Isolation or Separation: A Millennial Christian's Guide to Having a God Pleasing Life

(photo: https://pixabay.com/en/people-man-woman-guy-girl-2566933/)
By Faith MagbanuaFebruary 20th, 2018

The year of 2017 has been an prologue on what's to come this 2018 and as we come to this year's second month, there has been so much debate on what to do and what not to do as millennials.

However, as we go through the daily-dose of Instagram, Facebook and the whatnots of the interwebs, we sometimes forget that being "aesthetically" appealing sometimes contradicts to the beliefs in the Bible.

Don't get me wrong, I too am a fellow millennial, but based on my observation, the word "aesthetic" has become more dominant in the recent months that it has become a standard for everything that we do.

The clothes we wear, the place we hang out and even the pictures and videos we take, it all boils down to the question "Is this visually pleasing?" 

Furthermore, the Bible has got something to say to "us" millennial.

Based on the book of Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Don't get me wrong, aesthetic is a word that I take seriously, but what I want to stress out is the importance of it.

If the things that we are doing are contradicting the word of God, then we have a problem with that. The Bible talks about not being "conformed" of this world. 

Conform means to comply with rules, standards, or laws.

This world has so many standards that if you try to keep up, you'll go mad!

So, why does the Bible tells us not to be conformed by this world?  The reason is pretty much simple and it also seen in the Bible.

I John 2:15-17 says:

v15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

v16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

v17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

In addition to that, there was this hymn which says: "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through..."

God does not want us to be heavily influenced by this world's standard because what we have here is not permanent because not everything that is aesthetically appealing is pleasing in the sight of God.  As Christians, we need to constantly read the Bible to know what God wants us to do in our life.

He does not want us to be addicted to this world's standards because if we do that, we are not doing God's will.

On the other hand, God still doesn't want us to "isolate" ourselves from our friends who are non-believers, we can still be friends with them. We can still posts in our social media accounts, but we must be cautious, we must me knowledgeable is what we post will make a bad impression to God.

The clothes we wear, the place we go to, the things we post, we must be mindful about it.  It can still be aesthetically pleasing but we must keep in mind that before we post anything, we must think it through.

As Christian millennials, we should set an example to our fellowmen, we should inspire others not tear them apart.

Let us be ambassadors of God's love, and with a dash of our artistic pros, we might even draw some of our friends closer to Jesus.

Let us always keep in mind, that God's standards are more important than this world's set of rule, and to be able to win other people, we must not isolate ourselves but be mindful enough to know when to draw the line.

It doesn't also apply to fashion or photography but also to our social-political point of views.  "Think before you post"  Not everything that people believes in are right.  "Majority wins" is not really God's thing.

Being young is not an excuse to commit mistakes--thus we should be wiser for we are born in more advanced generation.

In conclusion to that:

We are young and are capable to be tempted to do worldly things; however, it is not an excuse for us to continue sinning.

God wants us to draw people closer to Him and by doing that we must also be close to God. 

Isolation is also not the key because isolation and separation are two different words. 

"What you delight in is what will direct your life, so be careful what you enjoy."

We must be rooted in God's word for us not to be heavily influenced by this world's standard.

A blessed person is like a tree, why?

1.        A tree has roots and our root system (our church, fellow Christian's mentor in our church, God's word)  is essential to our life.

2.       2. Don't be like a chaff, because a chaff has no roots and it can be easily swayed by any storm.

James 4:8

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

 

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