God’s Opinion of Virginity

Posted on May 20, 2024 by russellmckinney

Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, “When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.” Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. Her father must say to them, “I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. The elders must then take the man and punish him. They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver, which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her. But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin. The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 22:13-21, New Living Translation)

According to its website, the National Center for Health Statistics (NSFG) “gathers information on pregnancy and births, marriage and cohabitation, infertility, use of contraception, family life, and general and reproductive health.” Its latest completed round of interviewing, with published results, covers the years 2017-2019. During those years the NSFG interviewed 6,141 women and 5,206 men. All those interviewed were between the ages of 15-49 and were either currently married or had been married at least once. (I should probably point out that Kansas and Hawaii actually do allow 15-year-olds to legally marry.)

In regards to premarital sex, 89.3% of those surveyed women and 93.4% of those surveyed men said they had engaged in premarital sex. Both of those percentages were increases from the 2015-2017 interview period, which reported that 85.9% of similar women and 90.3% of similar men had engaged in premarital sex. If these numbers paint an even remotely correct picture of premarital sex in America, it is indeed a very troubling one.

Standing in stark contrast to America’s current mocking of virginity, we have our text passage, which was a part of God’s Old Testament law. How highly was virginity valued in a newlywed Jewish girl in ancient Israel? If her husband’s initial sex with her led him to conclude that she wasn’t a virgin when she married him, he could take her to court before the elders of his town and formally charge her with shameful conduct. At that point, the burden of proof for the girl’s premarital virginity would fall to her parents. In order to clear her of the charge, they had to produce proof of her virginity. This proof would have been in the form of a blood-stained bedsheet or a blood-stained garment from the wedding night.

If the girl’s parents were able to produce this proof, the husband who had made the false accusation was to be punished, fined 100 pieces of silver, and never allowed to divorce the girl. Presumably, the word “punished” refers to the man being whipped. As for the 100 pieces of silver, they were to be paid to the girl’s father because the good name of his family had been soiled by the false accusation. Not only had the accusation cast his daughter in a bad light, it had cast him and his wife in one for not being able to raise a sexually pure daughter.

But on the other hand, if the girl’s parents were not able to produce the required proof that the girl truly was a virgin when she got married, the required sentence for her was death by stoning. She was to be taken to the door of her father’s home and stoned there by the men of the town. By doing the stoning at the door of the home in which the girl was raised, a stigma would be associated with that home. Also, the girl’s parents would recall the memory of her stoning every time they entered the home. That memory would serve to remind them that they had somehow failed her in her upbringing.

Okay, so am I advocating that we implement God’s Old Testament law here in America? No, I’m not. I’m simply pointing out that law’s standard in regards to virginity and using that standard as evidence of just how highly God values virginity. In other words, if you want to know what God thinks about premarital sex in America becoming about as common as dirt, Deuteronomy 22:13-21 will give you your answer.

As a closing reminder, Hebrews 13:4 still says: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (N.K.J.V.). The teaching of this verse is simple: Any sexual activity that is done anywhere besides the confines of marriage is sin and is therefore worthy of God’s judgment. That’s not hypothetical Old Testament law, either. It’s New Testament fact.

If we can believe the statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, 89% of American women and 93% of American men either don’t know that teaching or don’t fear it enough to bring their lives in line with it. Obviously, no Americans are getting stoned to death with rocks these days, but God does have other forms of judgment, and I have no doubt that America is experiencing them in one way or another right now. This is just one more way in which the American train has derailed, and I find it simply impossible to believe that any real changes will ever occur apart from Christ’s Second Coming.

Posted in Capital Punishment, Children, Current Events, Fatherhood, God's Judgment, Lust, Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal Holiness, Sanctification, Sex, Sin, Singleness, The Death Penalty, The Old Testament Law | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mitchell County (We’re Not All Leaving)

Posted on May 17, 2024 by russellmckinney

In March of 2024, the United States Census Bureau released its 2023 county population estimates for North Carolina. Of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 85 of them had either grown in population or at least remained almost identically the same in terms of population since the previous year’s census. The other 15 counties had experienced a loss in population.

