Strange, right? I was listening to my pastor talk about the body of Christ and how we are all members of one body. And then he said it. “Someone out there is a kidney”. It was kind of a joke. But not to me. My husband nudged me with his elbow and told me what I already knew.
I am a kidney in the body of Christ.
It’s pretty glamorous. You see, one of the kidney’s core functions is waste excretion. In fact, they have been called “sophisticated trash collectors”.
There are many things your body shouldn’t have inside of it. The kidneys help get rid of some of them. The kidneys filter out toxins and things that the body doesn’t need and shouldn’t have. If a kidney fails and loses its ability to function properly, a person can die.
I have always felt called to the church, even when I was in seminary in my 20’s. I knew my mission was “to train and equip the church through preaching and prophetic word”. God would call some to be evangelists, but he called me to the believers. I am passionate about exhorting mature Christians to live a life that is worthy of their calling. To get rid of the things that are unnecessary and toxic. To move out of the gray and into the black and white truth of scripture.
People don’t like to hear about black and white these days. It’s intolerant and close-minded. But I see several areas being treated like they are gray when scripture has clear things to say about them.
For example, scripture is clear on the topics of sex, perversion, and obscenity.
“…abstain from sexual immorality 1 Thes 4
“…everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matt 5:28
"Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!" James 3:10
“let no corrupt (sapros – foul, abusive, evil talk) word proceed out of your mouth (eph 4:29)
There are many more.
Now many of us will say that these scriptures don’t pertain to us. We aren’t living a sexually immoral lifestyle; we aren’t committing adultery or watching pornography. We are in the clear, right?
How about when we sit for hours and are entertained by games or movies that are full of sex, perversion and obscenity?
Christians justify watching rated R movies with sex and obscenities because they aren’t the ones actually doing it. But in looking at Matt 5:28, I would suggest that it can be just as sinful to be entertained by such things. Watching someone’s nude mom, sister, husband, or daughter on a movie screen. Hearing the F word 120 times in the course of 2 hours. Paying money to view God’s design of sex perverted on a sound stage with cameras all around. Just because you don’t buy it in the back section of an adult bookstore doesn’t mean it’s okay to watch.
I think Satan gets a big laugh out of Christians filling the theaters and paying money to be entertained by the very sins they are forbidden to commit. Not to mention the movies filled with evil and demonic themes, horrific murders, and dark and disturbing images that invoke fear.
Just something to think about.