It’s been a while since my last post. Hitting a cow, loosing my car, moving states and being challenged to transform my soul (Epic, I know right) are all things that seem to pre-occupy.
These last 2 weeks, I’ve been immersed in a lot of thought about how the environment we live in impacts the person we are and without us even realising it. The world we live in is seen as normal and unless we scrutinise it, we won’t see the negative impact that *normal* actually presents.
I read an interesting post of Facebook (naturally) of someone pointing out that the cost of living makes it impossible for young people to get ahead. I completely disagree with that statement and I’ll have to share why in another post.
Romans 12:2 is a great reminder of this is a constant challenge. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Clean Living in a Contaminated World
I’ve started reading a book titled Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World by Craig Groeschel. Here is a fantastic illustration that he shares of what just a little bad does to even the very best of intentions.
A loving mother demonstrated this principle to her son, Cade. When his friends invited him over to watch a movie, one just released on DVD and rated PG-13, Cade begged his mom to let him see it. His mom asked him her usual questions, “Buddy, is it a good movie? One that won’t hurt your Christian walk?”
Knowing it had some less than appropriate scenes, Cade shuffled from one foot to the other and searched for the right words. Not wanting to lie to his mom, he tried to walk on the edge of the truth. “Well, it’s not as bad as a lot of movies,” he said enthusiastically. “And all my friends have seen it. There’s only a little bit of bad stuff in it.” He held his breath, awaiting his mom’s final verdict on his moviegoing fate.
His mom smiled and said, “Well, of course, honey. As long as there’s only ‘a little bit of bad stuff in it.'” Cade was stunned! Before she changed her mind, the grateful teen bolted for his room, texted his friends the good news, then lost himself in his favorite iPad game.
Now if you’re a parent, you probably already know that Cade’s mom had something up her sleeve. She headed to the kitchen and started implementing her plan. Selecting her son’s favorite brownie mix from the pantry, she added the requisite water, eggs, and oil, stirring the mixture together in a big white bowl. While the oven preheated, Cade’s crafty mom strolled into the back yard for her secret ingredient. Searching carefully in the grass, she scooped up something that their dog Ginger had recently left behind.
She returned to the kitchen, stirred in a teaspoon of Ginger’s secret ingredient, poured the thick, chocolate batter into a nonstick pan, and set the oven timer for twenty minutes. Just as she pulled the brownies from the oven, Cade bounced down the stairs right on cue. “Do I smell my favorite brownies?” he asked with excitement. “You bet!” his mom said, smiling. After letting them cool for a few moments, Cade’s mom cut into the warm brownies and plopped a large one on his plate. Just as his fork hit the plate, she stopped him, and mentioned casually, “Just so you know, I added a special ingredient this time.” She paused without cracking a smile. “I put a teaspoon of Ginger’s poop in your brownies.”
“What?!” Cade shouted, immediately disgusted. “Mom, are you crazy? Why’d you do that?” he choked while pushing his plate away. Cade’s mom went to the fridge and poured her son his usual glass of milk. “Don’t worry, buddy. I didn’t put a lot of poop in the brownies. There’s just a little bit of bad stuff.”
One Response
If people really want something they will get it if teens/ young adults gave up the drink the smokes, take away coffee etc learnt how to cook and budgeted they could save and be able to put a deposit for a house and pay if off or be able to do more with them selves but people have gotten to comfortable with lifes “comforts”. What society has told us we MUST have these things to be happy, like the iphones and the big screen tvs, go out to drink every other weekend etc, people miss out on importance stuff thats for free like friends and family, what happend to a quiet drink over a game of cards?. society has become consumed by consumerism and sadly there will be an inevitable crumble, the people who will be left, will be the people that dont take the little things for granted and dont get sucked in. People forget how something as simple as a vegie patch can be a good stress reliever, as well as save you heaps in groceries why also reducing your carbon foot print and making you healthier. there is no such thing as normal, if we follow the “normal ” we are falling in to a trap of consumerism and stop thinking for ourselves, making the rich corrupt person richer while we remain poorer and the environment continues to get raped of resources. familys and friends instead of fancy hotels should trade in for a tent or a swag! a dunny for a shovel with a toilet paper on the end and the shower for a wash in the creek while going for a swim and a fish for dinner :P you will have more fun and more bonding time more memories then a shopping trip to the city and save heaps of money to boot and marvel at mother nature!