Guess which list my county, Mitchell, made. As has been the trend for the past several years, we experienced a loss in population (-.03, a decrease of 49 people). By contrast, the counties that surround us experienced gains: Avery (+.01, an increase of 20 people), Yancey (+.09, an increase of 170 people), and McDowell (+.03, an increase of 138 people).

While a decrease of 49 people might not seem all that significant, it becomes very significant when it fits into a larger pattern that has been playing itself out for several years now. In 2011, our county’s estimated population was 15,356, but according to the 2023 estimates, it now stands at 14,999. That, by the way, is in spite of increases of 72 people in 2021 and 73 in 2022, increases which momentarily had stopped the downward plummet that had been occurring since at least 2011. With these latest numbers, those years of 2021 and 2022 now look more like anomalies than evidences of permanent fixes.

I could write a book on the topic of Mitchell’s declining population. In one chapter, I could describe once thriving furniture factories being shut down. In another chapter, I could explain how our high school went from being 3A when I was there 40+ years ago to being 2A to now being 1A. In a chapter about recent events, I could mention that this coming August the student populations of our two middle schools will be combined for the first time and begin attending a newly built middle school. But what would be the point of writing such a book? No one around here needs to read a book to know that these occurrences don’t indicate long-term numeric vibrancy.

To the credit of some of our local folks, they are working hard to address the problem even though they are not in lock step as to how to go about it. Some of them are trying to make Mitchell County a hotbed for tourism. Others want to focus upon the local arts community and push that angle hard. And then there are those who are trying to attract new textile businesses into the county.

Of course, standing indifferent to all of these efforts are the residents who like our county just the way it is. As you might guess, these are the people who have the local setup licked and don’t want it altered to favor anyone else. These people remind me of so many “family run” churches in that their attitude is: “As long as me and mine are fine, I really don’t care about anybody else.”

There is, however, one other thing that I know about Mitchell County: I know it is where God has placed me. Call it “blooming where you’re planted.” Call it “lighting a candle in the midst of the darkness.” Call it whatever you like, but this is where Tonya and I are supposed to be right now. This is where I’m to pastor a church called Roan Mountain Baptist Church. This is where I’m to write posts for this blog. This is where I’m to do a radio broadcast each week. This is where I’m to vote. This is where I’m to pay local taxes. This is where I’m to do all the rest of the things I do (with the exception of going on vacation).

Who knows? Maybe one day God will do some uprooting and plant me and Tonya somewhere else. Then again, maybe He won’t. But no matter how God leads us in the days to come, I understand that His will is perfect and His plan is best. As Adrian Rogers, the longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, used to say, “God’s will is what you would want for yourself if you had enough sense to want it.” Well, I’ve got enough sense to want it, even if it means staying on in a county where the population numbers are declining. And, at least for now and the foreseeable future, that’s exactly what it means.

Posted in Adversity, Business, Church, Commitment, Contentment, Current Events, Faithfulness, God's Omnipotence, God's Will, God's Work, Individuality, Influence, Ministry, Obedience, Pastors, Personal, Problems, Prosperity, Service, Submission, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Words

Posted on May 15, 2024 by russellmckinney

Kent Crockett is a Bible teacher who is the President of Making Life Count Ministries. Like many of us, he is old enough to understand what the terms “8mm home movie camera,” “VHS,” and “VCR” mean. In reference to these items, he tells the following story from his past:

Years ago my wife and I recorded many of our family highlights using an 8mm home movie camera. We collected years of precious memories in numerous spools of film, which became antiquated after the invention of video cameras. Some friends living in another state offered to combine all our films into one videotape. We gladly accepted their generous offer and sent them our films.

Our friends placed an 8mm home movie camera in their living room to project our movies. They also set up a VHS video camera pointed at the screen and recorded the films while the other camera’s reels turned. They sent the completed videotape to us.

