The Great Exchange

In a conversation with a brother in the Lord recently....he said something pretty blunt about Facebook.....he hates it.

And though I enjoy seeing my friends photos and what they are up to and chatting via msgs that way........I see his point....his main point.

That facebook and especially it's ever more VAIN counterpart Myspace.....are "all about me"......well, isn't that just the easiest thing to sell to America. 

"The land of the ME" is more like it. 

I'm seeing it everywhere.....testing - in everything I do.  Sure, I won't be dropping off facebook anytime soon perhaps........but you know.....I think we have to ask ourselves.....in all of life.....our words, our workout, our relationships - what is our ultimate goal with it?  Is it God honoring and others focused?  Do we use it as a means of blessing others or do we simply use it to bolster up that stupid soul of ours with vain pretenses that we are humble and yet desire to be envied?

ack.......

Seriously, if I see myspace ever again, i might have to yak.  The girls trying SO hard to be sexy and lusty.....it's just so sad.  They want love and use this sensual draw card (which is sad enough) to attract loser guys who only think about ONE thing...who use "love claims" to get what they want.  And the cycle continues.  I've been removed from the world for so long that I had forgotten the system....

Anycrux, The problem sadly, isn't JUST the world.....the draw of living 'empowered lives' is pulling sheep in.  (real sheep ? that's debatable) *** by 'empowered lives' I mean girls who use their attractiveness as a means of getting what they want.

The worship of self is SO denied by those of us in the church, let alone unbelievers. 

Though today while looking for a new workout video, I stumbled across a website of a girl named Jennifer Nicole Lee (brothers, beware and take heed to my warning not to go there if you be loyal to Christ) 

This chick goes on and on for oh, 10 minutes about self love being the most powerful love there is and she FLAT out says "we women, should be worshipped" 

I was like.......WHAT !!? 

I know women who act that way, but NEVER had I ever actually heard anyone say that.....out. loud. 

All in all, she uses "happiness" and "empowerment" as draw cards fpr her religion - self worship.  DOOD. what is this girl gonna do as she ages.  She is human, she is an eternal soul in a body of dust.....she will face THE God to whom she will have to give an account of all of her demands for worship, all of the sin in men's hearts that SHE caused........idol words.....yikes..

Romans 1:25

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the things created rather than the Creator, who is forever praised."

This all comes together......hang in there with me.

ALL of life is a battle against loving self more than God.  Believers too....actually, we're probably the ONLY ones engaged in a battle against self love.   Paul Tripp wrote a book called the War of Words, which my husband has been tremendously blessed by and has been sharing HUGE heart themes with me that have caused me some internal turmoil. (in a good way) 

Paul quotes James 4 in the book........and I would tend to agree (knowing my own sinful heart) that our own desires - which are self focused - cause our external sin....words, actions etc.

So that if I'm driving down the road and someone cuts me off and I'm upset.......it's because in my world - they should know that I HATE that and not do it. 

(As my dad used to say "the world REVOLVES around me") 

Completely wicked.

Our communication issues, our butt hurt - all of it is not the OTHER person.....or the circumstances.....it is our own self focused "ME first and you better not get in the way of what I want or ELSE there will be consequences" mentality.  It's absolutely sneaky, and it's absolutely in the hearts of all men and women.

Look for it in your heart.....watch where your feelings get hurt....it is self love.

Because love for others - "covers an offense" and "overlooks wrong" and "rejoices in the truth"

Watch where you get frustrated with people you don't know

(Paul Tripp used the example) - "I want to drive down a road alone that other citizens paid for"

Or at work....thinking you're so great that everyone should admire you....but what do you have, that you did not receive from the Father?......including gifts, intellect, ability, comprehension, health - that you are even ABLE to work?

Christ is to live in us, and for that to happen we must be crucified, and reckon ourselves dead to sin.  

CrossMovement said it best when they said 

" My Self will lie, in a coffin, often, self does try, 

to let greed creep in and be like "just get by"

That's a lie though, cuz I dive LOW to get high oh~ 

Cuz he lift me up like hydro - EASY."

That Christ may be all in all.

jen2

ramble ramble.....

Haha.......well, where else you gonna find a quote from a Christian author, a fitness model, and Cross movement? :)