I was in marching band all through school and can still hear the director drilling alignment into our heads. Formations had to be stepped out and counted carefully or we wouldn’t be aligned properly. If one person was not in the proper place, it would throw off the whole formation. A straight line when marching in a parade was no different than the desks in a classroom that had to be lined up straight at the end of a day.
I want to continue a little on the line of one of my last posts. It is so important to align ourselves with God’s people, Christian beliefs, and truth. I’ve met people who claimed to be a Christian but then I would see or hear something both from them and from others that told me there was a major disconnect in what they said and what their life portrayed. Some (Disclaimer, NOT ALL) people will self-identify as a Christian or as a believer, but unfortunately in today’s world especially we cannot always take their statement at face value. No, we are not to judge others, but the Bible does tell us this:
“You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”
Matthew 7:16-20, NLT
So thinking back to my last post, based on the above words from Jesus, what do you think you should do when you come across a person or people who do not align with the Word of God and what Jesus taught us??? Should you let them think what they want and move on? You may be able to move away from wrong teaching and bad influences, but what about the next person whom they encounter? What if a friend who is not as strong as you are in the faith encounters someone who is leading people into things that are wrong? What if they follow that person and find themselves being led farther and farther away from the Lord?
This is why it is so important for us to be observant, knowledgeable, and discerning. As I mentioned in the last post, we so often like something so much that we look for more things (books, music, movies, products, etc.) like it and are so engrossed with it that we share it with all our friends whether it’s in person or on social media. Soon our enthusiasm has spread to many others. The problem comes in when we have not done proper research before sharing.
I remember one time I read an article on the internet in the early days of my using a computer. It said that if you find this one file on your computer, you should delete it because it was a virus. Well, I was gullible, found the file, and deleted it. In addition, I shared it with several other people who also deleted it. The bad news was that it must have been a hacker who posted that article because I found out too late that it was NOT a virus and was indeed a very important file to the operating system of the computer. All turned out OK in the end when we all found how to restore the file, but it could have been a very different outcome.
We really need to know who our favorite authors, musicians, groups, and churches are aligned to, what they believe, who they promote, and who or what they stand for. If a person is hanging around with and supporting those who do not believe the truth of God’s Word, they are going to be unquestionably influenced by what’s surrounding them. Then those values, words, and actions are going to affect their lives and their ministries. I’ve had to re-think many of my “favorites” because of their alignment with things that do not reflect the greatness and love of God and that do not adhere to the Word of God. You’ve heard of the duck test—”If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck”. The characteristics of a duck are what identifies it.
The absence or distortion of certain characteristics identify false teachings. Make sure that you are promoting only good and true things and people. You don’t want to lead anyone astray nor do you want to be led astray. It takes time to research and we don’t always find a definitive answer, but keep your eyes and ears open, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. That is what is needed to maintain the perfect peace of God in our lives.