It's Not Your Environment...

Genesis 5:23-24 "Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."

The time period that Enoch lived, was that pre-flood period where there was extreme sinfulness and wickedness upon the earth. People were so utterly wicked that we haven't even seen in all of post flood history any society act as wicked as they.

Yet here we have Enoch who, living in the midst of such wickedness, was a righteous man and walked with God. This offers an important lesson for us today. Enoch's life proves that no matter what environment you live in, no matter how ungodly and wicked those around you are, that you can live a godly, upright life.

So if you're living in sin, and blaming the fact that no one around you knows God, that you cannot go to church, that if you only lived somewhere else you could then start living a godly lifestyle, remember Enoch. Never use your environment as an excuse to sin, that kind of excuse holds no weight in the Bible, thus it holds no weight with God.

1 Peter 1:3 states "As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!"

This verse only comes to show how little of an excuse we Christians have for living in sin...Jesus GIVES us all we need to live a godly life. Yes maybe your environment makes it harder for you to live a more godly life, but know that where it is harder to follow God, God equips you with even more tools for you to be an overcomer.

So, Christian, if you are stuck in your walk, continually blaming those around you or blaming God for placing you in an environment that on the outside may seem non conducive to growing in Him, stop the blame game and point the finger back at yourself. We will be held accountable for our OWN actions, not the actions of those around us. If we are continually sinning, it is because we are allowing ourselves to give into temptation; WE are the only ones to blame when we make bad choices.

I guarantee that if you blame the place where you live on the fact that you're continually sinning...that even IF you were placed in the most perfect environment possible for spiritual growth, that you would STILL be making up excuses and justifying your sin...because it's really not a problem with our environment, it's a problem within us.

Only when we learn to take responsibility for our own choices and learn to fess up to our own failings, can we truly be brought to that place of repentance...and only when we repent knowing that it is our OWN sin, not the sins of others that causes us to fall, only then can we truly learn to rely on the Lord for the tools to live a godly life and thus be brought into an ever growing, godly lifestyle and walk with our Lord.