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Christianity was supposed to be about becoming like Jesus. | |
We went in the wrong direction. |
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How Corruption Works
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| Corruption is usually
understood to be something good going bad. Since we are all born
ignorant and selfish, whatever “good” we obtain is often hard won,
fleeting, and vulnerable. The Christian has the opportunity to excel in
goodness as a result of the work that the Holy Spirit may be allowed to
do in us. Corruption for a Christian might be considered a return to
our natural state. A mother may warn her child to look both ways before crossing the street. In such a warning can be the estimation of what might happen or the painful experiential knowledge of what can go wrong. Learning through the experience of others is generally less painful than learning through our own experiences. The history of Israel can be useful in this regard as providing us numerous examples of how things can go wrong (1Cor 10:11). Dissatisfaction. (Num 11:4-6), Bad marriages (Jdg 3:6-7), Short memory (Jdg 4:1), Follow the world (1Sam 8:5), Fearfulness (Num 13:33-14:1), Complacency (Deut 6:10-12), Shameless (Ezk 16:54), Pride (Hos 5:5), Stubbornness (Ex 32:9), Ignorance (Luke 19:44), and Vanity (Matt 6:2). Rather than look down on Israel for their many failures, we should keep humble hearts and examine ourselves to see to what degree we as individuals are also vulnerable to that in us which is drawn to the flesh and the world and away from our Savior. The bible uses the illustration of “a little leaven leavening the whole loaf”. Most people today do not make their own bread so the pervasiveness of yeast growing in bread dough is not so familiar as it once was. Jesus warned his disciples of the hypocrisy (pretense) of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians by comparing such pretense to leaven. The take away from the illustration is that dabbling with pretense ends up imprisoning one in self-deception. Just as a ship only one degree off course at the start can quickly become lost at sea, our journey through life can end up much further from what we desire by the smallest compromises and indulgences that tend to increase like the growth of yeast. For example, complacency may not seem a significant problem. However, the elevation of one’s own comfort can lead one to avoid the pursuit of truth, stiffening resolve to remain faithful, or lack the courage to face difficult issues. Once a false direction is allowed in life, we tend to at first excuse it, then justify it, and then take pride in it. This tendency of the flesh can lock in error. While the vigilant prevention of error can be a good practice, it can also exclude that which might be helpful in growth or even correct unknown error. One way to minimize these sort of corruptions is to be actively seeking growth and maturity in faith. This often requires a reexamination of existing beliefs and practices in light of new information. Considering that we might be in need of new beliefs or practices is often unsettling. However, the Christian should be actively seeking out truth and open to applying it. While corrupting influences may not be preventable, they can be identified and corrective steps taken. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: - Colossians 3:8-10 |
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Information about Christianity and the Christian life. |
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