(2 Thessalonians 3:6)
Professional football player Ray Lewis was in jail
in Atlanta, charged with double murder after the Super Bowl last January. There was much press coverage and
he ultimately pled to an obstruction of justice charge. One thing that came out of that case
was his choice of associates. Even though he was not guilty of the murders,
he was very guilty of hanging-out with the wrong people. Many in the church
have taken this verse from Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonica and
have used it to say Christians should separate themselves from the lost. I
totally disagree with that philosophy. Jesus was the one that told us we
are the salt of the earth, and that we are to let our light shine before
men. I have always contended that our loudest witness is not what we say,
but how we live. We have an obligation and responsibility to God to share
the love of Christ and the Good News with the lost. We also have an
obligation to be aware of the people we hang-out with.
We can accomplish our God-given responsibility to witness without
hanging-out or being closely associated with the wrong people. We do that
by witnessing, living correctly before these people in public and social
settings. Hanging-out is defined as being close friends and spending lots of
time together. I am a firm believer that we should not abandon our friends
who are lost, but we don't have to be as closely associated with them as we
were before we found Christ in our life either. After all, those who
are lost are going to want to be places, doing things that as a Christian
you can no longer do. That fact alone will begin to separate you. Abandon
them, cut off all communication with them.....no. But you can never go back
and be with them and hang-out with them as you once did, because you now have
different priorities in your life that they don't have.
I write this because this problem exists at all stages in life. It is most
pronounced amongst young adults in junior and senior high, but is just as
much a problem for those in college and even adults in the business world.
Peer pressure knows no age. It is with us our entire life. The key to this
problem again is in your personal relationship and commitment to Christ.
Once you have made that commitment, you simply cannot go to the same
places and do the same things you once did. That will keep you from
associating with old friends and acquaintances who are lost and still living
in a world of sin. Your associations with those people will be less
frequent, and in places where you are not going to have to possibly
compromise your walk with Christ. In many instances your old friends may
simply not want to be around you because your new life reminds them of the
sin in their own life. Do what you can to keep the communication lines
open, because there will come a day, just as it did in your life, when they want a better way to live.
That is only possible through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I love you and care about you deeply. I want to always be here to help you
along this journey we are on together. I am more convinced than ever He has raised up this
Internet site as a mighty beacon of light to the lost and hurting. I am
going to do everything I can to make sure we are here to help hurting
people. It is no accident our lives have come together at this moment in
history. I am always here for you, and I am so touched by how so many of
you are standing with me as we share Christ's love with the world via this
great new technology. Thank you for praying, thank you for caring, and thank you on behalf of the tens
of thousands we minister to each and every day here at Liveprayer.com.
Together we are making a difference in the lives of people worldwide every
day.
