Repenting Ignorance

Do we believe that what we believe is really real?

How much is lies, and how much is truth?

I ended up in a black-hole-style conversation after dinner last night with two friends of mine. After a full day of homework, football, rain, and exploring Old Town, I was more than happy to talk.

We hit everything: self-perception, the culture wars, feminism's impact on relationships, and why men and women have such skewed views of one another.

These were guys, and I'm so grateful because I needed to hear that others, especially my male contemporaries, are thinking through and are concerned about the same things I am. 

Our discussion left me thinking...how ignorant am I to the lies of this world slipping into my mind and shaping my beliefs?

Hear me out. Our culture absolutely contributes to who we are; we can't change our familiarity and context. However, we can change what we choose to believe about people, God, and ourselves. Our minds have been transformed by the Holy Spirit--we are now capable of understanding the truth, for we are new creations (2 Cor 5:17). We don't have to ingest the lies of the world anymore, and we don't have to be ignorant to what's really going on here.

The lies. They surround us, but we have the truth of God that's as sharp and penetrating as anything (Heb 4:12). The truth sets us free (John 8:32). The truth is Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). Our eyes can be opened.

We can know that we are valued. We can know that there is hope and eternal life. We can know and live and bank on the fact that Jesus rose from the grave, defeating death and providing the ultimate "Yes" to the promises of God (2 Cor 1:20). We can love, and we can have true community and fellowship with one another because of God in us.

This morning I went out with my dearest friends to celebrate a birthday. We baked croissants, got coffee, and walked down Michigan Avenue to recreate the famous Audrey Hepburn scene from the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Amid the overwhelming aura of materialism, homeless people, trash, and cardboard boxes dot the chrome landscape. Right next to some of the biggest and most lavish department stores in the world are broken, beaten people and the remnants of their lives. The stores try so hard to camouflage the "clutter," but there's no way you can't see it's all there.

However, if you choose to shut your eyes and ignore the lies, you'd probably never notice. 

What are you "seeing"? What are you believing? There's only two options: the Truth, or the lies of this world that will only pull you under til you can't breath anymore.