1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Abstain from all appearance of evil."
As Christians we sometimes loose our way in serving the Lord. It is so easy to get lost in a world as bad as ours is. Sin prevails almost every time because it is the way of Satan and he controls this world system. God is allowing Satan to win in this world because it is his to rule until Jesus Christ takes it back in the Millennium Period. This world will never get any better than it is today, I know some folks see this as negative thinking but it is a fact none the less. We already allow so much evil here in America and in the world. We have a government out of control, and IsIs is about to take control of the middle-east, and Gay marriage is a sure thing in the U.S. Supreme Court. It is easy to look at the world and wonder how a Christian is able to survive in it. With temptations on every turn, getting caught-up in them is easy. I am afraid that respect for God and the churches have been lost even by most of those who attend worship services and even some in churches today. We are to teach those who attend services to fear God and the chastening of God but instead so many are being taught that God is one who can be controlled and ignored. Once a person no longer accounts the scripture as God’s Holy Word, then they loose all faith in God. How can a Minister teach laws if the laws have no teeth. No more than a Police Officer can control the speed limit if he is asleep on the job. This world is not bad because God cannot control it, it is bad because it is God’s predetermined plan. When the Court passes Gay marriage it will not mean God has been defeated nor the bible has been defeated, it will mean it is one more thing God will judge America and the world for. God told us not to look at the lost, because their prosperity is not a sign of victory. God foretold of this prosperity in Psalms 73:12 “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” Asaph a writer of a few Psalms went as far to say "For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Psalms 73:3 so we can all see the easiness of getting caught up in the evil of the world. However, it is every believer’s responsibility to hold themselves up above the temptations of the world. The Lord told us to abstain from all appearance of evil; this means we should not even put ourselves around it at all. If preachers do not preach the truth don’t listen to them, if your friends only want to do what’s not right then ignore them. Beloved if something even appears to be evil then please stay away from it. Serving God is more important than enjoying the evil of this temporal world. I know things that are worldly seem tempting and harmless but disobeying God is never harmless. We as Christians have the opportunity to walk in a way that makes those who are lost take a look. God told us in 1 Thessalonians 4:12 “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without and that ye may have lack of nothing.” showing them that Christians are not without pleasure and joy. It does not take worldly joy to be happy, believers are truly happy and blessed. We are examples to them who are without Christ and to those who are in Christ but may be young or weak. Abstaining from evil takes discipline on our part because we still have the old man, but we also have our new Godly nature and it can override the old nature unless we do not want it too. Beloved abstain from evil and what even looks evil because being around evil is nothing short of temptation. If you are weak then ask God for strength, He has plenty to give.