Cindy and I were anxious to watch the tape of our old movies. We brought out the popcorn and inserted the video into our VCR. But that’s where the fun stopped. As we beheld our old home movie films on videotape, we also listened to our friends’ remarks. They had not realized that when they recorded our films, the video camera also taped their critical comments about us!

When the videotape began, they started making fun of us. As the film continued to roll, their comments turned vicious. With every new scene came a cutting remark or hurtful joke. Daggers entered my heart as I listened to what our friends honestly thought about us. My wife was devastated.

Our friends looked at us through judgmental glasses. Although they were cordial to our faces, the video recorded the true thoughts of their hearts.

The Bible features numerous passages that are downright terrifying, and one of them is Matthew 12:36-37. In those verses, Jesus gives us an ominous warning:

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (N.K.J.V.)

When we consider this awesome weight our words carry, not just in this life but in the “day of judgment,” I think you’ll agree with me that our frequent prayer should be David’s from Psalm 141:3:

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.(N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Character, Communication, Discipleship, Doing Good, Friendship, God's Judgment, Lying, Personal Holiness, Reward, Sanctification, Sin, The Tongue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Those Children of Israel

Posted on May 13, 2024 by russellmckinney

In Deuteronomy chapter 5, the elderly Moses calls all of Israel together for an assembly and recites again to them The Ten Commandments that God had given them many years earlier at Mount Sinai (5:1-22). Not only did those Commandments serve as the beginning of that entire body of law God gave to Israel, they also served as that law’s moral heart and center. This explains why Moses, after publicly restating The Ten Commandments, went on to say as part of that same speech:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

In Sunday School one morning, little Joey raised his hand to ask a question that had been on his mind for some time. His conversation with the teacher went like this:

Joey: “Sir, there’s something I just can’t figure out.”

Teacher: “Alright, Joey, what is it?”

Joey: “The children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, right?”

Teacher: “That’s right.”

Joey: “And the children of Israel beat up the Philistines, right?”

Teacher: “Yes, they won many battles against the Philistines.”

Joey: “And the children of Israel built the Temple, didn’t they?”

Teacher: “That’s correct.”

Joey: “And the children of Israel did a lot of other important things too, right?”

Teacher: “Yes, they did.”

Joey: “Okay, what I want to know is, what were all the grown-ups doing?”

I guess little Joey didn’t understand that the Jewish parents had the responsibility of teaching God’s commandments to their kids. That teaching was to be done creatively in all kinds of ways and in all kinds of settings. It was to be done while the family was sitting in the house and walking along the road. It was to be the last thing the children heard when they went to bed at night and the first thing they heard when they got up in the morning. It was to be bound as a sign on the hands of the children, which could symbolically have meant that everything a child’s hands did was to be controlled by God’s commandments. Likewise, it was to be bound on the children’s foreheads, which could symbolically have meant that everything a child’s mind thought was to be controlled by God’s commandments.

You see, God wanted Jewish families to be absolutely saturated with His commandments. That was the meaning behind Moses’ words, “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Regardless of how hyper literally God intended for Jewish parents to take that writing assignment, there was no denying that He wanted all of Jewish life to be filtered through His commandments. Not only were Jewish parents themselves expected to live the commandments, those parents were also expected to teach their children how to live those commandments.

While it’s true that Gentiles today are not required to keep the Old Testament’s Jewish law, the fact is that various New Testament passages make nine of The Ten Commandments commandments for Christians as well. The one Commandment that isn’t carried over into Christianity is the fourth one, the one about keeping the Sabbath day. The New Testament teaches that a Christian should not be judged in regards to keeping a Sabbath day because the keeping of Sabbath days was merely a shadow of the eternal rest for the soul Jesus would provide through His life, death, and resurrection (Matthew 11:28-30; Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 4:9-11). With that one exception, though, we Christians are like the Old Testament’s Jewish parents in that we are to ourselves live out God’s prescribed commandments and teach our children to do the same.

