{"id":8472,"date":"2013-03-02T22:56:13","date_gmt":"2013-03-02T14:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/?p=8472"},"modified":"2013-03-03T11:02:23","modified_gmt":"2013-03-03T03:02:23","slug":"blinds-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/blinds-people\/","title":{"rendered":"What Blinds People?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t3 March 2013 by Lim Poh Ann-<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhy it is easy to be mesmerised by beauty, wealth, status, power, intellect and charisma.<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tYou can get preferential treatment if you want to visit someone staying in a guarded and gated residential enclave. Just drive a luxury car and wave at the security guards at the entrance and they will let you in. However, if you drive an ordinary car, you’ll be subjected to stringent checks – you may need to produce your identity card to gain access.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

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\n\tEven a car can blind people’s eyes! To the guards, a car reflects a person’s wealth and status in society. They think the rich and powerful are respectable so they have no evil designs; they won’t commit crime.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\tWe, wittingly or unwittingly, also tend to be partial. We tend to be mesmerised by beauty, wealth, status, power, intellect and charisma. And we accord more attention and respect to people with these qualities.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\tAs believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance. Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes. If you show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, “Have this best seat here,” but say to the poor man, “Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,” then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil motives” <\/span><\/span>(James 2:1-4)<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n

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\n\tAlas, we have allowed the values of the world to mould and influence our thoughts that we spontaneously behave like people in the world.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\tThat’s why we need to renew our minds – study the Word and reflect on its values. <\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\tDo not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God — what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect” (Romans 12:2).<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\tOn a much broader front, believers can get so enchanted by the glitz and glitter<\/strong> in church — soothing music, rousing worship, imposing architecture, luxurious ambience, eloquence of the preacher — that they fail to distinguish between the form<\/strong> (externals, frills) and the substance<\/strong> (core values, essentials).<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\tNow there is nothing wrong with having all the nice things in life — the music, ambience and eloquent 1 <\/sup><\/strong>preaching. But the substance<\/strong> too must be there:<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n