In The World But Not Of It

This past week, I spent time with some wonderful people. Almost all were professing Christians. However, I did get a dose of worldliness. I was not altogether comfortable with it. I find that I have really removed myself from the world, as a means of protecting myself, and "guarding my heart". Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?

At times, my experiences this past week were humorous, but at other times, I felt a little like an innocent child, thrust into a band of pirates. Ok, well it wasn't really that bad, but it was certainly uncomfortable at times.

Shortly after arriving at my friend's house, I was given a lottery "scratcher." Now, I no longer buy lottery tickets, nor do I gamble. However, I used to enjoy this pasttime. My friend and I used to have an agreement that whenever we had lottery scratchers, that if one of us won, we would split the winnings. So, when I was handed this scratcher, the agreement was that whatever was won, would be split. I was fine with that, and in fact didn't even start to scratch it right away, I was not really interested. (They rarely win anything worth spending the time on, besides the fact that I don't gamble anymore. Never mind that it wasn't me that had spent the money.) I have learned since becoming a believer why gambling is a sin. It is because it is a type of covetousness. When we gamble, we are coveting something that has not been given to us by God. We are coveting worldly riches, that are not ours to covet. Also, it's not a very good way to be a responsible steward of the money we have been given to be stewards of.

Anyway, back to what I was saying: Finally, I was entreated to scratch the ticket. I scratched the top three boxes, and immediately, I noticed that there were three matching amounts of $10,000! As soon as I noticed that, I got excited! I completely forgot that I was told that the money would be split, and only got excited for the person that had given me the scratcher. I told him (my friend's brother) "I just won you $10,000!!!" He said "Nuh, huh! Where do I go to redeem it, I know I can't just go to the corner store and get that today! Read the back!" I began skimming through the wording on the back. It took me a few minutes, but then realized that, you guessed it, they were fake tickets. I had won nothing, and neither had the person that gave me the card. They had played a practical joke on me. I thank God that I had forgotten that they had told me that we would split the money, or I might have been terribly disappointed. I'll chalk that one up to a reinforcement of my commitment not to gamble. :) Thanks, Mike for that reminder.

My next experience was drinking. A couple of the people I was around this weekend like to drink. Some of them like to drink alot. I do drink occasionally, but never enough to get drunk. However, being the occasion that it was (a wedding) there was ample alcohol available for those that did like to drink- probably more than they should. It was not left up to me, whether or not there would be alcohol, and even if it had been, I'm not sure I would have said they shouldn't have it. That brings me to the question I asked of myself. At what point does the responsiblity of not being a stumbling block to another come into play? In the church that I attend, none of the church functions allow alcohol, specifically to refrain from being a stumbling block to those that may have issues with their level of consumption, and perhaps addiction to the substance. Should I have removed myself from the reception, because of this? Would it have done any good? I'm not sure that it would have. I think I may not have been a great witness in this circumstance. But then perhaps, I think too highly of myself, to think that my example meant anything either way.

I also witnessed some behaviors that I should have done something about. I met a gentleman and a woman, whom I thought at first were together. The gentleman was friendly, as was the woman. They were also flirtatious with one another. However, it turns out that they were not a couple. He was divorced, and she was married to someone else. They both professed to be Christians, but their behavior was dangerously close to being adulterous. Though they did not do anything physically that could have been construed as such, their behavior towards one another could have caused lustful thoughts towards each other. I did attempt to gently dissuade the direction of their conversation, and it seemed to work, but I wonder, was I actually successful? I did not overtly correct their behavior, only changed the topic of their conversation, to safer topics, but I suppose I will never know. I also prayed for them at the end of the evening. I pray that they will only be "friends" and that there behavior did not cause them to sin in the eyes of God. This situation was very uncomfortable for me.

Having spent this week in the world, but not of it, was very draining for me, but I have to say that it was enjoyable for the most part. Everyone had a memorable experience, and I have learned a valuable lesson. I have learned more about how to be "of" and not "in". I pray the Lord will give me more such experiences, so that I can continue to grow in Him. Though I did not enjoy the lessons, they will come in handy for the remainder of my time here on earth. I would love to hear if you have had any similar experiences, and how you think I should have handles these that I have mentioned. Blessings to you!

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