Philosopher Edmund Burke said; “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Of all the parental and church instructions I hurled out my youth window, it might seem strange that a rebellious teenager would cling to the “abstaining from sex before marriage” one. But I did.
I suppose it was an anomaly to my girlfriends-who were normally sexually active or wanted to be, and to my male friends who enjoyed bragging about their conquests. And after all, if I was committing all the other sin habits, why not this one too? I can’t explain the inconsistency; I can only admit it was a firm conviction.
Defined, conviction means “a strong persuasion or belief,” and learning to do good requires them. Our people must learn to do good (Titus 3:14 NLT). Without them, I’ve discovered I’ll fail in obedience, but with them I’ll obey what the Bible says; Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies (Ephesians 4:14 NLT).
Convictions should be established early in life, and parents, teachers, and other significant individuals play a vital role in ingraining these in children. Proper foundations are laid early rather than later in life.
Convictions should also be based on the principles of God’s Word. While truth is not solely relegated to the Bible, it’s the only place where unvarnished and absolute truth is discovered that will benefit the individual, group, and world.
Additionally, convictions must be practiced to be advantageous. Saying I genuinely believe in something without applying it is of little use to me or others. What convictions is God convicting you to make?
Prayer: Almighty God, give us the eternal fortitude to form our convictions based on Your Word and then to depend on Your grace to live by them each day.
Well said! Most of my convictions started early in life as my parents raised me in the faith, and continue into my adulthood. I pray that I can instill such convictions with my own children.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking to Wednesday's Word. Many will be blessed by reading your post.
ReplyDeleteConvictions and disciplines are important in our walk with God. And never looking back on the ones we broke - but looking ahead to doing better.
Blessings,
Janis
Hopping from Wednesday's Word. What a great post!! And how wonderful that conviction was for your life! HUGE!! Growing up I had no idea what that all meant. And now sometimes I can get aggravated when others seem to push or judge me due to their own convictions. I too can be critical of others that live on the fence with one foot in church/walk with the Lord and one foot in the world, and then try to get me to see there side of things. Everyone is responsible for their own convictions, we have to answer for them, not for anyone elses'. It can be challenging to teach our children but we need to rely on the Lord to place convictions in their lives as well!!
ReplyDeleteConviction has always been a hard one for me to navigate. I think because I naturally feel guilty about EVERYTHING, it has been hard to know what is truly conviction from God versus expectations of man. This is a great post on it though with very clear definitions. I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you for linking up to Flashback Friday.
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