1 Peter 4:3-4
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Debauchery is defined as extreme indulgence or decadence for pleasure of the senses.
Lust is defined as a strong sexual desire, or a strong desire for something
Drunkenness is defined as to be delirious with or as if with strong drink; intoxicated.
Orgies is defined as any actions or proceedings marked by unbridled indulgence of passions.
Carousing is defined as to engage in boisterous, drunken merrymaking.
Idolatry is defined as the worship of an object as a god.
God is telling us again....to live different. Live different from the world...live different from how we used to be prior to being Christians. In each of these, it seems to me that the common factor is extremeness that does not have a Godly focus. Extreme indulgence, extreme desire, extreme intoxication, extreme indulgence of passions, extreme merrymaking.....and worship of something other than the one true God.
I am very much an extremist...if I am not careful. My friends who know me well...know this. Whether it be Martial Arts, Yoga, Running, Reading, Working, Studying...you name it.... I can completely, completely overindulge. Some might call it just being an overachiever....but I have come to realize that for me...it is wrong. There is nothing wrong with any of those activities....until I let it go to the level past what is considered normal or "balanced". What is interesting...is that in this world, I can overindulge in any of these activities and be praised greatly....but when I "overindulge" into my relationship with Christ..I am quickly labeled as radical or cautioned about "crossing the line"....
Through my journey with Christ, I have learned that satan can take a good thing...a good activity, a good "project" and with my tendencies to overindulge can quickly use it as a way to pull me from God...pull me from my family...pull me from my real purposes in life. Just like Eve and fruit....if I am not careful, I will fall for it every time....every time. Tae was good with where she focused her time and talents. She "schooled" me constantly when I would start to veer.... I remember even after we had moved here to Nicaragua an opportunity presented itself for her to possibly dance here.... It would call for her to be disciplined again in the dance world, spending hours in the studio...but think of the possibilities that she could possibly minister too.... Very quickly, she closed that door...knowing full well where God intended her to be..where she had been called to minister to...not looking left or right but straight on into the journey God had laid before her...specifically for her.
I think many times when we read this verse in 1 Peter, we quickly glance through it dismissing it....if we drink, we don't drink to excess...or maybe we don't drink at all....married with no extramarital affairs and we don't worship statues...so we are fine. But when we look closer, we might not be so easily dismissed....If we aren't careful, we live lives of extremes... Where do we spend most of our time? Work? What about our time after work? How much time does God truly get in our lives? If someone else observed our lives for a week, a month, a year, how would they rank what we place of importance on in our lives? Where would God rank? Do we truly place Him first?
What can we do different tomorrow that will demonstrate not just to the world but to ourselves that He is the Lord of our life?
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Debauchery is defined as extreme indulgence or decadence for pleasure of the senses.
Lust is defined as a strong sexual desire, or a strong desire for something
Drunkenness is defined as to be delirious with or as if with strong drink; intoxicated.
Orgies is defined as any actions or proceedings marked by unbridled indulgence of passions.
Carousing is defined as to engage in boisterous, drunken merrymaking.
Idolatry is defined as the worship of an object as a god.
God is telling us again....to live different. Live different from the world...live different from how we used to be prior to being Christians. In each of these, it seems to me that the common factor is extremeness that does not have a Godly focus. Extreme indulgence, extreme desire, extreme intoxication, extreme indulgence of passions, extreme merrymaking.....and worship of something other than the one true God.
I am very much an extremist...if I am not careful. My friends who know me well...know this. Whether it be Martial Arts, Yoga, Running, Reading, Working, Studying...you name it.... I can completely, completely overindulge. Some might call it just being an overachiever....but I have come to realize that for me...it is wrong. There is nothing wrong with any of those activities....until I let it go to the level past what is considered normal or "balanced". What is interesting...is that in this world, I can overindulge in any of these activities and be praised greatly....but when I "overindulge" into my relationship with Christ..I am quickly labeled as radical or cautioned about "crossing the line"....
Through my journey with Christ, I have learned that satan can take a good thing...a good activity, a good "project" and with my tendencies to overindulge can quickly use it as a way to pull me from God...pull me from my family...pull me from my real purposes in life. Just like Eve and fruit....if I am not careful, I will fall for it every time....every time. Tae was good with where she focused her time and talents. She "schooled" me constantly when I would start to veer.... I remember even after we had moved here to Nicaragua an opportunity presented itself for her to possibly dance here.... It would call for her to be disciplined again in the dance world, spending hours in the studio...but think of the possibilities that she could possibly minister too.... Very quickly, she closed that door...knowing full well where God intended her to be..where she had been called to minister to...not looking left or right but straight on into the journey God had laid before her...specifically for her.
I think many times when we read this verse in 1 Peter, we quickly glance through it dismissing it....if we drink, we don't drink to excess...or maybe we don't drink at all....married with no extramarital affairs and we don't worship statues...so we are fine. But when we look closer, we might not be so easily dismissed....If we aren't careful, we live lives of extremes... Where do we spend most of our time? Work? What about our time after work? How much time does God truly get in our lives? If someone else observed our lives for a week, a month, a year, how would they rank what we place of importance on in our lives? Where would God rank? Do we truly place Him first?
What can we do different tomorrow that will demonstrate not just to the world but to ourselves that He is the Lord of our life?
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