Shallowness: A Slow Poison

By Author: Johnson Philip
Total Articles: 90
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In the world of instant coffee and instant-anything, Christians often fall into the trap of "instant-decision". Whenever they face a problem or a question, they often fire an instant-answer and then move away: no serious thought are ever involved.

We never buy a dress just because of its colour alone or a book just because of its cover alone. A more detailed examination is a part of our lives and even the ordinary pen we choose does not escape such a test. But once we come to our spiritual life we usually forget all this.

A Christian is expected to go deep into spiritual matters before he makes decision upon them. It is vital for his spiritual survival. But if we are used to taking decisions merely on the basis of the outward appearance of things then our life is shallow. It is difficult at first to recognize such shallowness in our lives because often it does not immediately produce serious results. It is rather like a slow poison. Poison kills, but slow poison gives seeming pleasure. Worse, by the time we recognize its nature, we're dead. We avoid serious sins because they are like strong poison; but we practice ...
... shallowness because it gives us instant-pleasure. But its ultimate effect is destruction.

1. A shallow attitude can destroy our happiness and productivity: It is very difficult to attain and maintain happiness; more so in this maddening world. since there is nothing permanent and stable in this world, we will lose our happiness and peace if our attention is upon the world. Once we lose our happiness this way, we will not be able to carry out our God-given duties faithfully. This will decrease our spiritual attainment, making us more unhappy.

Such problems start when we depend upon this unstable world for our happiness. But a Christian should go deeper. He should view the hidden hand of God behind everything. He should therefore understand that though God has allowed this world to be unstable yet He cares for the welfare and the stability of His children. Such an attitude will protect our spiritual happiness and will help qualify our spiritual production.

2. A shallow attitude destroys our relation with others: No two people in this world are alike. thus a smooth relation between two people needs a lot of understanding and flexibility.

If we are shallow we will judge others outwardly. Sometimes the judgement would be right, but usually it would be wrong because of the different personal makeups. When we see two people whispering to each other we are tempted to think that they are talking about us: when someone laughs we feel they are mocking at us. This is an instant-decision; shallowness! Very soon we will end up in a flight or in a misunderstanding with those people. Good relations will be destroyed.

3. Shallowness Destroys Our Testimony To Nonbelievers: Nonbelievers expect a special type of behaviour from Christians because Christians claim to be holy, stable and God-fearing. Fulfilling this high expectation is part of our witnessing to them. But holiness, stability and fear of God do not come by practicing a kind of shallow instant-decision habit. If we wish to witness to our friends by our lives, we should be willing to leave shallowness. We must evaluate things by what they are, by what we are, and not by what they or we appear to be, before making a decision. Our life should show Christ. If not, our non-christian friends will reject our testimony.

4. Shallowness Destroys Our Spiritual Life: An occasional shallow decision does not seem to hurt us; but that slow-poison is still poisonous. It kills our inwards, slowly but stealthily. Today it may disturb us for only a moment, but tomorrow it will destroy our peace. The next day it will affect our Bible meditation. After a few more days we will discontinue private prayer, witnessing and other spiritual activities. Such a person will soon become a backslider, a man who damages his own life.

The Christian society is full of such lost people. We often see new believers, full of enthusiasm, bubbling with the joy of their newly found life. But very soon they see something they never expected in Christian society and they are shocked. Then many such shocks follow, and one day they fall out of spirituality. What went wrong?. The instant-decision syndrome. Often a new Christian does not go deeper into the truth to understand that the world, the flesh, and the Devil still tempt us in powerful ways. He does not realize that there is nothing like instant-victory over sins. Thus outer appearance of things draw him into depression.

What Should A Christian Do: In this fast moving world we are constantly pressurized to make an instant and shallow decision. This is unhealthy behaviour. Christian should always go deeper into every matter before making any decision. If not, hasty behaviour will slowly poison and damage our whole life.
Dr. Johnson C. Philip is a scientist and an acknowledged blogging guru having a worldwide following.