Ethics, Integrity and PS3

I was talking to my brother tonight about the black eye that Christianity has received thanks to the recent failings of a few local pastors. We discussed the fact that there is a growing lack of ethics and integrity in the American Christian church today. Where has it gone? Why do we live lives filled with "compartments" and compromises? How is it that men of God can stray so far from the God they say they serve? How do I live my life? Have I strayed and not realized it? Is my sin, not as public, just as heinus in God's eyes as theirs? My answer is YES!

Where is the integrity in the Church? Where are the basic ethics on a secular moral level? How do I put my arms around this? It really bothers me about the youth pastor. I commend him for turning himself in, yet I wonder what happened to cause him to walk that path. He was a person in trust and yet, he violated everything that I as a youth worker value even on a secular level. Am I capable of something simular? I can only answer "yes" IF I don't stay close to God and look to Him for life and guidance along with having good safe accountability.

This all brings me to the question that my bro and I were pondering together. Are we as followers of Christ (General Evangelical Church) conforming to this world or are we being transformed by the Word and Spirit of God? Is the church being transformed by the world or by God?

Am I truly being transformed by God and not by the world? How much time do I take to be transformed by God? How dedicated am I to truly become more like Him?

Tonight I had to run to Best Buy and then Wal-mart and both stores had a line of young men sitting outside in the cold. I asked the store clerk what was going on and she said, "Oh, the Play Station 3 is coming out on Friday. They are in line to have the chance to buy one." Okay . . . it is WEDNESDAY! and we are suppose to have rain and/or SNOW! Hello! Can we say CRAZY????

What would possess these young people to be outside in the elements, forsaking a job, school, family . . . for a plastic box filled with wires to entertain them. A box that costs up to $600! I remember how I waited for six hours to get into Star Wars, but 2 DAYS for a game machine??

As I was walking away I thought about the fact that I really am not sure how many Christians would be willing to do the same for newest translation of the Bible. Would we be willing to wait in the elements, forsaking everything in order to capture what God truly wants for us. I am not equating the two, but I do wonder what the Church would be like if all Christ followers lived in the same kind of anticipation for God to work in and guide our lives.

Do I look at my Bible and my time with God in the same way? I must confess (sadly), not with that much passion. Ah, the passion of youth! Lord, give me some of that! May I have the same level of passion that those young people have for this new $600 video game player!