Krispy,
I've also noticed a lot of younger people on the board, me being one of them. I just wanted to say that its going to take compromise on both sides, the old and the young. But I want you to know that there are probably people who come to this forum looking for encouragement and are turned away by what they see as condemnation.
If I wasn't so stubborn I'd have given up on even trying to interject grace into these threads.
I don't own a TV, I watch maybe one movie a month if less than that, and usually for fellowship purposes. I read about 4-5 Christian books a month, right now I'm reading Charles Finney, CS Lewis, KP Yohannan, AW Tozer, John Bunyan etc.
I recognized that I had idols with music, comic books, tv and movies... so I fast from them all. I haven't even owned a TV since I became a Christian. I boxed up or sold all of my comic books. I boxed up or sold all of my old cds. I threw out a lot of movies -the ones I have left are Casablanca, It's A Wonderful Life, Ben Hur, Napoleon Dynamite (it's funny), some Korean language Christian movies and some Chinese language comedies. They mostly just sit on the shelf.
I'm quick to defend rights of people to read, listen and watch what they want unless the Spirit convicts them otherwise. As for me, I was convicted by the Spirit in many places.
I used to have a nice job working for a Chinese owned company -the problem was that some of the people who used our services were part of organized crime. There was nothing illegal about my company or my job though. I myself had nothing to do with any of that, and probably could have continued working there if the Spirit hadn't led me otherwise.
My grandfather is a alchohalic and a problem gambler -my grandfather isn't a Christian, so I know that's the root of the problem, but I've also been convicted by the Spirit to abstain from those things.
I've also been single for the last seven years, as part of my testimony that I shared the other day I tried to find significance in relationships... the Spirit convicted me that I needed to abstain from dating. I haven't been given a clear conviction otherwise yet. Although I'm not going to tell any brother or sister at church that they can't date or find a wife or husband because of my own personal conviction.
I lead a pretty boring life by most standards (but I like it all the same). Most nights after work I goto a cafe and study for GRE, study for my missions class (perspectives.org) or read any of the ten books i'm working through right now, or just spend time in devotion or prayer. But that certainly doesn't mean that another person isn't a Christian if they don't do all those things or watch TV instead.
I'm not trying to justify my own actions, or the actions of anyone else. I'm trying to see clearly what is the heart of God in these matters... a lot of time our own judgement on these matters has been clouded by our own conviction or leading of the Spirit and we try to apply that to everyone.
I have certainly felt lead by the spirit to put money aside for missions, and to live a more simple life and pay off my debts... that doesn't mean that someone who buys a new car or a new house, or gets a little bit of credit card debt is forsaking the Gospel.
There is one place in my life that I have felt the Spirit leading that I haven't been very faithful in, and that's with my weight... I'm a big guy and haven't been a good steward of my body. I eat too much and don't excercise nearly enough.
I know that eating too much in my life is a sin... but if I were to apply that to one of the South East Asian girls at my church who can eat a truck without putting on a pound it would be improper... their metabolism is better, and they may not even be in sin, they may just be hungry and God has provided them with means to fill that hunger.
We need to be careful how we apply our own personal convictions to other people. There are definitely things in the bible that we have to stand up for -like issues involving marriage and abortion. But something like the cloths we wear or the movies we watch... those are issues that the Spirit needs to convict the individual of.
_________________ Ian Smith
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