Pretty pink peach blossoms mean one thing – it is time to spray them for bugs. We like to use a dormant oil spray to prevent pests. Unless preventive measures are taken early, insects can lay eggs inside the blossoms that hatch and feed inside the peaches; and the whole fruit turns brown and rotten.
Satan has been in the business for a long time of tempting us to taste fruit that we shouldn’t eat.
Some of us watch movies that we know border on blasphemous or profane, in theory because we want to warn other people away from them. Or we engage in activities that are questionable, because we want to know why they seem so alluring. There is a false premise that we cannot denounce sin unless we know what it is personally.
Certainly there will be naysayers who ask, “How can you say the movie is bad unless you see it?”
We do not need to taste spoiled fruit to know it is rotten. I should not be curious to see if my brown- spotted peaches were so bad just because they looked bad. The smell and the looks of these peaches should be enough for me to make a good judgment call.
Engaging or even just dabbling in sinful activities is just as foolish.
What would be the repercussions of abstaining from every appearance of evil? Well, we might not get to participate in the break room chatter about the latest controversial film or book. We might look socially awkward. We might miss an engaging film or book, or the opportunity to make friends and influence people over a few drinks.
Life goes on, however. And on. And on. Even after we leave our broken bodies on this earth, life goes on!
With eternity in mind, we risk the ire of those who would call our actions “self-righteous” so that we can pursue God’s righteousness. Keeping our hearts and minds directed towards the perfect will of the Father is not something for which we need to answer to our friends.
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:1-4, NKJV).
Notice Paul did not condemn others, yet he kept his own conscience clean.
While it is not our place to judge what others choose, it’s a subtle temptation for us to condone their actions by imitating them. In a misguided effort not to appear judgmental, we say nothing; and even follow along. Instead we are told in the scriptures to follow our conscience as guided by scripture, rather than their examples.
Where we draw the line in consuming content that is not entirely pure can be a touchy subject. I’ve been known to make some pretty good pies and ice cream out of the good parts of bug-bitten peaches!
Likewise, we can’t expect absolute perfection from even the most innocent of sources. Even Disney movies have some rotten parts.
Let us all as Christians encourage and support one another. Seek what is good, and pursue it. But don’t swallow the bad fruit.
–by Christine Berglund @ www.forthright.net