Contamination of Our Faith

After recently getting over some type of germ God reminded me of something.

I was speaking with a friend and she mentioned to me that she felt like she was catching a cold and she was baffled because she keeps her hand sanitizer with her at all times and is constantly washing them.  But somehow, she said, she managed to pick up a germ and it was puzzling her because she really did not know where she had gotten it from.  And we spoke for a few minutes about germs and not being aware of the surfaces until something else caught our attention in the conversation.

But shortly after I got off the phone with her, God began to speak to me about germs and just how easy we can pick them up naturally and spiritually and more importantly, how we can allow our faith to become contaminated.  Allow germs to come in and affect what we believe. 

Simple things like, bad advice, taking counsel from an unsaved loved one or friend.  What we watch and what we listen to.  Things like the Fear Factor, facing our fears “supposedly” instead of simply rebuking them.  See how easy it is to accept things?  Scandal and the like, taking part in the enjoyment of someone sleeping with their married president.  Yeah, I know the show is about more than that and we all have our “vices,” right?  Those things that may not be okay to someone else, but are seemingly okay for us.  But okay, I’ll leave that one alone.  For now, anyway, since it seems I may be hitting a nerve and you might miss the point of this message.  But, I think you get the idea.  We yet have to be mindful of what we’re watching so that it doesn’t become a part of who we are and the decisions we make.  So that it doesn’t contaminate our faith (or our witness, for that matter).

Music and even radio shows we listen to that do not glorify God can contaminate our faith.  The language we hear (and allow) in conversations; jokes that aren’t really funny, nor should we find them to be.  Yet we laugh, albeit shyly.   Does everything we do, say, and watch have to glorify God, you ask?  It should.  Or at the very least, ask yourself this, if Jesus was sitting right next to you while you were watching or listening to whatever it is that you’re doing, would He cringe???   Uhmmm.

God says we even listen to gossip (that’s a germ), people talking about other people, often times covering it up under “we need to pray for so and so…”  And sometimes we are the very voices we hear.  We’re doing it ourselves.

All these things and others contaminate our faith.  They cause our faith to weaken.  And we do them and we wonder why things are not working for us.  Why we can’t rebuke the spirit of sickness or any other one from our midst?  We wonder why prayers aren’t answered or hindered.  We’ve picked up a germ and have allowed things to come in and contaminate our very being.  Causing us to be “sick”, unable to believe, to act on or even to hear the promises of God.  Sickness is a barrier.  It’s a blessing blocker.  Your faith has been contaminated.

We’ll find ourselves saying things that we don’t normally say.  Speaking curses over our lives instead of the Word of God.  Saying I’m sick (or/and tired) and leaving it there, instead of speaking “by the stripes of Jesus I am healed.”  “In my weakness, His strength is made perfect.”  We’ll curse someone out and give them a piece of our mind, instead of praying for them like the Bible says.  “Pray for those that despitefully use you.”  Like my husband has said, some of us don’t have any mind left, because we gave away too many pieces.  If you have been saved, you are a child of God and with that, you have the mind of Christ.  But when you give it up, you have allowed something to contaminate what you believe.  You have given up a piece of your faith. 

We’ll even find ourselves doing things that we would not otherwise do, or things that we have already stopped doing because God has delivered us from it.  Like visiting liquor stores and watching porn.  Why?  Because we’ve allowed the germs of lust, adultery, debauchery and the like to affect us.  How?  By watching what we’ve been watching. 

We stop giving, because we have allowed the fear of not having enough to enter the picture.  We stop loving, because we have allowed bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness to settle in our hearts.  We’ve picked up a germ. 

We will allow our faith to be contaminated when we continually hang around people who are not of like faith.  Because they will speak things and often do things that are contrary to the Word of God.  Even something as simple as not blessing their food.  It will rub off on you.  And the next time you go to a restaurant you’ll find yourself just digging in, taking a pass on the grace.  You are bound to pick up a germ if you keep going where germs are. 

We have to be careful.  Just like with a cold, keep your hands clean.  Take your spiritual vitamins.  Yeah, I’m gonna say it, you’re a Christian, B-1.   (Sorry, couldn’t resist… lol).  Be aware of your surroundings.  Cover yourself (and your mouth) in prayer.  Put on your spiritual warfare.  Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life.  Keep your head covered, by keeping your mind stayed on Jesus.  And think of those things that are lovely, pure, of good report, worthy of praise.  Be joyful, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.  Then you will be totally resistant to anything trying to contaminate you or your faith.

God is good.  And He’s real!