unhinged

A man without convictions is as weak as a door on one hinge.  In a postmodern world where everything is "true " or at least acceptable, convictions are becoming rarer.  But convictions give us a right perspective on life. Strangely, people have strong convictions about unimportant things like football and politics, but no convictions about the important things like the killing of unborn people or other plainly ethical issues of right and wrong. The people who make the greatest impact upon the world, are those with convictions. There’s was Paul, Jesus, Gandhi, Luther, Hitler and MauSetung.  When Jesus said “I must …..”  it was evidence of a conviction.  People can hold wrong or even evil convictions.  Therefore convictions like conscience, need to be informed by a reliable guide. The biblical definition of faith is an unshakable conviction that a thing is so.  So a person of true faith has convictions. Without a conviction about spiritual growth, people living through trials of faith, could give up.  No one stays on a task unless they are convinced it is important.  Convictions enable us to endure suffering for Christ and to reject sin and soft choices. Having convictions or true biblical faith helps us resist temptations.  We believe that the long-term consequences of sin, are greater that any short-term pleasure it provides.  We have a conviction that we are in the world to make it more like heaven, not to increase the culture and reach of hell.  We can see that the long-term blessings of obedience, are greater than any short term suffering we may experience as we obey now. These convictions come from understanding that all things work together for good, to those who love God.

Friends, when we don’t have our own convictions we are at the mercy of everyone else’s convictions.  Maybe a boyfriend who believes you belong to him or your boss who has a conviction, that he has first claim on your life 24 hours a day!  If our convictions don’t determine how we will live, others will determine it for us.  Can you list 10 things about which you have a solid conviction?