Ethics and moral standards are not judgements. They are wisdom. Society crumbles into chaos without them. Every human believes that certain behaviors are immoral and unethical but that doesn’t mean that we’re all “haters.”

To proclaim ethics and moral standards and not live by them is to boast in hypocrisy. My conscience may not agree with your conscience but we both have the right to express our moral views. The key to happiness isn’t self-medication. It’s self-control.

Desire-driven living isn’t freedom. It’s addiction to self-bondage. Freedom comes from Spirit-led living — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The focus of Christianity needs to be being Jesus-led in daily life, not a weekly religious meeting.

The characteristics of Jesus-led Christianity are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. faithfulness, gentleness,” and self under the control of God’s Spirit.

There’s no reason to confine your devotional life to a “guiet time.” You can live every moment of your life devoted to and connected heart-to-heart with the risen Jesus.

Knowing about salvation isn’t the same thing as knowing and fully surrendering control of your daily life to the risen present Savior and Lord. I can’t find in the Bible the concept of getting saved and then passively waiting to go to Heaven when we die, yet that seems like a popular idea in modern Christianity. Instead, I see a Bible full of exhortations to “ask,” “seek,” “knock,” “press toward,” “draw near,” “grow,” “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” “be changed from glory to glory,” etc.

Too often people sit isolated in church services far removed from genuine community. True connection is deeper than that. There’s no reason to confine your devotional life to a “guiet time.” You can live every moment of your life devoted to and connected heart-to-heart with the risen Jesus.

Desire-based thinking
Is deceptive.
Reality-based thinking
Is perceptive.