One common false assumption on achieving and possessing relevance is that we must "change with the times". This thinking tends to hold up to logic. But as Christians, we must remember that Isaiah 55 teaches us that "His ways are not our ways." To attempt to reevaluate positions every time popular opinion changes, would require a Christian to devote the lion's share of his time to figuring out where he stands based on the newest surge in mainstream thinking! This, of course, is no way to live.
Finding a place of security and consistency within a set of standards and principles is the only way for a Christian to maintain true relevance- lining up with how the Lord teaches us to lead our lives. Establishing what your convictions are must be the first step in finding that place of consistency. Taking the Bible for what it is- our roadmap through life- we may navigate the topsy-turvy, ever-changing landscape that is our life's path with relative ease. Only through the right use of Scriptural teachings applied to our everyday lives may we conquer the spirit of change and compromise that permeates the world system. In the central verse of the Bible's longest chapter we read that, "For ever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven." Taking the eternal and always relevant principles of Scripture as our guide and stay is the only way to stay consistent. Any other attempt at maintaining a walk with Christ absent Bible principles will produce an epic "fail"!
When we labor in the flesh, we become weak. It is then that we are "prone to wander" as Robert Robinson so aptly put it in his hymn Come Thou Fount. It is in these dangerous times of living outside the influence of Scripture that we can become tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. "Maybe the twilight series isn't all that bad." "Maybe wearing my skirt just a little shorter won't hurt anybody." "I can spend a little less time visiting and it will be ok." "I can miss Wednesday night...I mean, I'm no religious freak or anything like that." "Maybe my friends at work are right..."
Undoubtedly, questions of these types will haunt us at one time or another. It is in these moments of uncertainty that we must reflect back upon that unchanging and ever true resource, the Bible. Using it as our constant guide and as a template for our behaviors, we can avoid the temptation to ease into the mainstream way of doing and thinking.
We are hard-pressed to find models of consistency in this world today. So many that at one time held to truth have let their grip loosen, and even letting loose just a bit has caused them to lose hold of truth altogether. That is the risk in loosening your hold on truth: things move and change so quickly that where you dropped it is not where you will find it. You cannot go back to that place because you have been swept so far along so swiftly that you would never find that initial moment in time where you chose to let up on your convictions for just a moment. Even a hesitation or quick lapse in judgment can leave you in unfamiliar territory as the world has changed around you. So cling ever so tightly to the only thing that stands firm and true in an increasingly unstable world- the Bible. Let it be your consistency. Follow its leading on a path to success, and you will never regret it, even if at times you seem "out of touch" with the fads and trends of this fickle world.
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