So, Christian parent, how are you doing on that? Do your kids see you living God’s commandments for you? And are you consistently and creatively teaching those kids to live those same commandments? Once you have held your child in your arms for the first time, your job as a role model/teacher begins, and death is the only thing than can ever end it. You are supposed to be on this job as you are sitting in your house, traveling down the road, going to bed at night, and getting out of bed in the morning. Summing up the situation, you are supposed to make your entire home, and by extension your whole life, a display for the keeping and teaching of God’s commandments. That really is what us “grown-ups” are supposed to be doing, and the better job we do of it, the better off our kids will be.

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Children, Commitment, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Family, Fatherhood, God's Work, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Righteousness, Sanctification, Sin, The Old Testament Law, Youth | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

That’s What Christians Do Now

Posted on May 10, 2024 by russellmckinney

Here’s a piece that was written some time ago by the late Donald E. Wildmon, who at the time was the President of the American Family Association. The piece has been passed around for several years now, and so maybe you’ve read it. If you haven’t, I hope you will find it thought-provoking. Wildmon writes:

In 1973 The Supreme Court said it was ok to kill unborn babies. Since then, we have killed more than the entire population of Canada. And it continues. A woman’s choice? Half of those who have died in their mothers’ wombs have been women. They didn’t have a choice. It is called abortion.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

First it was in dingy, dirty theaters. Then, convenience stores. Then, grocery stores. Then on television. Now it is in the homes of millions via the Internet. It is called pornography.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

They called it no-fault. Why should we blame anyone when something so tragic happens? Haven’t they already suffered enough? Half of the marriages in America end this way. The children suffered. The family broke down. It is called divorce.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

At one time it was a perversion. We kept it secret. We secured help and hope for those who practiced it. Now it is praised. We have parades celebrating it, and elected officials give it their blessing. Now it is endowed with special privileges and protected by special laws. Even some Christian leaders and denominations praise it. It is called homosexuality.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

It used to be an embarrassment. A shame. Now a third of all births are to mothers who aren’t married. Two-thirds of all African-American children are born into a home without a father. The state usually pays the tab. That is why we pay out taxes, so that government can take the place of parents. After all, government bureaucrats know much better how to raise children than parents do. It is called illegitimacy.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

At one time it was wrong. But then the state decided to legalize it, promote it and tax it. It has ripped apart families and destroyed lives. But just look at all the money the state has raised. No longer do we teach our children to study and work hard. Now we teach them they can get something for nothing. We spend millions encouraging people to join the fun and excitement. Just look at the big sums that people are winning. They will never have to work again! It is called gambling.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

Not long ago, Christians were the good guys. But now any positive image of Christians in movies or on TV is gone. We are now depicted as the bad guys – greedy, narrow-minded hypocrites. The teacher can’t have a Bible on her desk, but can have Playboy. We don’t have Christmas and Easter holidays – just winter and spring break. We can’t pray in school, but can use foul language. It’s called being tolerant.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

Yes, all these things came to pass within 30 years. Where were the Christians? Why, they were in church. All these things are for someone else to deal with. Times have changed. Involvement has been replaced with apathy.

But don’t blame me. I didn’t do anything. I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

Posted in Abortion, Church, Church Attendance, Current Events, Divorce, Gambling, Government, Homosexuality, Politics, Sex, Sin, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Idolatry

Posted on May 8, 2024 by russellmckinney

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (1 John 5:21, N.K.J.V.)

The Old Testament’s history of Israel is dominated by the Jews committing the sin of idolatry. Even though the first two commandments of Israel’s law prohibited idolatry, the Jews still succumbed with shocking frequency to the worship of false gods. These false gods were the gods of the inhabitants of Canaan, the people the Jews were supposed to have eradicated from the land before taking possession of it. The fact that the Jews didn’t do a thorough enough job in regards to that assignment set them up for centuries of failure at resisting Canaan’s gods.

