On the Front

This piece sounds depressing, but it actually has a really encouraging point to it, so just bear with me.

On the ground! On the ground! but not all listen to our commander. A lieutenant, a private, a corporal. down. I look around to realize that I am standing in a field of agony.  The fallen are wounded, but few will die. Instead, they gasp at every movement, and their screams claw at my ears with every breath they take. Some will not admit that they have been wounded. They grit their teeth and grab their guns and yell "I'M FINE!", daring you to say otherwise. only to stumble back to the ground in pain. For these bullets do not kill. They cannot kill. Our army is too strong for that. But they tear at our very souls, and leave scars that are not easily removed. The enemy's latest volley has succeeded, to some extent. There are very few left standing. Sir, permission requested to cease firing. My tears are blurring my vision, Sir. Permission denied. But I understand. I will stand. I must stand. It is even more imperative that I fight now. I must fight to protect the fallen until they can stand again. I must fight so that my Commander's honor will be upheld. I must fight for the fallen. I must fight for the honor of my Commander. I must fight for the future of my country. No bullet will take me down. My Commander will lead me into victory. The enemy is powerless against us. I am unstoppable.
                                                                I       will      stand.

what's right with it?

How often have you ever heard that question? The one I usually hear, and say, when someone appears to disagree with an a opinion or an idea is "What's wrong with it?". However, as christians, I think we are completely missing the point when we ask that question. The question itself implies that whatever it is that we want or want to do is ok as long as it's not inherently evil. It implies that there is a neutral ground. Yet I would argue that there is no truly neutral ground. Having a facebook (contrary to my father's belief) is not inherently evil. However, if you are spending a third of your day on it and suddenly find yourself having gone through your day without spending any time with God, I think we agree that there is a problem. The same thing with having a boyfriend, a job, an education - do you get what it is I'm saying? None of these things are wrong. In fact, usually, these things are considered very good things. But if anything, or anyone, is taking your time away from God, and thereby taking your heart away from God, it is a problem. So before you get all defensive when someone seems to be questioning a choice of yours and you demand to know what's wrong with it, examine yourself truly to discern how it draws you closer to the Lord, or how it pulls you away. This morning, in my history class, my history teacher wanted to know what each of us value. And then he told us that it had to be something that we could prove by how our lives have been spent since this morning. What I'm trying to say, is that we can talk all we want about how our heart is with God and how our choices aren't affecting our walks with Him, but how do you prove it? What is right with the choices you have been making? I challenge you to raise your "standard of living" by questioning your own decisions based on how it brings you closer to the Lord, not by if it's wrong or not.