PROCEED WITH CAUTION

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." - Col 2:8

Just the other day, I was walking through Barnes and Nobles with Hannah when one of the display tables entitled "thought provoking" caught my eye. Being a bit of the deep thinker type, this intrigued me and I decided to go check things out. As I scanned the covers and titles of the books on the table I quickly noticed a very obvious trend. "Why God is not Great," "Why Evolution is True," and "The evolution of God," were the first three titles I read. Nearly the entire table was covered with books supporting atheism, evolution or how to make sense of the world on your own while giving no thought to God. There wouldn't be a problem with all this if the claims these books were making were true, but they're not.

The word hollow means that something is empty, can't hold water or has no substance to it and this is exactly what these books are - hollow philosophy. These books stem out of man's frustrated attempts to understand and describe an indescribable God. Does it make any sense that man's little pea sized brain with simple words and ideas should be able to fully grasp the mind of an all-powerful God and all the intricate workings of his world? Absolutely not! The problem is that you and I seem to think we're the center of the universe instead of only part of it. We think that God exists for us, to serve us and to meet out needs, instead of us existing for Him. This way of thinking has somehow entitled us to probe God's logic, critique his choices and scorn him when he does wrong as if he was some teenage child of ours. How silly, selfish and foolish is that? Extremely, but sadly that's what much of the world does.

Satan has the corner on the intellectual market and he is using man's gift of reason to turn him against God. Before you pay any attention to the hollow philosophies of this world, will you please seek out the truth for yourself. Truth seeking is not easy and takes time, but it's worth it because your soul and the souls of others are at stake.

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says, "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." The road to destruction starts with following lies and hollow philosophy that elevates man to make him his own God. This road is wide because it's the easiest and most popular one to take. It's far easier to deny and discredit God so that you can live for yourself than it is to seek Him out and live for Him. According to the Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias, "whatever is true about God and spirituality must be in line with what is historically, philosophically and experiential true." I believe that the Christian view of God provides the best explanation for what we see, understand and know about our world. I've looked into other worldviews and there are none that can compare.

So proceed with caution as you go out into the world. Don't believe everything you read and don't believe everything you see. Test everything and always seek out the truth, even if it takes time. The Apostle Paul warned of this day and age in 2 Timothy 4:3 when he said, "The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." Bookstores are great for itching ears and people who want to live for themselves because you can always find some author of some book to tell you you're great and that God's not important. Our world, more than ever before, is in desperate need to hear and know the truth about God. Satan is feeding the world lie after lie and it's working. Will you join in the fight and be a messenger for God's truth today?