Dave’s Monday Blast – June 7, 2021
What do you value the most? The last couple of weeks we have been chatting about the difference between happiness and joy. The Bible is clear that happiness is circumstantial and somehow attached to fortune. Joy exists regardless of circumstance because the source of joy is found in God. So it begs the question…do you value the Lord most of all?
For five days Aron’s arm was trapped beneath a boulder as he was suspended 75 feet from the canyon floor. Repeated efforts to free himself failed time and again. Near death, Aron experienced a moment of decisive clarity. He could break his forearm, cut through the muscle with his pocket knife, detach his arm, and use a piece of rope for a tourniquet.
God calls us to deal with our Idolatry in a surprisingly similar fashion. The Bible does not offer a laid-back, live-and-let-live approach at all. It’s so radical, that we don’t really like hearing about it or talking about it. Recall what Jesus said in Matthew 5:30. Although He was not talking about literal amputation, He was saying that sin’s deadly effects call for extreme measures. Even though it hurts, we MUST rid ourselves of the Idolatry. In fact, our eternal destiny hinges on how we deal with sin.
Really? Well, why else would Jesus talk about hell in the same breath that He talks about how we are to deal with sin if He didn’t mean to teach that our eternal destiny hangs in the balance? Clearly, it’s a matter of preferring one destiny over the other. Outward behavior indicates what the heart primarily loves. If Aron had stayed there on that canyon wall with his hand pinned under that boulder, he would have died. But because he was willing to kill his hand, his life was saved.
The same goes with us as we deal with sin. It really does come down to what we value most. Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is Idolatry.” The world may tell us to laugh about sin, to lighten up about it, to tolerate it, and just let it be because it’s not really Idolatry; it’s not an issue of worship. However, God says the opposite is true.
I read an article this week about the plague of pornography. Check out these statistics:
In the past decade, child pornography arrests have increased 2500%. 67% of sex offenders committed offenses against children. There are more than 747,000 registered sex offenders in the US. As many as 30,000 are missing and noncompliant.
In 2015, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received reports of 6.5 million videos or other files concerning child sexual exploitation. In 2017, it was 20.6 million. In 2019, it was 69.2 million.
Humans have spent one million hours watching porn since 2015. Surveys indicate that 79% of American men between the ages of 18 and 30 admit to watching porn regularly. 67% of men between 31 and 49 admit to it. This smut robs people of their humanity and viewers of their dignity. As Christians, we love people; we don’t use them. (Jeremiah 2:13 – 14 & Isaiah 55:1 – 2).
So Men of INTENTION, with just this one idolatry highlighted…what has you pinned down? What are you hanging on to? What is keeping you from treasuring the Lord ABOVE all other things? Is it time for radical action?