Eventually, however, the Jews did fully repent of the sin of idolatry. It took God severely punishing them by allowing the Assyrians to conquer Israel’s northern kingdom (which ended that kingdom) and the Babylonians to conquer Israel’s southern kingdom, but after centuries of breaking the first two commandments of God’s law, the Jews finally did quit with that form of idolatry altogether. This explains why Jesus didn’t have to preach against the sins of fashioning idols and worshiping them.

What Jesus did, instead, was preach against a more subtle kind of idolatry. For example, He said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24, N.K.J.V.) Do you see how that quote makes serving mammon (riches, material wealth) a form of idolatry? Furthermore, He hinted at this same teaching in His conversation with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23) as well as in His parable about the rich man who planned to tear down his barns and build bigger barns (Luke 12:16-21).

It’s also probably not a stretch to say that Jesus classified the Pharisees’ and the Scribes’ incessant craving to be honored by the common people as idolatry (Matthew 23:6-7; Luke 11:43). The same can be said of the Sadducees’ desire to keep control of everything that went on at the Jewish temple (Matthew 3:7; Matthew 16:5-12). Therefore, we can see that even though Jesus didn’t speak against the Old Testament’s version of idolatry (at least not according to the record of the gospels), He did speak against making false gods of money, prestige, and power. Along these same lines, God would later inspire Paul to label all covetousness as idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

So, is the idolatry described in the New Testament exclusively the less overt kind of idolatry? No, it isn’t. In the wake of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, the apostles had to hit the old kind of idolatry head on as they took the gospel to the Gentiles and began winning thousands of them to Christ. Whereas the Jews had long ago stopped worshiping man-made images as gods, that brand of idolatry was still pervasive among the Gentiles. In addition to our text verse for this post, this is clearly on display in passages such as: Acts 17:22-34; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 10:7; 10:14-22; Galatians 4:8; 5:19-21; and 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10.

But what about our day and age? What kind of idolatry exists today? The answer is, pretty much all kinds. There are still some primitive people who worship graven images, and there are plenty more people who worship money, prestige, power, etc. Basically, anything that a person puts ahead of the true and living God in his or her life can be called an idol. That can be a relationship, a job, a pursuit, a hobby, or just about anything else we want to put on the list. You name it, if it’s getting more of your time, energy, zeal, money, and devotion than God is, you’ve got yourself a false god and you are committing the sin of idolatry.

Then, of course, there are the false gods of the Hindu religion. Supposedly, there are 330 million gods in Hinduism. This is illustrated by the story of the Christian missionary who was one day walking along a street that ran beside the Ganges River. Suddenly, he came upon a native woman who was standing and looking out at the water. In her arms was a sickly, whining infant, and at her side stood a beautiful, strong, healthy little boy.

When the missionary stopped and began a conversation with the woman, she told him that she was in deep distress and was considering giving an offering to her god, the Ganges River. Naturally, the missionary took the opportunity to tell her about Jesus and ask her to believe in Christ as Savior. But in response to hearing the gospel, the woman only shook her head and would not heed Christ’s call. After some time had passed, and with his efforts producing no results, the missionary left and went on to his other duties.

Later, when the missionary returned to the spot, he found the woman still there, but now she was sitting and rocking the sickly child in her arms. Tears were streaming down her face and she was moaning loudly. Missing from the scene was the strong, healthy son that had been standing by her side. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened. To appease her god, the woman had sacrificed her healthy child to the river’s crocodiles. That was her way of offering her best to her god.

Let me close by encouraging you, Christian, to examine your own life and be honest as to whether or not you are making a false god of something or someone. And if you must admit that you have such an idol in your life, it’s obvious what you need to do. Confess your sin, repent of your idolatry, and bring that something or someone under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus might want you to give up that thing or that person altogether, or He might just want you to bring a more balanced approach to the whole situation, but whatever He tells you to do, do it. You see, until you repent of your idolatry, you really aren’t much better than either than the idolaters of the Old Testament or the New Testament. Yes, I know that’s hard preaching, but it’s the truth nonetheless.

