Just Being Careful

There’s a tan spot on the outside of my hand that I’ve had for a few years. It just looks like an age spot, and I never thought twice about it—until the other day when I happened to touch it and noticed that it was slightly raised.

I panicked.
Skin cancer.
Melanoma?

I made an appointment with the dermatologist only to find out it’s “nothing to worry about.”

But as I left his office I couldn’t help but think, Better safe than sorry. I mean, it’s good to be careful, right?

God is calling us to be this careful in our spiritual lives.

What kind of boundaries are we establishing?

When we hear or see something on TV that goes against His character, shouldn’t we be repulsed?

JUST WHAT IF we took the same measures when seeing something we shouldn’t that we do when we see something suspicious on our bodies? “Oh, no! It’s harmful. Get rid of it.”

I realize we can’t help but be “in the world.” But, of course, Christ calls us not to become part OF the world.

That can be a fine line, can’t it?

Are you drawing the line where it needs to be drawn?

I’d love to know your thoughts.

8 replies
  1. Larry Strouse
    Larry Strouse says:

    Yes I totaly agree Susie! We can see in our society and even in some of our churchs that no “line” has been drawn. We see how close we can get to the world that sometimes it is hard to tell the two apart. If we talk like the world, act like the world, and have the habits of the world, we must be of the world.
    Thanks Susie!

    Reply
  2. Lori McNeill
    Lori McNeill says:

    I agree and I am striving to teach my preteen those boundaries I strive to live by. Thank you for your words of guidance to strengthen my view of the line I draw.

    Reply
  3. Glenda Wooldridge
    Glenda Wooldridge says:

    You are so right, and thank you Susie for reminding us in a great example that we need to continually check the lines we have
    drawn and see if they are in the spirit God wants us to be.

    Reply
  4. Brooke Maggard
    Brooke Maggard says:

    Reminds me of a plaque my son gave me…
    “Never confuse the will of the majority with the Will of God.”

    Reply
  5. Carol Nikkel
    Carol Nikkel says:

    The lines seem to get blurred every day. It is very difficult when we see these lines being blurred by esteemed theologians (i.e. the latest Tony Campolo blog), our college professors, and sometimes our pastors. We must always check the scriptures for those lines and not our emotions, and especially not our desires to not seem “intolerant.”

    Reply
  6. Konna Vierow
    Konna Vierow says:

    I agree that it is a fine line. I find it especially difficult when raising my teenagers. I’ve had to teach them that they have to find their own “line”. It’s difficult for me when their “line” isn’t the same place as my “line”, even with them attending a Nazarene University.

    Reply

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