Onward, Christian Vacationers

Back in the 1980s, when Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) artists were still allowed* to be a prophetic voice to confront sin in the World & in the American Church, Keith Green wrote these hauntingly powerful words:

The World is sleeping in the dark that the Church just can’t fight ‘cause it’s asleep in the Light.

While I can’t come close to Green’s poetic skill, I’d like to offer a more specific take on his lyrics:

The World is addicted to profane TV, alcohol, & Vegas vacations, but the Church can’t do anything about it because they’re addicted to The Family Channel, Starbuck’s, & Disney vacations.

I’m not saying that watching a little TV, drinking a cup of coffee, or taking a vacation are wrong, but…

We haven’t had a TV for almost all of the last three decades. I say “almost” because someone gave us a TV when she moved several years ago (thanks, Mom), & we tried it for a few months. We know that even if you can avoid the vast amounts of filth, it’s a huge time waster, but we managed to limit our viewing to less than five hours a month. Almost all of that was America’s Funniest Home Videos. But they always manage to surround Tom Bergeron with miniskirt-clad girls, don’t they? And several of the ads were nauseatingly sinful. So we got rid of the TV, & we’re much happier for it. We’d much rather do fun, romance, comedy, & adventure than just watch it.    

How do we do adventure?

God made you with an appetite for thrills; how do you satisfy it?

Give more than you can afford. Witness to your neighbors. Pray for the sick. Go on short-term mission trips.

The few vacations we’ve had in the past several years have all been to visit & minister to family, & I’ve been on many short-term missions.

How different would life on this Earth be if every saint stopped drinking $5 cups of coffee & gave that money to missions instead? 

Please believe that I’m not bragging or looking down on anyone. I only talk about us because we want to be an example. That’s what disciples do—they teach by example. Paul talked a lot about his lifestyle, & he said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”  I want to inspire others to say, “John is just an ordinary guy, yet he’s a missionary. Maybe the Lord wants me to do something like that, too.” The need is great. The World is lost. We have their Hope.

*I have addressed this matter to people in the CCM industry. They readily admit that their artists no longer confront sin as Green, Steve Camp, Steve Taylor, Russ Taff, & others used to. But they insist that those artists were wrong in the old days. God’s not into that judgmental stuff, ya know? Don’t these people read the Bible? *facepalm* From cover to cover, the Word tells of many prophetic voices denouncing sin among God’s people & among the lost.