Spot The Difference
“...Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” (1 Cor 5:6).
When my son was younger, and I, liberal to some degree,
I took him to a concert in a church somewhere locally.
And there on the platform stood some Christians equipped with backing,
Which the sacred and dedicated precincts soon were sacking.
That didn’t seem to bother too much, but something else began to,
For something had happened to my son sitting in the same pew.
His face was flushed with excitement, his body roused by the beat,
And he sat there enthralled, transfixed, and on the edge of his seat.
Yes, he appeared as if overtaken by something — captured,
He was clearly smitten, a fan with new idols — enraptured.
Thus, what I saw and heard that night, created concerns that grew,
And the wisdom of attending such, I began to review.
It wasn’t the lyrics, but the backing that had drawn my son,
Yes, the physical, and not the intellectual, had won.
And the call of the stage, the limelight, had cast its worldly spell,
Hence why I couldn’t help thinking that something just didn’t gel.
Except for the lyrics, the rest was only Christian in name,
Yes, a backing that clearly didn’t have the same heavenly aim.
It appealed to one’s former life, drew from the secular realm;
A musical fusion; two forces locked in battle at its helm.
Yes, not just its affect on my son bothered me, but that mix,
One that didn’t gel, and that was giving my conscience sharp pricks.
Given that fusion, that Christian and worldly blend — what was what?
And such alarmed me, for shouldn’t there be a line one can spot?
Yes, “Spot the difference between Christians and the world,” I thought,
As echoes of hypocrisy (which fitted me too), I now fought.
Yes, in the world but not of the world, was ringing in my ears,
And a question: Isn’t it Satan who compromise engineers?
By Lance Landall
“… ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house
divided against itself will stand’ ” (Matt 12:25).
“ ‘No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else
he will be loyal [devoted] to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon [there is no neutral position]’ ” (Matt 6:24, NKJV).
“ ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost it’s taste, how can it’s saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot [if we have become
part of the world and are living by its principles we are no longer salt. We have become a
part of the problem rather than the solution]’ ” (Matt 5:13).