| excerpt from a letter written to me: You made a good rebuttal to my argument that Christians dressing as the Goths might offend or close the door to more people than they actually minister too. You said that those most offended are those within the church and I do agree. I think it might do us well to shift the focus off our relationship with the lost for a moment and think about the Christian's relationship with "the church." In other words their family. Those genuinely save by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit have become heirs of christ. They enter the family of God and bear the name of Christ. Now grant it, church buildings are full of grumbly, scratchy people each Sunday who might believe that because they "did" something or "said" something back in 1923 that they are Christians, yet their lives bear no fruit whatsoever. Set them aside for the moment and consider those that you know who are genuinely born again, living, vibrant witnesses of what Christ did on the cross for them. It is this group of people that the individual Christian is first and foremost responsible to. Coming from an Armenian background, I grew up believing that my greatest responsibility as a Christian was to save the lost. It was my job and I was for sure not going to let someone die with their blood on my hands. After having had my eyes so graciously opened by the mercy of God, regarding the doctrines of grace, my thinking changed. I fell in love with the other people in the family who were feasting on the same truths. Now my love for the lost didn't change. Quite the contrary, after I realized that God was not going to let a single one of His chosen children perish, I could love the lost more easily because I didn;t feel that I had to change them. (I made a lot of enemies trying to change people for the Kingdom.) I could now accept them for what they were, knowing that in His time, if they were chosen before the foundations of the world that they would change at the hands of their new Father. I was released to really love them... patiently. So my responsibility to share the great news of God's grace took on a whole new meaning. I could share the Lord in a brief moment in the book store with the person next to me, without feeling pressure to find some "bridge" to build first. I could prayerfully make a simple comment or engage in a long dialogue and walk away knowing that I had not somehow damaged the work God had begun. Lest I stray let me return to the family issue. There is no argument that we are to avoid offending others to the best of our ability. We are even commanded to go to our brother whom we have offended before offering our worship to the Lord or participating in His communion. That is how important it is that we strive to be unoffensive. Now you made the good point that some people are offended at everything, where do we draw the line? Well, my guess is that if you have a person that is offended all the time by every little thing he may actually fall into the category with "Mr. 1923 profession of faith" Someimes you have to, after self examination conclude that the heart of that person is awry and you can do nothing about their offenses. However, those who genuinely walk with the Lord sometimes have sensitivites, and convictions and sometimes they be simply convictions that stem from a weaker conscience. Now Scripture teaches us how to deal with a weaker brother and it is not to be offended at their offense. It is to sacrifice your right to do what you are doing so as not cause this one to stumble and in the meantime pray that the weaker brother becomes strong. This is the perfect example of loving someone else more than yourself. Christians are commanded in Scripture to love and edify one another in the true Church. That is what the local church is for. Trying not to offend is one vital aspect of our walk with the Lord and His other children, but it is only one side of the coin. If we stop there and ignore the responsibility to edify, we are failing. (All things are lawful, but not all things edify) And within the boundaries of "that which is good, that which is true, that which is of good report,,," we are free; yet, we must edify. That does not mean to just "avoid offending one another." Edification has active connotations. To edify is to encourage and build one another up. To teach one to be more like Christ. If we choose to adopt an appearance that is strange to the general population we invite an element of criticism, distrust, maybe even animosity (depending on the reputation of the subculture we are emulating) It can be argued that these feelings ought not exist, particularly among Christians, but it can equally be argued that those doing it may be putting their right to be different above thier responsibility to live edifying lives within the Christian community. If we emphasize our right to express ourselves, or emphasize our individuality even to the extent of alieniating our own brothers and sisters in Christ, we must at some point acknowledge that "we" are the focus. Another point might well be made that generally the desire to "be different" is limited to a certain age group; pre-teens-young adults. The evidence to support this is overwhelming and one would be wise to ask why. I believe that it has to do with the undeniable nature of wisdom. It does not come overnight. It takes many years of making choices, both good and bad to learn wisdom. It does not mena that young adults are without wisdom. (well, some are. :) ) I know many who possess wisdom beyond their years. We have had the joy of watching as each of our two older children grew in wisdom and stature. It has been gradual and sometimes barely visible, but never deniable. And it is not complete just as it is not complete in me. Far from it. In closing (finally) The funny thing to me about the goth image is that it is not just wearing black clothes. I have been known to wear all black on many ocassions. I was called Zorro once but never goth. :) I can't put my finger on it but there is soemthing else that is added to the image that gives it the look of being "gothic" Maybe you can help me understand what it is. I know I have never seen a blonde goth. Do they all dye their hair? Anyway, to my point: We can make choices, with an absolutely clear conscience, justify those choices and even show in Scripture where we have the riht to make that choice, but if that choice creates a genuine problem (emphasis on genuine) for one that I am to love more than myself, I must deny myself and my right to do it in their presence. Therefore I would challenge your friends to be sure that their deisre to dress a certain way whether for self _expression or just personal pleasure is in line with the command to love and edify the other members of their family. I know this is long and I appreciate your time to consider to it. Please recieve it in the spirit it is intended. I don't claim to have all wisdon or knowledge but out of love I try to broaden the thinking of young people I care a lot about. back to index page. |