Posted in Backsliding, Balance, Commitment, Confession, Discipleship, Idolatry, Priorities, Repentance, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Look for the Best

Posted on May 6, 2024 by russellmckinney

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8, N.L.T.)

A Baptist preacher of another day wrote this:

Don’t ever send a buzzard out to report on the landscape. He’ll fly over all kinds of beautiful flowers, green meadows, blue lakes and gorgeous mountain ranges; and when he comes back and you ask, “Buzzard, what did you see?” he will answer, “I saw a dead cow covered with maggots and big purple flies.” That buzzard may have flown over ten thousand beautiful flowers and trees and placid lakes to see maggots and flies on cows. Being a buzzard caused him to see that.

But send a honeybee out to report on the landscape, and when he returns ask him, “Honeybee, what did you see?” and you will hear a different story: “I saw ten million little flowers filled with nectar, and I got all I could take and added it to my honeycomb. My! I must have made a pint of honey today!” It flew over the dead cow and didn’t see it. It was looking for something else – flowers.

If you look for the worst, you will probably find it. If you look for the best, you will find that down the road too. SO GO THROUGH LIFE LOOKING FOR THE BEST.

Our text verse tells us to fix our thoughts on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. That’s another way of saying, “Go through life looking for the best rather than the worst.” Unfortunately, the worst is usually easier to spot. That is not to say, though, that the best isn’t out there too if we are willing to search for it.

Keep this in mind, Christian, whenever life funnels you through a difficult season. Right there in the midst of your struggling, pain, disappointment, and frustration, look for the good in all the bad. Ask the Lord to help you reprogram your mind so that you can fixate on everything that is right rather than on everything that is wrong. And wherever you find something that is (to use Paul’s description from the conclusion of our text) “worthy of praise,” take the time to actually praise the One who has blessed you with that particular thing.

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Balance, Complaining, Criticism, Depression, Disappointment, God's Love, God's Provision, Human Life, Leadership, Loneliness, Praise, Problems, Sickness, Suffering, Trials, Worry | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Jesus & Social Media

Posted on May 4, 2024 by russellmckinney

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31, N.K.J.V.)

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:17, N.K.J.V.)

Let’s say that a known drug addict named Jack gets arrested yet again for possessing drugs and his picture ends up on Facebook as part of the local Sheriff Department’s page. Under that post, one Christian writes the comment: “Drug addiction is a disease. We need to pray for Jack.” But then another Christian responds by typing, “If drug addiction is a disease, it’s the only one you get by using drugs.” That prompts the first Christian to reply, “Jesus said, ‘Judge not that you be not judged.’” To that, the second Christian types back, “He also said, ‘Judge with righteous judgment,’ and my righteous judgment tells me not to waste my prayer time praying for drug addicts who’ve already had multiple chances to repent.” And just like that, the scripturally worthy topics of intercessory prayer, personal accountability for sin, judging others, and showing spiritual discernment have been dragged down into the mud of social media. 

Did you know there is an actual meme that quotes Jesus’ words from Luke 22:36: “…and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one”? Accompanying that slice of scripture is a picture of a gun followed by the words: “Obey Jesus, buy a gun.” So, let’s say that a Christian (one who doesn’t care that a quote from Jesus has been brutally ripped out of its context) posts that meme on his X (formerly Twitter) page. That, in turn, gets another Christian to type the reply, “Jesus also said, ‘Love your enemies and turn the other cheek.’” In response to that, the first Christian cites Psalm 144:1, where David says, “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle” (N.K.J.V.). Can you imagine the negative influence those two Christians bickering back and forth, both of them quoting the Bible, would have on a lost person who happened to be reading and was forming an opinion of Christianity?

