[i]Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.[/i] Rom 14:22
:-)
Coach, father, defender of the faith and ... a certain King who has a very good book attributed to his name.
All sentiments truly meant aside I do not know if this is a coming to defense more than just a sideways approach ...
For all the years of similar postings on this subject matter I cannot but wonder if [i]sometimes[/i] personal convictions might not be better kept to silence and to, well oneself. That verse above stood out recently maybe a week ago and it wasn't the concluding part as much as;
[i] have it to thyself before God[/i]
Herein lies the difficulty of jumping into what perhaps is the middle - unbiased, recognizing and hearing all thoughts on this matter. Not to defend nor to promote.
Amongst mature Brethren a discussion of convictions is helpful and edifying and here ... it seems kind of a tricky business. On the one hand the participants are of this mind, mature but the wonder goes out to that very verse, at least the implications ... [i]Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.[/i] 1Co 8:13 towards those that may be peering in from afar, those possibly looking for that elusive loop hole of justification, a whole myriad of possibilities. Careful seems to be the word - Forgive me, I am working through my thoughts as I go.
Now, my experience ... I hesitate but I love [i]good[/i] beer. Trouble is, it no longer loves me. That is to say that for some ... strange reason ... it appears I have developed some sort of allergic reaction to it and not just beer just alcohol in general. My sinuses shut down and I get an instant headache if, on those very rare occasions I would have partaken in a (singular) Guinness or a Sam Adams. (An insert here, there is also something to be said about [i]with a meal[/i], absobtion and so forth). Going into full disclosure here I do prefer beer over the sweet, syrupy and caffeinated beverage of choice (Coke) though I generally have one with lunch. So it is O'Douls for me, the non-alcoholic beverage.
Some background. "Joe six-pak" had nothing on me, my buddies and I were far closer to "Joe twelve-pak" for a great number of years. Everyone brought their 'twelver' of Coors light. And they just kind of all merged together in the fridge where we would gather for that male bonding rite of American sports- Yes, all of them
;-)
Throw in the bong and well, you have the picture completed. Hardly a defense, an explanation, an assessment of days gone by. Well, enough of that, if they ever make a non-alcoholic Guinness that still tasted exactly like the original ...
Where I want to go with this is back to the beginning. I perfectly grasp where our brother Krispy is coming from and just as well our dear brother Paul West to make them standouts not excluded from everyone else. To be clear, I once posted something of a tirade derived from Act 2:15 ([i] ... not drunken, as ye suppose[/i]) against the unfathomable corruption of the text by much some of the Charismatic realm equating the Holy Spirit's actions as somehow similar, comparable ... [i]welcomed[/i]. It can get the blood boiling to even make mention of it here ... All of scripture denies it adamantly, drunkenness is foolishness, folly, trouble, pain, shame - ruinous and in every culture, epidemic. To be frank I still find it ... somewhat spurious that it is labeled a 'disease' - Sin is perceived as a 'disease' as well and ... maybe that is not a good parallel and would open up the wrong can of worms. Alcoholism, as it is termed is rampant and so are other vices of escapism - drug's, food, sex, entertainment and ah, the mere mention falls right into the comparable category - making all things equal, the defense\\justification mantra. You know it seems like this is really preaching to the choir and almost a complete waste of time, what am I trying to say? Each to his own? Or maybe it is after all a good thing to hear some hard words and strong opinions [i]against[/i] the practice, even in very light doses. Here is the crux or trick of it all- If you are seeking justification I would suppose you are already under a sense of personal conviction and ought to hear and internalize the admonishens. Defending (self defending that is) is almost always a sign in my estimation of justifying that which we are either not sure of or that which we are sure of but do not want to come to terms with. It is the bane of modern day 'prophets' being put to the test having to explain their way out of their words and proclamations rather than speaking and simultaneously shutting up, end of subject. It is similar to a multitude of things that we come up against - honesty and honest dealings - admitting when we are wrong, changing our minds when presented with better evidence, we are often so proud and so afraid of losing an estimation in a mans eye that we shrink and cower back, cover, explain ... defend. It is really a great farce are more often than not we know it, convictions more often, most often, come from the inside out - The outside in, those that our own bring forth, through the melon, the eyes and ears and senses usually finds the center already there, finds food to feed on.
It's really something I must say. You see, I spent decades in a state of altered conscience, under the influance of so much - all the aforementioned partying and even my love for music and as a life long goal of becoming a musician kept me in this state. I have gone on here about it before, but [i]for me[/i] I had to forgo it, all of it, even the "Christianized" music because of the tweaking and manipulating of the senses, emotions, the soulishness of it all. Again, [i]me[/i], personally, my conviction, but also my new reality - I just cannot deal with being altered in my conscience, no matter what it comes from, even pain killers are difficult to deal with, I cannot be 'buzzed' on any level and cannot square things that are half-baked, half truth - in denomination, doctrine, character, disposition yet for all that, those things are still in need of extraction, the hypocrisy of my own life, the lies my own thoughts tell me, the failings and falterings and foolishness ... the creation groans, I groan.
Quite the ramble, but to come back to the original post here, this;
This, this is so telling and so penetratingly honest. This is admittance and I share the same, practically and abstractly if you will, in principle. Ah for more [i]conviction[/i], full circle back to Romans, [i] Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God.[/i] Just as well, [i]Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. - Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.[/i] I would suppose there are those who can go places where others cannot go and maybe this is the line that many cannot figure out when it comes to who we can or cannot 'hang around with' to put it coarsely. The straddle of keeping company with unbelievers and so forth ... [i]to what level?[/i] comes to mind, to what conviction, [i]Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth[/i].
Will leave off with an impression I got earlier this year. I know the atmosphere is often hostile towards sports and even, maybe too often rightly suspicious of celebrity 'conversions', whoever they may be. Was watching the baseball All-Star festivities and specifically the Home Run derby prior to the main game and was very impressed by Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. Not only did he do something never done before (Hitting more home runs in one 'set' than any before him) but the mentions of his faith and a lone comment that spelled out everything I needed to hear. This man knew his own distrust and from the telling he never went [i]anywhere[/i] without his mentor, that he had submitted himself to this discipline knowing his disposition, temptations, especially those that would come along in his line of work. There was something just in the way he carried himself that spoke louder than words but this I found just tremendous, this was more than 'talk' this was practical evidence for all to see, all his teammates, everyone around him. My imagination reeled at the questions that must be asked all the time for the [i]why[/i] of it all from onlookers and fans etc. Faith in action. Here is a bit on him;
[url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/rangers/stories/012708dnspowebrangersz.218a1b6.html]Faith brings Texas Rangers' Hamilton back from the brink[/url]
