Pretty

     Who is defining "pretty" for us?  Who are we listening to?  Looking back over the last many decades, it is very clear that the dominant voice is subjective and driven by instant gratification and the pushing of the envelope.  As I commented to a co-worker the other day, "Why is it that the attire that was worn by prostitutes thirty years ago is commonly worn by the average high schooler today?"  Why is the standard for what is acceptable changing for the worse?  Why do moral decline as a society develops and grows?  It seems that spiritual maturity declines to the same proportion that societal maturity develops?
     Ultimately, we must ask: "Who do we believe regarding the way we attire ourselves?"  The world or the Church?  Ever fluctuating society or the standard of church tradition?  The next thing to address is the problem of articulating and communicating "that" standard to our culture.
     But it has to start with us.

Pornographic Culture

     In an article on the pornographic nature of our current culture, David Bentley Hart laments just how deep the depravity of Western culture has descended.  I would like to continue that thought.   I cannot even begin to comment on all the intricacies of how far our culture has descended.  The really sad part is found in that most people don't realize or spend any time thinking about this sordid state we are in.          One thought that has come to me is that of the power and responsibility of the Church.  We cannot and should not even try to force people to change by the strong arm of the law.  Our leaders are just as depraved as we are and would make no concerted effort to institute any healthy change.
     So what do we do?  I believe a good first step is for the Church to start taking back the act of love.  The Church needs to reach out and fill the needs of the community that surrounds it.  Divorcees, single moms, latchkey kids, the neglected elderly, daycares, old folks homes, and hospitals, to name a few.  These are all areas that the Church can step into and truly help.  I cannot offer any specifics, but can only make general suggestions.  When we begin to truly love others, when we acquire the Holy Spirit and involve ourselves in the lives of those around us, then we will see change.
     We will not see change by becoming like the world (ie seeker friendly mega-churches) and asking for money. We need to give and not take.  We need to love and not hate or condemn... anyone.

Some sins and not others

     Why do we recoil at some sins, but not so much at others?  Why are some sins so repulsive to us, but others we embrace, coddle, or wink at?  One thought is that we distinguish between sins because of our unnatural proclivities.  We all have sinful tendencies that are different from other people's sins.  And of course we have mercy on ourselves but not on others.  But this is exactly backwards.  We ought to assume the best in others and extend grace to others downfalls and weaknesses.
     Since we typically have so little actual knowledge about others, we should not put ourselves in a position over them, judging them by uninformed and graceless standards.  To show genuine love for one's neighbor is to be involved with them, to be able to express love of Christ, not with words but with actions, to the extent that love will draw them to God, to the Church, and to repentance.

Truth

We should embrace truth no matter where it comes from. All men are created in the image of God and no one is totally cut off from God. All men inherently and sometimes unconsciously are seeking for truth. Fortunately, we have the standard of apostolic tradition by which to judge any belief/teaching. Leaving a judgment about the validity of a particular doctrine up to our own interpretive skills is far too suspect. We in the Western world are too far removed from historic, apostolic Christian thinking to be able to make sound judgments. In general, the East is not faring much better as Islam has had a massive detrimental effect upon the Middle East.

What this really comes down to is the solid foundation of the historic Christian faith, and the trust we can have in the guidance of the Holy Spirit over His church.

What is the value?

     It seems that there should be an ever-standing question that ever confronts us every moment of our lives; the question of value. In every thought that passes through our minds, in every word that crosses our lips, in every cent that we spend, and in every action we take, we ought to be asking ourselves, "What is the value in this?"

     Asking ourselves this question presupposes that we have defined the word 'value'. That point aside, what is the value?

     I'm afraid that we don't think upon this question enough, for we spend an awful amount of time and money on very short-term things, tasty food, entertainment, and comforts.

     To the women the questions must be asked, what value is there in external beauty, in fitness, or in nice clothes?  To the men the questions must be asked, what value is there in sports, in action movies, in luxurious cars, or in a large paycheck?

     The way these questions are answered will reveal what we truly believe is important. In short, where our heart is. Do we value eternity? Do we value or even consider the health of our soul? Or do we distract ourselves to the point where our dried up and hardened souls are ignored all together?

To a very large degree our souls are like concrete. The way we form them now will be the form they take for eternity. Short of something extremely drastic, later in life, the direction we are currently moving right now will be the direction we continue in for the rest of our lives and for eternity.

So if our lives currently consist of work, NFL/NBA, exercise and climbing the corporate ladder or a fit, young looking body, expensive clothes, vacations on a beach somewhere, and a luxurious car, we may want to start asking some questions about where our treasure lies. We may want to think about how we define heaven. We may need to ask ourselves this question, "If all our interest lies in earthly things now, will we find eternity in heaven all that appealing?"

Standards and Expectations

As we go through life, we build our world out of beliefs that we have been raised with and have picked up and developed over time.  Included in this are the standards by which we just judge ourselves and others and the expectations we have of ourselves and of others.
We have problems of two sorts in this situation.  First, when we judge others by our standard (which is usually somewhat arbitrary) and second, when we don't judge ourselves consistent with a standard.
I've heard it said that when we judge others we always go by the book, but when we judge ourselves, we are always extra gracious and understanding of the "extenuating circumstances".  This is exactly backwards when we remember that we actually know our circumstances but not the circumstances that have formed the world of others.  Obviously, no sin is ever excusable, but giving grace to others and trying to sympathize with others weakness is always called for.  I would argue that this is the biggest problem in many Protestant camps.  They know and understand far less than they think they do.
Look at how Jesus handled those around him.  He was hard nosed with the Pharisees (those who should have known better) and he was gracious and forgiving with the common man.  The standard by which we judge ourselves should be nothing short of holiness.  We shouldn't judge others, period.

The power to influence

A while back, my wife showed a video clip from her Facebook account regarding a morbidly obese young man and how sad he was to be that way.  Yet his response was not to try and change his situation but to only eat more.  In the news you hear stories of teenagers who kill themselves because of extreme bullying that they can no longer live under.  You see stories about war veterans who return home, become alcoholics, end up living on the street and destroying their lives.
What is the one thing in common with all of these?  The common factor is the lack of influence in their lives by Christians.  Somehow, the body of Christ has fallen into a seclusion.  We have taken the command to be in the world but not of the world as an excuse to stay away from all the ugliness that goes on.
It is our responsibility to love everyone around us.  We MUST be an influence in this world.  If we are not, we are failing in the one summary command we have from our Lord: "Love your neighbor as yourself."