If We Sought Salvation & Knowledge

 I was watching YouTube and 2 videos in particular put me into a train of thought about what I think of as "intelligent ignorance".

The first video is about how some Middle Easterners crave and seek out a party lifestyle. A lot of what we Americans and a lot of other non-Middle Easterners take for granted is forbidden by other cultures. But there seem to be no boundaries to the human greed for sin. So, if one wants it bad enough (or can afford it), sin can be found.

The other video is about people who will degrade themselves to make money. And I'm not talking about people who prostitute themselves because they know of no other way to survive.

I know one person - I will call her Davia -  who when she was a struggling and might-as-well-be-single mother, decided that she didn't just want to be financially stable but rich. She put everything else in her life at risk to make this happen. She did work very hard for what she eventually got, but I sometimes wonder at what cost. And I wonder these some years later if it was really worth it. She has spent at least the last two and a half decades living extremely well.  She's probably in the millionaire class by now. She has had all the travel, fine dining, and shopping experiences that most upper-middle-class and kinda-sorta well-off people can only fantasize about. She still works but her job is managing all the people she has working for her. 

Davia achieved all that she wanted. When she was struggling, she decided that she never wanted to be in that position again. What I don't know is whether she has put as much consideration into the state or the future of her soul. I know that she is "religious", but I don't know if she has eternal salvation. Now that she is of a different financial class (and does not live in this country), I'm not as close to her as I once was. A long time ago - before she reached her goals, I did ask about her beliefs Her answer was just that she was "spiritual". Because I was not saved then, I never pushed her to be more specific. I never did witness to her.

Using myself as another example, before I was saved, I was a master at searching out and finding information about all kinds of things. Keep in mind, this was before home computers and use of the internet were common. However, if you'd given me a quiz about anything to do with Jesus or the Bible, I would not have been able to pass for all the money in the world.

I guess I'm just thinking about how we will work so hard at our jobs and on our romantic relationships and for other things but we don't consider the really important things. I often wonder if (or why not) people ask the important questions:

• What happens when we die? 
• Where will we spend eternity? 
• What does it mean to be 'spiritual' or 'religious'? 
• What about Jesus? 
• Why Jesus and not some other person? 
• Could those Christians be right? 
• Why do I believe what I believe?
• What if I am wrong?

I wonder most of all why people don't pursue those questions more.

I know people who think a lot about UFOs, aliens, ghosts, hauntings, angels, the Mandela Effect, 'lizard people', and whether or not Michael Jackson, Elvis, or Tupac might still be alive. And they think hard and seriously about these things. But do they spend as much time thinking about their beliefs about God or good and evil and what that means to them personally?

There is this one rich guy who is spending more money than I can almost imagine on retaining physical youth. Maybe he wants immortality? When I was younger, I might have found him intriguing. With my more mature perspective, I find him weird, sad, and worrying. I find myself praying for him to become as wise as he is rich.

Now, that guy doesn't even care that a lot of people on social media laugh and make fun of him. Meanwhile, as a Christian, I sometimes am intimidated by people who laugh and make fun of my beliefs. What a strange time we live in!

They will do this for "likes"...

My prayer for myself and my fellow Christians is to be unashamed and energetic in our pursuit of pleasing Christ. I pray that we can be as bold in witnessing to others as secular "influencers" are in sharing whatever they are peddling. 

Peace

--Free