01
Sep '22
Does it Really Matter?
01
Sep '22
Colossians 2: 21 (Msg)
Don’t’ touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this! Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?
Without reading the Scripture in context, one would think that Paul is telling the Believers how to live a life pleasing to God. However, Paul is actually condemning the teaching of some who claim that abstinence from particular dietary food and drinks, not touching dead bodies, graves, or unclean people, and adhering to specific Jewish laws such as circumcision would make one more spiritual. Paul is writing this letter to remind the Believers at Colosse and you and I that our holiness/righteousness comes not from what we do or do not do but from God’s grace alone.
As a young teenage Christian, I remember being taught that wearing pants, makeup (especially lipstick), listening to anything but Gospel music, or dancing was sinful. Therefore, I reframed from all the above to maintain a holy walk with God. Over time though, instead of me developing a closer walk with God, my heart became judgmental towards those who didn’t practice such spiritual disciplines, thus inhibiting my relational fellowship with God. As I grew more spiritually mature, I realized that our relationship with Him must be a personal walk. What I mean is that what you may feel comfortable doing, I may not; vice versa. God does not call me to judge your heart, nor you mine; judgment is done by God for those who do not believe; you and I have been made free in Christ.
Yet, on the other hand, you and I are responsible for lovingly confronting the explicit sinful behavior of my brothers and sisters in Christ through exhortation and encouragement with the Word. The Bible tells us in Hebrew 3: 12-14a to spiritually watch out for one another. It says, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Father, I pray for myself and my SistahGurls; please give us loving and discerning hearts. Help us to love those You have placed in our lives and properly discern right from wrong, unnecessary spiritual rituals from necessary spiritual disciplines. Help us to know what really matters to You.
