UNTO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE!

UNTO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE!

Eph 4:22-25

Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

         In Act 1, Scene III of the famous play, Hamlet, Polonius says:

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!”

Christianity today seems to be pretty much in the hands of “Progressives” (otherwise referred to as liberals) because the conservatives (otherwise referred to as legalists) have departed the building. I find my own home made philosophy resides uncomfortably in the middle. I like the casual attire of the left along with some of the modern upgrades to the worship format. However, at my age, I am unwilling and perhaps unable to abandon traditions. I still use the KJV while reading several other translations. I think that is honest! I still have the nagging feeling that appropriate dress in church is still, well, appropriate. I think flip-flops, tank tops and underwear worn as outerwear is disrespectful to a God who is clothed in light. I still think that the name “Baptist” is honorable enough to retain it on our church sign. It is at least as descriptive as some of the modern indistinct names of new church plants.

I’m not sure that separatism is always a good thing because it leads to an altered sense of reality. Jesus ate with publicans and sinners while the Pharisees avoided them like the plague. Which was the most balanced? I do, however, demand of myself a strict adherence to firmly held convictions which causes some to withdraw from me. The chill of loneliness because of one’s convictions is not as uncomfortable to me as the frost that settles on my soul when I openly affirm a position I do not truly hold. I therefore wander through life with my lantern held high searching for truth.

Ps 34:13-14

13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Father, let me filter both my thoughts and my behavior through thy Word. AMEN