart” from others and we shut them out. But that’s not relevant. If I am with a bunch of college buddies at a reunion who aren’t “born-again” … and they are all drinking and getting drunk … and listening to the most recent “cool band” (oh no – and maybe it’s not a “Passion CD”, HA!) … am I being “peculiar” by saying I have to leave … or would my peculiarity (is that a word?) be better in remaining there, relating to them, yet abstaining from doing anything that is sinful.
Oh well – I can tell by typing this that it ain’t hitting the mark – I’m not clearly saying what I want to say. It made so much more sense last night. All I know is this … I want to be holy. But I don’t want to be “religious”. I want to be peculiar and set apart – sanctified for God .. but I also want to be relevant.
Am I asking too much? I don’t think so …. I think Jesus is the model. Help me, Lord – become more like You.
What do you think? Look forward to your comments.
For the Kingdom,
Fred
Related posts:
3 Responses to “My Dilemma”
Would you join in the discussion? Checkout the responses below, and click "reply" to reply to someone's comment, or scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to leave your own comment in the box!
Yeah, tell me about it. We had a discussion at Bible study last night and I think the key to becoming what God would have us to be is to look to the final goal. I see in Scripture that the final goal that God has for us is to “be conformed to the likeness of His son”. (< href="http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&passage=romans+8%3A29&version=NIV">Romans 8:28) I think that we need to pray not for patience but godliness. Pray for ‘Christlikeness’ instead of relevance. If we aim for the goal, then we have to run the rest of the path to get there.
I believe that Christians need to be seen by the world as ‘real’ people with the same issues and temptations that they have. We need to have fun and play games, go to movies, etc. because we are spirit, soul and body. We definitely need to be selective about what we do and watch because we live by a different standard. If the world sees us as ‘real’ yet living by a different standard and yet full of joy – then they will be more apt to want what we have!
I stumbled across your blog after hearing your music on Live365 and started reading.
I have to say that your delimma is shared not only across the country but the world. I’m currently studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt and and dealing with the same things. I think I can understand what you’re saying because my friends and I have been talking about similar things for a while now.
Here, I’ve found it a little more challenging but also more feeing at the same time because I haven’t connected with any other Christians here and therefore don’t have the mindset that I have to live up to other Christian’s standards and am free to express my faith as I please.
On the other hand, I don’t have the encouragement and challenges that good Christian community brings when they’re right there with you every day. I’m grateful that I’m able to be myself here in some ways but its still a battle deciding between too much and not enough.