Common Becomes Appealing
Common Becomes Unappealing
Good Morning,
All of us enjoy new things, whether it be a car, clothing, or a phone. (Well, maybe not a phone because they change how we do things and it can be frustrating.) I have no problem with new things (certainly, new inventions have made our lives so much more comfortable), but when we get bored with the old and desire the new, simply because it is new, then we are in trouble.
The danger I see is the desire to avoid normal or regular. Who wants pizza from Pizza Hut? Although, I think they make the best pizza, most people want to visit some new place that they can post on social media and be the “first” to discover it. When in reality, they often do not enjoy the “new stuff.”
Our society wants new styles of clothing or hair, new styles of “worship” at church; that same desire to find something new is what Paul found in Athens.
Acts 17:21 “(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”
Where do you think the infatuation of new diets comes from? There was a rage over “the Adkins diet” (long past), but you will hear about all meat diets, just not using the old name Adkins. New comes to us via vegan or yoga or bamboo mattresses, or even “my pillow.” I am not saying any of these things are wrong (except for yoga), but it illustrates how we love anything new.
When almost any doctor or scientist will agree that stress is the worst thing on our health, rather than seeking the peace of God (so out of date and archaic), instead we seek to find cage-free eggs, almond milk, organic dog food, and electric cars. Our society wants something new to feel fulfilled and to seem as if they are “making a difference.” This is seen in outlawing gas ranges, open borders, tiny houses, or buses converted into homes. Things that come and go so fast we forget them.
The danger comes when we mess with successful things such as Sunday school, preaching, and soul winning. Someone may put out a new discipleship program, forgetting that the Bible never mentions such a thing. Churches find themselves neglecting the bus ministry, and often youth ministry because of the NEW THING. Youth work really is WORK, and the bus ministry is expensive and time consuming; a rock concert simply makes one feel good.
Marriage has forever been one man and one woman, with the intent of a lifetime commitment. Society has brought into the home every vulgar NEW THING and no end of sorrow with it. God says it is far better to rejoice in what you have.
Proverbs 5:18 “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.”
vs. 19 “Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.”
vs. 20 “And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?”
Without despising the new, let us be guarded not to become infatuated with something new, but remain content with the things that have proven themselves over the decades and even centuries.
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have…”
1 Timothy 6:8 “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
Pastor