Have you ever had to ask, "Can I still do this and be a Christian?" or "Am I going to go to hell if I do ____?" Honestly, I've been wondering why these are the questions we often ask and what it means about our hearts. It's like we're trying to find the line between being a Christian and not, and trying to walk as close to that line without giving up being a Christian. The only downside to that is: the line doesn't work that way.
If you've looking for the line, you're already in trouble. You might think you've found it, but if your goal is to get close to it without crossing into dangerous territory, you're either already in dangerous territory or about to fall into it. It's a big deal wandering into "is this okay?" territory, because it shows your heart isn't in the right place. You're either for Jesus or against him. What you do is either for Jesus or against him.
Something I was thinking about lately is video games (again...). They're not bad in and of themselves. They can be a lot of fun and teach you new information or allow you to develop new skills, like hand-eye coordination. However, I found myself wrestling with the question: "Am I playing these games for Jesus, or for myself?" The answer was pretty obvious for me. Sometimes when playing group games, I can see an argument for using them to spend time with others or build community with friends, especially back in Covid-times when kids weren't allowed to go play or hang out together anywhere else. However, that's not what I was typically using video games for. I had been playing them for personal enjoyment and as a distraction from more important things that I didn't want to deal with. That's not an "okay" enough reason to keep doing something. If I was playing video games for Jesus, then it would be different, but I was playing them for me.
Jesus taught "whoever is not with me is against me" (Matthew 12). I believe this message is fundamentally about who is living for Jesus and who isn't, but when you really think about it, it applies to the things we do too. Anything I'm not doing for Jesus, I'm doing against Him.
I think this is why it's so dangerous for us to compare what we're doing with worse things, saying things like "it could be drugs, at least it's not drugs", or "well, this isn't anywhere near as bad as doing that", or even "well I quit doing X when I became a Christian, so it's okay for me to do this instead", even if it's still not for Jesus.
As Christians, our goal should be running straight towards Jesus, the One who saved our lives. We owe Him everything, and as a thank you, we ought to devote our everything to Him. If we are aiming for the things of this world and telling ourselves that it's okay by making excuses for it, but we aren't using it for Christ, then we're on the wrong path, that wide, well-traveled path. The road less traveled is harder, yes, but so much more worth it. When your eyes are fixed on Jesus and your heart is focused on following Him, everything falls into place. You find yourself acting more like Jesus, exhibiting more fruits of the Spirit, and living the life God wants you to live, all because you're striving towards the One who deserves it most: Jesus. God sent His only Son to save me and you. How can we thank Him by staying as far away from Him as possible while still claiming to follow Him? Is that the gratitude He deserves? That would be like if you ran into a burning building to save the life of a criminal who stole from you, and in return they scoff and walk away, going back to their life of crime, including stealing from you again in the future (even if they took a break for a while after you saved them). Wouldn't you want that person you saved to at least say "thank you", or to at least put in a little effort to be a better person and not keep stealing from you? That's probably how Jesus feels when we claim to follow Him, but we're walking so far away from Him that we're looking for a line that we're trying not to cross.
There are absolutely still things you can do when you're a Christian that aren't explicitly stated in the Bible, but they should be used with the intention of loving God, loving people, building community, or growing in the ways God wants us to. It's important to ask yourself, "Does this honor God?", "Does it help me grow closer to Him?", and "Does it help me become more like who He wants me to be?". If the answer is "no" to all of those things, it might be worth re-evaluating whether that's something you want to make a priority in your everyday life. You only have so much time on this earth, so you need to use it wisely. Everything you do either grows you closer to God or pushes you further from Him. Everything you say is either building up for the kingdom or tearing it down. We're either for God or against Him. Don't get caught up in trying to figure out whether you're doing one or the other, because that likely means you're not acting for Him.
I think that's why the author of Hebrews put it so bluntly when writing "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," (ch. 12). So many things can hinder us. It's vital to our walk with Christ not to get caught up in sins and things that hold us back from our walk with Him. So, the next time you're wrestling with whether or not something is "okay" as a Christian, ask yourself, "Is this hindering me from who God wants me to be?" and if it is, run away. As quickly as possible. There's not enough time in this life to waste the precious little we have on things that push us away from Him. So please, I beg of you, don't. It's not worth it, but He is.
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