If you want to sell something, sometimes you change the packaging, come up with a new brand name, and submit a very extensive advertising campaign of product claims.

If we want to sell sin ...we package it to look good, we call it by a different name, and we introduce countless claims in our campaign.

In short, if the definition of sin is changed ...then perhaps people will be active consumers.  And we feel we will all be better off. 

We feel everyone will prosper.

Believers who are not willing to buy it ...are often labeled intolerant.

How do believers really view sin?  That varies, but most of us look at what others think they are consuming, and wisely see it is the sin itself which does the consuming.

Believers are not intolerant of sinners ...believers realize they too are sinners.  The difference is, they perhaps understand sin better than those being consumed by it.

You're on vacation spending your leisure time swimming in the warm tropical waters along white sandy beaches.

Then someone comes along, and tries to ruin your vacation.

It's probably because they want you out ...they want the paradise  all to themselves.

For some unknown reason they are trying to scare you.

But, why would they do that?

They must just be mean, hateful people who don't want anyone to be happy ...they can't stand to see people happy.

That's right ...they must be 'haters'.

They don't want you to be happy ...so they tell you there are sharks in the water.

But, somehow there have been thousands of people who've come here to relax and enjoy themselves ...and out of those thousands, only two or three have ever suffered loss of life or limb.

Well, you may think I'm going out on a limb, but I'm going to attempt to draw a comparison here.

You may feel an expensive vacation is worth the cost, and it may be ...but, there is something no person should miss that is worth more than anything.  

It costs us nothing.  

Jesus says it's free.  

It will not cost you an arm and a leg.

The Apostle Paul warmly greeted those whom he met. The churches that he wrote to, or that he and his friends visited ...were growing in numbers, and were celebrating their new found freedoms, through their faith in Jesus.

Why did he then have to ruin a happy greeting, to nitpick on a few small issues??

Well, it's like the game 'telephone' where a circle of friends quickly whisper something in the ear of the person next to them, and it goes around to the last person ...who tries to see how close they are to the original message.

The apostles also wanted to: 

• Get the message out.  But, they wanted to avoid confusion. It was critical that the message not be distorted.  

• Provide leadership and quality assurance.  Being open to questions is critical, but feedback and clarification must also be present.

• Write it down ...so everyone can review, study, and present the facts of what exactly was said ...and have access to past clarifications.

God did not consider it a game, or to be funny.  Serious consideration should be taken of what He said.  And while we digest His Word, we are not to treat ourselves as if it were a buffet ...picking and choosing what we want from a diverse menu.

Just like the game of 'telephone' ...the quicker the message gets distorted, the less likelihood that any of it will end up being accurate.

We are called to still get the message out ...and it can just as easily be distorted if we don't take it as seriously as the apostles did.  Many of the churches were growing quickly ...so quickly, that the message was often getting confusing.  

It wasn't that the Apostle Paul was nitpicking.  He no longer wanted to be blind, nor did he want us to be ...to the things Jesus had now shown him.

It seems that the actual picking comes from those who pick and choose what they want to listen to.  They actually want to play the 'telephone' game, it seems.  So, why blame those who realize it's not a game ...and think the full message is important.

Don't mean to ruin your paradise here on earth ...but don't trade a belief in the Word of God, for anything this world has to offer.  Let's not get that wrong.

If we don't get it right, we may no longer have a leg to stand on.