“You can not drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You can not eat from the Lord’s table and at the table of demons, too. You say, “I am allowed to do anything” — but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything” — but not everything is beneficial.” [I Cor. 10:21, 23]
Turn your eyes from looking at the worthless. Even the permissible is not beneficial.
A couple years ago I posted about this topic after hearing this chorus sung on an IHOP team. I focused more on how we waste time on social media and said, “At what point do we stop and say, ‘I need to get off this thing and live real life… not this virtual construct. I need to stop being bound to things which take me from places of prayer and become a man of prayer.'” So tonight, as I was driving here, Bob and I were talking and he suggested reading I Corinthians 10. Of course there are a ton of gems in this chapter – and my mind went off in 14 different directions by the time I was halfway down the page.
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.
The temptations in life are no different than what others experience. And how true is that. It’s like the moment I posted about this in 2010, I was immersed into the sea of social media. And not that it is an “evil” thing – I enjoy sharing all the photos and positive sayings and having all the discussions, but I found that my time was suddenly taken away by this phenomena, and even while working, I would switch back and forth from work to Facebook every time I heard the ding of a new message, a comment or a like.Then came the long discussions about theology and christian life and politics. Though challenging and caused me to think, I found these to take tremendous effort and amounts of time to participate in. At one point I stopped those because that statement hit me: Even what is permissible is not always beneficial. Nothing wrong with a good discussion, even if it is something that encourages someone in the Lord, but if they are arguing just to argue, then there is little benefit. In the mean time, I have used valuable time doing it. So things have been scaled way back in that area.
Why did I begin by talking about drinking and eating with demons? Because I do. And so do most of us. It is like what James says – bitter and sweet water can’t come out of the same spring. Darkness and light can’t dwell together. But we attempt to mix and mingle worldliness with holiness and think it will somehow actually work … except, like water and oil … It. Doesn’t. For example, say I am a worship leader in my church. I get up that morning and pray with my team, lead the church in some really beautiful songs that exalt the Lord, praise His name and encourage those in the room. After leaving church, I am tired, so I go home and plop myself on the couch and turn on a movie that is full of violence, a sex scene or two, a whole bunch of profanity – including taking the Lord’s name in vain many times. But it has a good plot! And it teaches a good lesson! What do I do with that? Is that not drinking from the cup of demons? I just drank from the cup of the Lord earlier, didn’t I? So now I am sitting there listing to the name of God profaned, yet hours earlier I was praising His name. See what I am saying? I have done this many times. It’s not just movies – that’s just an easy target. In the Old Testament, there’s a verse that people love to point at because it seems so odd – “You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together” [Deut. 22:11]. Why on earth did God say that to them? Well, when you read the passage in full you will see the context. This whole idea of using a plant fiber with an animal product was all about being separated to sanctification. And I think that is what Paul is echoing what Jesus so clearly stated in his teachings — You are either for me or against me. You are either hot or cold. You can’t love me and money. His point was that we have to choose. That’s what Paul is saying. You cant have it both ways – drinking from the cup of demons – worldliness and drinking from the cup of the Lord – holiness. They don’t mix.
So, how then shall we live? [Hey there’s a familiar question!] Ephesians 5 says, “Not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time for the day is evil.” Learning to walk out life with holiness — learning what is beneficial vs. what is worthless – this is what I need to focus on. If I want to be that man of prayer I wrote about in 2010, then learning to eat and drink from the table of the Lord is what I want to pursue. After all, the food is much better and will sustain me during those times when I am tempted to pick up the goblet of the enemy or try some of his empty calories!
I agree! We cannot think to be double-minded in this and think we can stand. We cannot falter between two opinions and continue to worship before the altar of the Lord and the altar of worldliness. We need a Mount Carmel decision again to follow the Lord and proclaim once again, “The Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God.”
I’ve been thinking about this subject quite a bit lately — especially as it relates to worship leading, the participation of the congregation as it relates to worshipping in spirit and in truth versus soul-driven worship. Musical excellence is good. Bringing a sacrifice of worship given to God — despite the quality of the music or my personal preference — is better. Worship is an offering to God not a self-satisfying musical experience.