Whether you eat or drink...

Do you know 1 Corinthians 10:31? It says "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." I was talking to a Christian gentleman the other day about a recent movie. He indicated the way he watches current movies is to download them from the internet. I asked him if that was considered stealing pirated movies? His answer was very typical, of the saturation into American culture that is all about us. He said "If I like the movie then I will buy it when it comes out on DVD." I worked for a very wise businessman who once said "Rationalization is the greatest form of mental therapy." We tend to live the Christian life from a way in which we make sure that we keep away from the "BIG" sins like murder, adultery, illegal drugs and robbery. But what about all the little disobediences that tend to work there way into our lives that we never address? So what is the big deal about downloading a pirated movie off the internet? Because it is stealing and 1 Corinthians 10:31 says whether you eat or drink, in other words whatever you do to include even watching movies on the internet, be sure in these things that you glorify God.

Here is what so bothers me about myself and others that live in this affluent culture called America. We tend to find a way to adjust and distort the truth so that it matches what we want it to say. If I watch a little pornography then at least I am not going out with prostitutes. If I drink to much beer, wine or whiskey well at least I am not doing crack cocaine. So what if I'm downloading illegal and pirated videos from an internet site, at least I'm not robbing a bank.

Can you hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:7-9? "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
Matt. 18:8 ¶ “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
Matt. 18:9 “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell."
Do you know what the Lord Jesus knows about the human heart? If you don't kill sin (big or little) then sin will end up killing you. This Christian gentleman is someone I respect and I shared with him my concern about this behavior. Hopefully I was able to model speaking the truth in love. May I encourage us as Christians to recognize that we are not to think, look nor act like this world. And even though we are in the world we are not of this world. Our home is not on this earth but in heaven. I pray that even in all that we do, downloading movies, emails, phone conversations with family members that we would do it all to the glory of God!