Such is the world of social media. Even well-meaning Christians can find themselves wandering down controversial paths in regards to their posts and comments. But is social media really the place for “keyboard warriors for Jesus” to go to war? I suppose some good can come of it, but that good will have a hard time outdoing the bad that gets created by the disrespectful, negative, and even offensive language these warriors often resort to using.

This, of course, is to say nothing of the professing Christians who lace their social media pages with personal pictures that scream of vanity, narcissism, and worldliness. Seriously, is there any way for a supposedly Christian woman to post a selfie of herself looking “hot” and it be done “to the glory of God”? Is there any way for a supposedly Christian man to post of selfie of himself partying in a bar and it be done “in the name of the Lord Jesus”?

Look, it’s not that I’m against Facebook, Instagram, X, TiK ToK, or whatever other social media platforms are out there. I myself use Facebook and X to advertise my blog posts and use Facebook to advertise my sermons. I’d just like to see us Christians do a better job of harnessing social media for the purposes of evangelism and discipleship and stop using it so much as a soap box to advance our political agendas, bludgeon those who disagree with our takes on controversial topics, and glorify our own selves. Maybe we should all stop asking, “What would Jesus do?” and start asking, “What would Jesus post?”

I guess when it’s all said and done, my advice concerning social media would be this: Don’t put anything on there that you wouldn’t feel comfortable letting Jesus see. I mean, after all, He IS seeing it, right? Here’s a good test for you, Christian: Study your posts, comments, pictures, memes, videos, etc. as if you were a lost person assessing them and be honest about what impressions you are left with about you. You might just be surprised at the portrait you are painting of yourself.

You see, if your walk with Jesus isn’t life changing enough to keep your social media activity done to the glory of God, in the name of Jesus, and (dare I say it?) holy, then what have you got that lost people don’t have? Think about this the next time you start to post something or make a comment under someone else’s post, and let the Lord guide you in what you put out there for the world to see. Remember, you aren’t just representing yourself; you are also representing your Savior. And He might want you to use social media in a much different way than you plan to use it.

Posted in Character, Communication, Current Events, Discernment, Discipleship, Doing Good, Evangelism, God's Work, Gun Control, Influence, Personal, Personal Holiness, Righteousness, Sanctification, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Incredible Power of Showing Kindness

Posted on May 2, 2024 by russellmckinney

The Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, was once a world-renowned health resort. Opening its doors in 1866, the Sanitarium eventually grew into a massive complex that included a hospital, a nursing school, and multiple research facilities that were all designed to further the causes of health and wellness. The Sanitarium catered especially to the wealthy, and the likes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, J.C. Penny, and Amelia Earhart spent time there.

The Sanitarium was a place where new (sometimes even controversial) treatments were tried. These included treatments involving hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, dietary nutrition, and physical exercise. Scientific experimentation also took place in the research facilities, and one story from those days was told by Dr. Carolyn Geisel, who became a noted speaker who traveled around the world to promote the work being done at the Sanitarium. Her story might seem a bit cruel to our modern sensibilities, but keep in mind that she and her coworkers were in the business of thinking outside the box in their efforts to figure out what makes for heath and wellness. Her story goes as follows:

There came to the building where we lived and worked the cutest little pup I ever saw. We all fell in love with him. He was so anxious to show us his appreciation of our affection that he wagged his tail with such enthusiasm that his whole body wagged along with it. He was the happiest pup I ever saw. We took him into the operating room, gave him an anesthetic, and probed the bone in one of his rear legs. The marrow was a beautiful pink, filled with red corpuscles. We carefully bound up the wound, and it healed almost overnight.

Then we passed the word around that no one was to smile at the pup or speak in a kind tone of voice for six weeks. We fed him as always, but nobody petted him or showed any affection. The poor little pup just wilted. He became the most forlorn little dog I ever saw. He crept into the dark corners, and his tail dragged the ground. We took him back to the operating room and examined the marrow in the same bone. It was a dark brownish color, and the red corpuscles were very scarce. It took the wound a long time to heal, despite the fact that we showered all of our pent-up affection on the little puppy. He responded very slowly to our overtones, and it took a long, long time to get him to wag his tail again. When his enthusiasm was finally restored, we took him again to the operating room and found the marrow in the bone was pink and beautiful again.

