Monday, May 2, 2016

Lust, Pride and Power (Part 3)



Near the end of 2015 I began to experience a lot of spam on my Instagram account. At first it was small and I didn't pay much attention to it, but quickly it progressed to being targeted by spammers once or twice an hour. I did everything I could to stop the spammers - from reporting their accounts to blocking them completely, I tried my hardest to get them to stop focusing their attention on me.

One night after being spammed by this very rude and inappropriate account, I decided to take the drastic move and make my Instagram account private. Even after all the spamming, going private wasn't something that I was too thrilled about. I enjoy speaking and connecting with others, and Instagram was one of the outlets I used to promote this site and promote the content that is available. However, there just comes a point in time that you have to make a stand for yourself and what is right. I couldn't allow my image and reputation to be tarnished because of the reckless actions of others.


Then, I began to think - how am I representing Christ with my actions? In a future post I will in more details, but I do struggle with lust. Sometimes we can do things with good intentions that ultimately lead to some dangerous and neglectful consequences. 




For instance, food is good and it is a necessity - we wouldn't be able to live without it. However, if we're eating too much of the wrong things - things that are high in fat, calories and carbohydrates - we're setting ourselves up for some doctor visits. In contrast, even if we're eating healthier, which I have been lately, we still have to watch ourselves because with one false move we could become deficient in some of our vital nutrients.

We don't mind doing the crime because we get a thrill from it - the rush of doing something we know we really shouldn't have anything to do with takes over us. However, when it comes to consequences, we don't want anything to do with it. 



WE want the power. WE want the glory. WE want it all.

What we want becomes an issue when we're dealing with a holy and just God. The Bible states that the earth is the Lord's and all it's fullness, the world and those who dwell therein (Psalm 24:1). There's only one God, one Supreme Ruler of all things - and we are not Him! Yes, we've been called many things in God - the redeemed, holy, a new creation, justified - but we haven't been called to replace God, nor have we been called to establish "gods" in our hearts, but many of us do this daily.

When it comes to someone seeking power in the Bible, there are many examples that we can pull from. Zimri, a soldier under the reign of King Elah, led a seven-day revolt against King Elah, killing the king. After the people of Israel heard that King Elah was killed by Zimri, they appointed Omri, commander of their army as king over them. Seeing defeat, Zimri went into the citadel of the king's house and burned the house down with him inside, killing himself (1 Kings 16:8-18).


After Jesus was born into the world, wise men went seeking Him to present Him gifts. Seeking the newly born King, the wise men went to Herod. Herod, hearing the news of this new King was "troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him." After following the star in the sky, the wise men were able to present Jesus gifts, but instead of returning to Herod as ordered, they were warned in a dream by God to return to their home another way. That's when Herod did the extreme - he ordered that all the boys under the age of two be killed.




As mentioned, the abuse of power can leave many people hurt and broken. With reckless actions, not only can we tear down others, but we also tarnish our representation of Jesus Christ, and we all know that in today's times, we really need more people of God standing up for truth. There is no room for us to boast in our own strengths, power and victories, because all these things have been given to us by God and for His glory. We're sinful by nature (Romans 3:23), and although God gives certain people positions of power, we will one day be held accountable for those actions and those who are under us. Strength is found in humbly submitting ourselves to God first and then to others, not through the abuse of power. 

Allow your representation to others to be that of someone with valor and great distinguish. Make everything that you do to glorify God, and not men.
__________________________
Here are the links to Parts 1 and 2


SDG

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