Are you justifying it?
I have something on my heart that I must share. First of all, I
wish for you to read this passage.1Thessalonians chapter 5 (1-23) says 1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16 Rejoice evermore.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19 Quench not the Spirit.
20 Despise not prophesyings.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are certain
things that stand out to me in this passage.
1. “you, brethren,
are not in darkness”
2.“You are all
the children of light”
3. and because we
are children of the light, wear your armour. “putting on the
breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of
salvation.”
4. “edify one
another”
5.
listen to the spiritual leaders “And we beseech you, brethren, to
know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and
admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's
sake. And be at peace among yourselves.”
6. “warn them that
are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient
toward all men.”
7. do not “render
evil for evil” but “follow that which is good”
8. “Pray without
ceasing”
10. Despise not prophesyings.
11. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
12. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Ok, that all said, now I'm going on a rant! I just finished listening to a pod cast by people I would normally hold their opinion in high esteem, but this time I feel they did not hit the mark. They were discussing a game, the latest rage on everyone's phones, that has people walking around towns and cities like zombies. (And I never thought I'd use the word zombies in a blog post!!) And these Christian men actually said they saw nothing wrong with it. REALLY?? Pocket monsters are ok for Christian kids to play with... apparently. Doesn’t that name mean anything?
This rant is about any game or movie or book that uses monsters, magic, demons, powers, and anything else that is evil, and make them look fun, inviting and good. Clearly from the scriptures above, I do not find these kinds of games, moves or books edifying, wholesome and good for myself or my children as a Christian. We are clearly told to “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” That's pretty clear if you ask me!
Teaching children that there is good magic and bad magic is not edifying. Teaching them that pocket monsters are ok, is not edifying. Teaching them that characters that use bad things to manipulate or misuse others to get what they want, is good... is not edifying and it is certainly not God honouring.
You can justify it any way you want. But here is the truth of the matter. Satan wants you to justify it. He wants you to think it's harmless fun, that it's really not evil. But we as Christians are called to walk in the light not the darkness. We are called to be discerning. We are called to abstain from the appearance of evil. To hold fast to what is good. To pray without ceasing.
We are called to stay away from even the appearance of evil!
And get this one. To quench not the Holy Spirit! If He is warning you about something. Listen to HIM!
Now I'm going to ask you to do something. Don't listen to me without going to your own Bible and checking scripture first. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach and guide you in what you should allow or not allow in your home and family.
Satan is desensitizing us. He is coming into our homes and churches through any means possible and desensitizing, and as he does this... immobilizing us. This is the spiritual warfare he has blinded Christians to. If we would but wake up and see it, we would fight on our knees in prayer and watch as God brings revival to our land. Revival that must start in our own hearts and homes.
My husband and I have done spiritual warfare in our own lives. We have learned... the hard way, how the enemy works. This is real folks, this is not just about games, movies and books, this is about the evil in our world that is creeping into our homes... that we are allowing into our homes!
Is that really what you want to be teaching your children?
Listen to this warning Paul gave to Timothy.
2 Timothy 3:1-9 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women laded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was."
(I would like to say gullible anyone, because Satan does it ALL THE TIME!)
If a game, movie or book promotes any of these things that we are warned against, I do not want it in my home.
And with those thoughts, I leave you with this.
Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
S.L. Kliever
