Live In It Not of It

“When the world hates you, remember it hated Me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don’t. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.”
John 15:18, 19


Do you ever feel like you don’t know the difference between right and wrong? Or you think, “Oh I can do this; everyone’s doing it, there’s nothing wrong with it” but deep down inside you feel guilty at even thinking like that? But you go ahead and do it anyway, what you feel you shouldn’t do or even think about doing.

All of your friends are doing it, and you feel like the whole world is your enemy just because you live for Christ or because you don’t do things that “the world” would do. So you decide that, just this once, you’ll “try” something, dress immodestly, talk foul, act different, watch and listen to things you know you shouldn’t, because then maybe you’ll be able to fit in better with certain groups and certain people.

I mean, you need to live, right? This world’s different than it used to be. When God had the Bible written, He didn’t understand what this world was going to be like. He didn’t know that you’d be peer pressured to the point of breaking and giving in, that you’d feel like an outsider for living for Him, that you’d live in a world where you’d have to give in to things that you don’t want to just so you can actually live in this world and go to your school. No, that’s just a big fat excuse.

God did know (ever read the book of James? Or any of the Bible for that matter?) But He also knew that you were strong enough, with Christ, to get through the peer pressure without giving in, to live your life for Christ without being ashamed for it, and to do and not do things that others would or wouldn’t do without feeling stupid for it. You are strong enough to get through this life.

I’ll admit, the Christian walk with Christ is hard. People look at you differently. People watch your every move, to see how you get through different situations and problems. People look at how you do things, at your different decisions in life. But you know what? Use that for good.
Do things differently. Actually listen to your convictions and things God tells you to do or stop doing. Talk, act, and dress different. Believe me, people are going to notice that there’s something different about you. Remember, actions speak louder than words.

We, as Christians, need to stand out in this world. We can’t be conforming to what everyone else is doing, watching, listening to, reading, or wearing. We need to step up to the plate and do what God has called each and every one of us to do – obey Him and stand apart from this world.

Ephesians 4:17 and 18 says, “With the Lord’s authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against Him.”

The beginning of verse 19 says that they don’t care anymore about right and wrong, which means that we, as Christians, should care. We should care about what we’re watching on TV, what music we’re listening to, what books and magazines we’re reading and looking at, what clothes we’re wearing, what websites we’re getting on when it’s just us and the internet.

We should be asking ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing. Is it because you want to fit in? Is it because everyone else is doing it and it’s just such a part of the world now that you don’t see anything wrong with it (when it clearly states in the Bible to stay apart from what the world does)? Or maybe it’s because what you’re doing makes you feel satisfied for a little while. I’m telling you, God is all you need to satisfy you. Nothing is more beautiful than what you can find in Christ.

There’s many verses and I could go on and on about staying away from the world’s desires. 1 John 2:17 says, “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” Why live for something that isn’t going to last anyway? This world’s not going to get you anywhere. Trying to look like the models on TV isn’t going to make you feel any better about yourself (oh for a little while it will, but that feeling’s not going to last). Listening to the music that you feel guilty about listening to but listen to anyway because you “like” it or because everyone else is listening to it isn’t going to give you a lasting good feeling either. Another thing; dressing immodestly might get you a little attention, but do you really want that attention? Are you really that desperate for attention that you go against God’s Word and lose respect for your body and for yourself?

Believe me; I’ve stopped listening to certain songs just because I didn’t feel right about listening to them. Were they necessarily “bad?” No, I just didn’t feel right about them. I’ve stopped watching different things on TV because something told me that I shouldn’t be watching them. They’re shows that are real popular and many people across America are watching, but still, there was something about them that I didn’t feel right about. I’ve stopped reading books right in the middle of them, because I thought they’d be good and I’d start reading them and in the middle of the book find out that they weren’t. I’ve passed up on cute clothes in the stores because they were immodest and I feel that I didn’t want that kind of attention. So let me tell you that I haven’t lost anything or missed out on anything by stopping or not doing those things. I haven’t missed out at all; I feel good about myself, that now I know I’m strong enough to not give in and do certain things that I don’t feel right about.

I could go on and on, but I think I’ll leave you with this final thought: Live in this world, not of it.