As I walk through this thing called life, I have discovered that as a Christian there are so many things that I will not be able to do or say to fully receive the blessings and presence of God. The scriptures tell us that anyone that is in Christ is a new creature. (2 Cor. 5:17). The scriptures also tell us to lay aside our old selves and let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes (Eph. 4:22).
These two scriptures simply mean that once we give our lives to Christ, we no longer have control over our lives, but Christ has the control, and we must allow him to be the driver of our lives.
If you are a Christian, you will find out you cannot watch the same programs you used to, listen to same the music or even have the same friends.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “The Christian life is boring, you can’t do anything, blah, blah, blah.”
This is not necessarily the case. There are plenty of things we can do, just nothing that will harm us in the end, here are some things that I do, and you may be surprised.
As a Christian, there are some things you should cut out, but there are other things you can do to replace what you used to do. The one thing that most people in my generation like to do is party and have fun.
Instead of going to wild parties where you have a chance of leaving drunk or high, you can still go to a party that would be fun and not wild. For example, the calmer parties may take place in a public setting or even outdoors. These types of parties include drinking, food and dancing and even slow dancing.
The only difference is there are no alcoholic drinks or smoking, and you may not meet that special someone who you would be able to take home with you.
I enjoy these types of parties, and yet while to some, it may be boring, but to others, the idea of a “safer” type of party is not a bad idea.
The other activity in the realm of social life that our generation is accustomed to is hanging out with people we know that are into life in the fast lane (i.e. partying, sex, drinking, hanging out all night, smoking and going to destinations that are wild).
We consider these people our friends, but are they really?
We have to ask ourselves, "if they were our friends, would they consider our feelings?"
Would they consider us when they catch themselves “hooking us up with dates,” or introducing us to drinking or smoking?
Would they be upset when we turn down their invitation to parties?
If you answered no to the first two questions and answered yes to the last question, then it is may be time to consider new friends who will take your Christian walk into consideration. Once you find more “Christian minded” friends, then you will find yourselves in less compromising positions.
There are some television shows and movies that, as a Christian, it is hard to watch, and I, for one, am trying to reroute my viewing schedule. This is the hardest advice I have to give because some shows that we love will no longer sit well with our spirits as a Christian.
The advice that I can give to those who are Christian or considering become Christian is to see what show you can handle without feeling uncomfortable.
For example, I can listen to secular music as long as it is clean, and not be mentioning too much sex. I watch "Empire" instead of "Power" because between the two shows, "Empire" has the less amount of sexual references.
Today, there is the overexposure of homosexuality and sex, and as a Christian, it may be hard to watch some shows because of the overexposure but there seems to be a hint of homosexuality or sex in most shows that are on now, so it is hard to escape it.
I just try to deal with the shows and guard my heart (Prov. 4:23). If you guard your heart, what you see with your eyes will not stay in your spirit. The eyes are a window to the soul, so the chance that what you see with your eyes will get into your soul is high, but it does not have to stay there.
Therefore, as a Christian, it is important to pray after you watch something that makes you uncomfortable to ensure you will not harp on it. As a Christian, the best thing to do is keep away from anything that would compromise your spirit, but with the realization that it can sometimes be hard, we must repent (1 John 1:9).
Personally, I would not trade my Christian walk for the world. A lot of people think that the Christian life is boring, but I must tell you that it is not. There are a lot of perks that come with the Christian life, including peace of mind (John 14:27), rewards for following the commands of God (Deau. 28:28) and the love that only comes from God (1 John 4:7).
As a Christian, you may feel that a lot of people don't understand why you are trying to serve God and therefore, you will lose a lot of friends, and even some family members, but God will never leave you alone (Heb. 13:5).
This very promise should be even more reason for you to want to become a Christian, or if you already are, continue the walk the path that God has placed in front of you. You will not soon regret it.
