Are you conscious of the environment? Part 1
1st of September
It is very popular to talk about the environment in many different circles these days. It is not particularly a Christian topic. Many different youth-and political organizations have this on their agenda. You will find programs about this topic in schools, on TV and other media. Even if I haven’t been too involved in this, I do sort the garbage to-day. I have become conscious of recycling and I try to save bags instead of buying new-ones. When we talk about the environment, we first and foremost think about pollution and keeping the nature that God has given us. This will not be my theme. Others can do that much better than I can. No, I will write about spiritual environments, about the environment we need for people to become saved, healed and restored. I will also write about the spiritual pollution both within and outside the Body of Christ.
I have a TV with quite a few channels and sometimes I do flip from one channel to the other. That can be a chocking experience. I am really chocked when I see certain things. It doesn’t seem to be any kind of censorship any more. There are times when I have to ask for forgiveness and cleansing even for a short time’s watching. I can almost hear some of you laughing since I didn’t choose to continue watching. “A few pictures are not so dangerous,” you might say. I disagree since I know that one picture can trigger both my emotions and my thought-process. Our senses receive the signals of what we see and hear and the signals are saved and will not disappear automatically. The devil wants to deceive us to believe that it is not so dangerous, but that is a lie.
Many Christians are unfortunately lonely and TV can become a compensational friend. Be aware, and do not pollute your home with garbage. You can find good and healthy secular programs, but a lot are destructive.What comes into your home, will influence the atmosphere of your home. You are not alone when you watch. Jesus who lives in you are there and the devil is interested in what you are watching. If it is bad, he will tempt you with more of the same kind.
I think that games on the computer, films and TV are the things that pollute the children and the young people the most. When they play games, they might shoot people who stand up again. They really don’t do that in the real world and this is only one example of a distorted reality. When they kill, they think it is a lot of fun. Other games emphasize high speed, crimes and immorality. I do not know this world too well, so I will stop with these examples.
Many of the young people who make a big propaganda about the environment do not know how to classify and sort out the garbage from sexual films and violent movies. They might wake up at night with night mares. They might talk loud about preserving the earth and I do not disagree. I am not trying to mock them. It is fine that they want to preserve “the rain forest” in the Amazon, but I look at pollution in a much wider perspective. I want to help the entire population on the earth and neither one of us get really blessed before we get in contact with the One Who has created the world. God has created this world and He wants us to be good stewards. I can easily see that in many cases this has not been done and a lot of injustice has come as a result. Egoistic and financial interests can lead to bad management of the resources we have been given. I have also seen how the agriculture and other areas of a country have changed radically when the people within turned to God. He is the Creator and He will help us in our management.
How conscious are you about the environment in your own family?
“Oh yes, we know where to throw glass and metal and we collect batteries”, you might answer. “We are not throwing things casually.” Well, that is fine, but what about the atmosphere of your home? Would Jesus enjoy himself there? Are you breathing in a fresh air? Is there enough oxygen? “Of course, we open the windows and bring in fresh air many times a day”, you might answer. That is fine, but what about the spiritual atmosphere? We can read in the Proverbs 18:21 that death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit. Your environment is strongly influenced by the words that come out of the members of your family. Words create. What are you saying to each other at the breakfast-table? Are you just sitting there staring at each other or are you encouraging each other before the beginning of a new day? Can you share a Word from the Bible together? Maybe that is not possible since everybody doesn’t eat breakfast at the same time, but everybody should read at least one Word as a starter.
What does the mother say when the children return from school? Does she have time to listen to them? Maybe the child has experienced something bad. Do you have an encouragement? Maybe you should remind him or her of something they have done well before in order to restore their self-confidence. If you say: “You are never doing anything right,” you are actually talking death and not life into the child.
What do we do when we sit together at the dinner table? Do we enjoy the fellowship and the food or do we throw the bad things we have experienced on the others? In a family we should be able to share our bad experiences, but not necessarily at the dinner table and maybe to only one person. In my country eating is a social affair and we enjoy each other’s company.
What kind of music do you fill your home with? Who has inspired the music? I do not think of different styles since we can have different tastes, but what kind of spirit is in the music? The devil creates a lot of music and our home should not have his music. Angry people have often listened to the wrong music. I will not tell you what you should do, but what is good for you? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. You can to-day find a lot of good music for the children and the young even if we a little older do not particularly like the style.
What kind of people do you invite to your home or do you isolate yourself? There might be periods when we should be alone, but the Bible says that we should be hospitable. If you invite unsaved ones, remember that it is your home and the spirit in you should rule. We almost adopted a former drug addict and this young man lived with us for some years. He quickly learned C 3.2. That meant Colossians 3:2 and it said that we should set our mind on the things above. Sanctification is a process and in the beginning he could say a lot of things that were not suitable in a Christian home.
A home where alcohol is frequently used, can become a home where the borders are moved and one allows things that are not pleasing to the Lord. I will not say that you should not drink alcohol at all, but too much is always negative. Some of the “loud-speakers” of preserving the nature, forget that alcohol can pollute themselves and others. The same goes for smoking. (I am not saying that everybody is a misuser). I will continue on this subject.
WHAT KIND OF ENVIRONMENT DO YOU CREATE AROUND YOURSELF AND WHAT KIND OF ENVIRONMENT DO YOU LIVE IN?????????????????????
Mother Else