…Who’s the prettiest of them all?” The evil queen ask the question to her mirror almost daily; just to have the satisfaction of hearing it say “you are”. Talk about insecurity at its finest. But wait, how is Christianity today any different than the evil queen? We might not be asking a mirror for sanguine praise of ourselves, but we kind of act like we want the world to like us and praise us, don’t we? No one wants to be the one left out or ridiculed. If we could, we should ask the evil queen how she felt when her mirror turned on her for Snow White; wait, that’s fiction, but you get my point? So the question to ponder in today’s reading is this: Should Christianity make the unsaved feel good?

Now let’s first clarify, feeling good and showing love and kindness are two different things. As Christians we should always live out the love of God to those around. That love doesn’t condone and support sin, but seeks to point the lost to the Lord. The greatest way to show love it to not agree with someone and support them, but to offer them the truth that will last for eternity! As Christians we shouldn’t seek to be everyone’s buddy, and make the gospel message popular, or jazzy; instead we need to boldly and lovingly proclaim God’s Word to everyone regardless of how it sounds. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 that very thing. He didn’t use enticing words or fancy stuff, he came proclaiming the Gospel message and the truth of God’s Word.

Sadly that’s not always a popular message is it? We live in a day and age where most churches are trying to appeal to the masses with music, entertainment, and posh preachers that are well, cool. It’s not popular to say marriage is one man and one woman for life. It’s not “in” to deny my feelings and say regardless of what was done to me I will continue to love my enemies and draw closer to God becaue we love a victimhood in society. It’s not the trend to stand up and say the Bible says Hell is real and Jesus Christ will open the books one day and we will be judged out of that and whether we accepted Him will determine my eternal bliss in Heaven, or eternal damnation in Hell. Books and blogs tell us it’s important to understand the Bible through my life experience or the experience of others and not accept it as an absolute arbiter of truth. Satan has used postmodernism and relativism to destroy Biblical principles of marriage, nonconformity, nonresistance, morality, and truth and the church of today is looking more like Laodicia than the church of Acts. So what are we to do?

Stop worrying number one. I’m reminded of King Ahab not wanting to hear the words of Micaiah because he never said good things to him. The story is in 2 Chronicles 18 and is a great example of where we as Christians find ourselves today. You could be like the other “prophets” and have elaborate feel-good stories to placate our listeners or friends. Or, like Micaiah we could say the unpopular things that need said, not because we are mean, but because it is what will point them to a Savior who will heal and redeem them of the hurts and bruises of sins. It’s hard for sure, but to be honest that’s what we all need to be doing.

Think of it this way our Lord Jesus called it the narrow and broad way in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Living a life devoted to God and serving Him is not popular in a sin cursed world; it is a narrow way. And the sooner we realize that the sooner we can be better and effective disciples for Him in spreading the good news of Salvation.

To often today’s preachers in churches today are fitting the mold of 2 Timothy 4:3-4 than 2 Timothy 2:24-25 and thats sad. We need to keep our focus on the Truths contained in Scripture and not on the newest watered down trends of today. If a preacher, teacher, blogger or writer is not speaking truths from the Bible that are cross-referenced and verified by the 2 Corinthians 13:1 rule, then RUN! This matter of truth vs popularity is far to great to ignore and we need to study to show ourselves workmen needing not to be ashamed and err on the rock of truth than the sands of popular trends.

So back to the mirror on the wall. This mirror is probing, thoughtful, and intrusive. It will burn into your conscience with the Truth when clouds of doubt circle overhead. While also giving you peace for the journey ahead. It will give comfort and assurance, but also guilt and remorse when it shines on our sins. This mirror doesn’t tell us what we WANT to hear, but what we NEED to hear. We either can choose to analyze ourselves in it and fix those flaws we find, confess the sins we are convicted on, and joyfully go share the joy of forgiveness to a world around us OR we can walk away untouched and continue in that wide highway of life that Satan would love to keep us on. The passage in James 1 verses 18 though 25 make this point abundantly clear. We have a choice to make when faced with the mirror of truth: ignore it and wallow in the mire of society trying to please the masses OR turn, walk in the narrow way and keep our hearts with all diligence to God.

So back to the question “who’s the fairest of them all?” Well it should be the blood washed believer who surrenders their life to God. So when we are tempted to downplay the Bible, minimize biblical truths, or ignore the seriousness of this thing called life let’s remember that this is not a popularity contest. Jesus already said we would be hated and reviled of men. It won’t change. So instead of trying to be accepted by a never satisfying world let us seek to please and honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today and tomorrow so we can see Him in eternity and know we have “…fought the fight and kept the faith..” and stood up for truth regardless of the consequences.

I’m reminded of the phrase in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Tennyson and it’s this: “Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die” We aren’t called to question what God says, or try to interpret the Bible in some newfound light of secular reasoning. Ours, as a believer is to DO, and sacrifice all for the cause of Christ. So keeping Luke 14 in mind let’s charge on and go mightily into the fray to tell others about Christ; never shirking or wavering from our duty. God bless!