There is a very subtle disease among the women in our Christian communities. Most of us aren’t even aware of it but it is killing us! Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was a man that scripture says had the mark of excellence. Yet, he had this terrible disease and he is a warning to those of us who have ears to hear.
The disease is called…”Spiritual Decay”.
The process of this virus is nearly imperceptible. Slowly, almost intuitively, certain things are accepted that were once rejected without question. Sort of like the chemistry experiment where the little frog was placed on the stove in a pan of cold water. As the heat increased slowly, the frog remained calm and seemed to enjoy its tepid environment. The water continued to get hotter and the little frog found the now boiling water prohibited him from jumping out of the pan!
Corruption is the steady process of dissolution to which all of us are subject! The instances are exceedingly rare of man immediately passing over a clear marked line from virtue into declared vice and corruption. “There are middle tints and shades between the two extremes; there is something uncertain on the confines of the two empires, which they must pass through, and which renders the change easy and imperceptible.” Edmund Burke
Things once considered rude and hurtful are now openly tolerated. At the onset the “subtle” appears harmless. But the wedge it brings leaves a gap that grows wider with compromise and ultimately, moral erosion joins hands with spiritual decay.
Soon the gap is a canyon and our salt becomes salt less!
This disease is also contagious. There are warning signs to avoid for the wise:
Be careful about changing your standard if it corresponds with your desires.
(Rationalizing that it is acceptable and using the current culture as your excuse…)
Be careful about becoming inflated with thoughts of your own importance.
("I can handle this"…pride always lies!)
Be alert to the pitfalls of prosperity and success.
What area of thought, word or action
have you begun to tolerate?
A woman of conviction takes the commands of Scripture and purposes to follow them whatever the cost. No compromise…no rationalizing…no thinking she can live in the “grey” areas. There are no grey areas! There are only two standards: Black or White…Good or Evil…that’s it! Following godly convictions bring godly influence! Your children are counting on that…remember Daniel? “Daniel resolved (before being tempted!) not to defile himself…” Daniel 1: 8
Which will it be?
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desire you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do…” I Peter 1: 13,14
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
