Articles
The Peril Of Opening Up
The past couple of months have been…well, something. I don’t really have words to describe the ups and downs, fear and hype, reaction and overreaction, conspiracy theories and government overreach, and all the arguing back and forth about what the ‘right’ thing to do was and is. Everyone has an opinion, but nobody has all the facts, which makes for a confusing and agitated state for people all over the world.
Now, after time has passed and we have hopefully learned something about how the virus is transmitted [at least we think we do], some countries are opening up and, here, some states and municipalities are following suit, hoping to stir up the economy and get people back to work so they can pay their bills and put food on the table. It has been a stressful few weeks, and it is no guarantee that the stress will disappear when things start opening up. As you might have heard, there are perils of opening up, or opening up too soon. Some are still too fearful of venturing out into society and scream at those who are not so fearful, while the overly brave scold the fearful for their lack of boldness.
Since everything seems to moving forward, those in charge are urging caution and continued safe measures to prevent another surge in the spread of the virus, and while caution is urged and warnings are made, we can only wait to see if our caution is effective, or even if some will heed the warnings. As with every other aspect of life, there will always be some who ignore the warnings.
The same could be said about spiritual matters like sin, salvation, and eternity.
Maybe you have heard someone try to talk to you about your soul? About sin? About where you will spend eternity after this life is over? Have you ever given those things a second thought? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe you don’t believe in life after death, sin, or even God. Maybe your heart is closed to even the thought that such things are real, that God will hold us accountable for how we have lived here on Earth, or that we will all face either an eternal punishment or eternal life in heaven. Maybe just the thought that such things could be real are too overwhelming and terrifying to you, and you have pushed those things out of your mind and have closed all discussion and closed your heart to even listening to anyone who brings the subjects up. It is much easier to close off discussion than to allow those thoughts within.
But what if you were to open up your mind to consider the possibility that these things are true? What if, instead of dismissing the Bible as a collection of mere myths and fairy tales, and faith as something for the weak-minded, you opened your mind and your eyes to actually read the written testimony of eyewitnesses and those who saw and heard the very things that would convince an honest heart that such things are, indeed, true?
What you would find, if you opened up your mind and your eyes, is that there is written testimony by eyewitnesses to the claim of the man Jesus to be the Savior of the world and the Son of God, that it was true. One such eyewitness — one who would later write of Jesus as one whom he and others “have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” (1 John 1:1) — wrote much about the life, teaching, and miraculous deeds of Jesus, and concluded, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30, 31). The peril of believing, you see, is that those old false claims of “no evidence” can no longer be used! They are false claims.
And, then, what if you should open your mind up to his testimony, and the testimony of others? If you have an honest heart, there is a very real possibility of believing what is written, and concluding [rightly so] that you are guilty of sin — transgression against God, your Creator (1 John 3:4). But, you would also find that you are not alone; the fact is, “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). You would find that sin has consequences (Rom. 6:23), and that the only way to escape that certain punishment is by the forgiving power of the blood of Jesus who, about 2000 years ago, died on a cross just outside of Jerusalem, and that death paid the price for your sins (1 Pet. 2:24). If you are willing to hear His words, you would then seek to obey Him (cf. Mark 16:16; John 8:24). If you opened your mind to His words, you would become a Christian. The peril of considering the evidence is, you will no longer have an excuse for not believing.
And, should you believe, you would realize you must “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24). You would realize that, now, you are to “not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:13), which means every Christian “should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15). The peril of living as a Christian is that the old ways must be put to death and we are no longer living for self, but for Christ. Your whole way of life will change, and your worldly friends will not understand this, which leads to the next point.
When you leave the old ways and the old friends behind, some will not like the new ‘you’ and will try hard to draw you back into the world with them, if for no other reason than the old adage of ‘misery loves company’; they feel better about their unbelief and worldliness if someone joins with them. Once someone proves you can leave it behind, now they have no excuses, and life around you becomes uncomfortable.
Your old, worldly friends who want to remain worldly will “think it strange that you do not run with them” and they will be “speaking evil of you” (1 Pet. 4:4) in an effort to persuade you to come back, or to make themselves feel better in their sins, and they will “speak evil of whatever they do not know” (Jude 1:10), including the things you now believe and follow. You see, the peril of opening up your life to a new and better way — one that is all about “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts” and living “soberly, righteously, and godly” (Titus 2:12) — is that you will lose many friends.
Yes, there are many perils of ‘opening up’ on spiritual matters, but the benefits far outweigh the perils. In Christ, you will have forgiveness of your sin; you will now know a way of life that is pleasing to God and to many around you who will see that you are now no longer living for self, but thinking of others and of God’s ways; you may lose friends, but you will gain a worldwide spiritual family unlike any other.
In the end, the perils of opening up will turn out to be far better than the eternal peril that awaits those who refuse to open their minds to truth. — Steven Harper