I really have no idea what correlation might exist between the color of a puppy’s bone marrow and how that pup is treated, but I do know that the Bible has a lot to say about being kind. This holds true especially in regards to Christianity. Consider the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V., emphasis mine):

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…(Ephesians 5:22-23)

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Love suffers long and is kind…(1 Corinthians 13:4)

Getting more specific, the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the power of showing kindness in one’s speech. Here are five such verses:

The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:11)

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health. (Proverbs 12:18)

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. (Proverbs 31:26)

Keep both categories of verses in mind, Christian, as you deal with others. Show kindness in your actions and speak words of kindness that promote life rather than death. Even if you must rebuke someone — and, yes, that can be a way of showing kindness when done rightly (Galatians 2:11-14) — do it with the goal in mind of helping the person and making the situation better. To sum up, be kind in every situation, whatever form of kindness the situation needs. You just never know what effect you might have on someone’s marrow.

Posted in Character, Communication, Counsel, Criticism, Doing Good, Encouragement, Friendship, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, Problems, Reconciliation, The Tongue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Holy Spirit: The Secret to Serving Rightly

Posted on April 30, 2024 by russellmckinney

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5, N.I.V.)

Christian, you’ve probably heard that you need to work smarter rather than harder. But have you heard that the secret to you working smarter is you making sure your efforts are ordained by, ordered by, and empowered by God the Holy Spirit? You see, the indwelling Holy Spirit doesn’t just want to be resident in you; He wants to be President in you.

This fact holds true in every realm of your life, including the realm of your Christian service. Show me a Christian who is either “burned out” or “out of heart” in the midst of Christian service, and I’ll show you a Christian who is either doing more than the Holy Spirit is asking or is doing something different than the Holy Spirit is asking. Sadly, both problems are very real. The burned-out Christian does too much, and the out-of-heart Christian does the wrong things.

On the topic of how the Holy Spirit is the secret to right service for the Christian, let me offer an extended quote from Ralph A. Herring, a Southern Baptist minister of a previous generation. In his book, God Being My Helper, he wrote:

The great majority of Christ’s followers today know the importance of service and have sensed something of the joys that may be found in it. Christians readily agree that serving is their one great business as it was their Lord’s, who came “not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Matt. 20:28). They are busy enough. Indeed, there is ceaseless, almost feverish activity of an undoubtedly well-meaning nature. A study of the announcements in almost any church bulletin reveals many such “activities” – multiplied almost to the breaking point of those who seriously take part in them. The urge to serve is seen in civic clubs and social organizations as well as in the church. But to the thoughtful observer something is wrong. “Where does it get us?” he asks, and, more thoughtfully yet, “Where does it get others?” The painful answer is that so much of what we call “service” proves ineffectual. The tree is full of leaves, but little fruit abides. Unhappily, a great portion of our activity falls under the classification of “dead works.” The truth is that the vitalizing touch of the Holy Spirit is missing from our busy life. In the realm of service he is our supreme helper, and our ministry as well as our devotional life must be energized by him.

With this quote in mind, Christian, let me ask you a simple question: Are all those “good” things you are doing in your attempts at Christian service ordained by, ordered by, and empowered by God the Holy Spirit? It’s a fair question because it’s possible that you are doing some things the Spirit isn’t sanctioning and not doing some things He is sanctioning. And if that is the case, it goes without saying that you need to make the necessary changes. To use Paul’s terminology from our text verse, you need to live in accordance with the Spirit and set your mind on what the Spirit desires. That is the secret to doing Christian service rightly.

Posted in Discernment, Doing Good, God's Guidance, God's Will, God's Work, Individuality, Ministry, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Talents, The Holy Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment