Ignore Principles of the World

Scripture: See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

Observation: As Paul continues some of his basic instruction to the church in Colossae, he gives this instruction, which is quite common to his teachings. Believers are to ground their personal philosophy in Christ, and not in the ideas and traditions and philosophies of the world. In other words, it is the word and teaching of the Lord that should determine our beliefs and behaviors, and not mere intellectual logic, or political rhetoric, or even generational traditions. Unless one of these items is absolutely rooted in Jesus, it is not to become a guiding factor in our lives.

Application: Two days ago, a woman at our church told my wife and I she was no longer 'really' on Facebook. This is a woman who, I believe, has very strong faith, but for years has fallen into multiple teachings from false prophets on social media. She has vocally declared ideas that she came to believe, taught by 'preachers' and 'prophets' on the internet, and which were so far removed from any biblical truth that they were immediately and obviously known to be false by the rest of us. The result has been devastating for her and her family in ways I will not say here.

To hear she is existing social media is good ... I didn't say anything to her as I didn't want to embarrass her, but this was good news for her. That said, I know others who claim to be strong Christians and spend their time not only believing but also propagating "philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world." That is an apt way to describe political rhetoric, and there remain far too many people who declare themselves to be Christians and simultaneously base much of their daily activity on political topics.

This is a problem, and it must stop. It really doesn't matter that much if political topics are clearly aligned to biblical commands ... 95 percent are not, and even moral agreement does not mean that participation in the political arena - engaging in human traditions like partisan politics, or espousing logical philosophy on such issues - is proper.

I am happy some people are realizing this. I wish more would do so.

Prayer: Lord, I do know my own social media feeds have a political bias to them. I ask that you help me ignore that, and even more importantly, that you help me guard my heart when it comes to engaging in or allowing my mind to be taken captive by such philosophies and traditions and principles. May my worldview be centered on Christ alone, and on your precepts. Amen.