It's Complicated

IT’S COMPLICATED Text: James 2:23

James 2:23 - And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

OPENING: We live in a day where social media reigns. And with family and friends spread all across this land, Social media allows us to share our thoughts……our photo’s……and just about anything else in our lives that we consider newsworthy. It allows us to keep everyone up to date about the latest happening such as birthdays…..anniversaries……those infamous baby bumps during pregnancy…….the baby’s first steps, first words and even the potty training moments.

NOTE: For the record…..those kids are going to love their parents in a few years since “everything” is stored somewhere in the cloud to be resurrected against us one day.

Social media can be an awesome tool……however, just like anything else….it can also be used in many of the wrong ways. Gossip and slander are as prevalent as fake news is on the major news outlets! And the negative in social media is that a lot of peoples have been hurt and reputations ruined.

Pastors are being taught today….that regardless of age….we must utilize social media as a way of connecting. No longer can we just go to an event….because our world is consumed with an eventful life. There are more events than a pastor could ever have time to meet. So, we tweet, snapchat, Instagram, post to Facebook, periscope, tumbler and others. We no longer are able to just to preach…..we also have to be constantly marketing the church.

Yet, there is a positive side to social media for pastors as well. It has become a great resource tool to know where and how we need to preach to the churcy. In a society that has gone raving mad on tell the world everything….at every moment….of what they are doing….about their habits….even where they were during the church services……anything that a pastor needs to know is typically on social media.

Yet…what is most interesting at times ….it the status page. That is where they post if they are single, in a relationship, married and the such. And with the millennials……some of them change their status faster than the temperature a thermometer. They are “in a relationship one day……and “out of a relationship the next”.

Yet……the most interesting status post for me is when they update their page with ……. “It‘s complicated!” I am not sure that I understand that post in it’s entirety. I am not sure exactly what that means. To me, you are either in a relationship or you are not. So, what is complicated about that?

So, in thinking about that……I begin to wonder……. If God were to engage in social media like many of us do today……and it came to His relationship status with each of His children…..how would He respond. Would he post in a relationship……or would it be…… “It’s complicated” ?

TRANSISTION: I think it is safe to assume that for most of us here today….. in our minds, we have our ideas of what a “good relationship” really consist of. And I believe at times…..we want the most perfect of relationship. Yet, because of sin…..we begin to assume that we are defective. And when the devil begins to reveal to us all of the ways that we are messed up……..to many Christians today…..our status as Christians seem….well, complicated!

Yet the Bible has a lot to say about relationships. The bible teaches us what a healthy relationship looks like and what it should be like……especially when it pertains to the Lord Jesus.

When we look at relationships……we often find that there are many different types of relationships. When I was younger…my status might have been “single, but looking”. When Sonya and I first started dating…I guess we could say that it was a “causal relationship”…….I mean, after-all……..a single date years ago did not mean that all of a sudden our relationship status had changed and the whole world needed to be informed that we were in a relationship…….unlike the youth of today often approach life.

Note: I know this was the case for my wife…….because she insisted that I chase her for a while. But as we continued to date….yes, I could have updated my status to ……. “in a relationship”. We dated for nearly 2 ½ years before she would agree to marry me. I believe my status would have changed before hers honestly. Yet, we will both admit that were some other influences where our relationship at times really was often “complicated”. We broke up a couple times during that span before we both committed to say “I do”. But down deep….even during the difficult times……we both knew that we were still “in a relationship” with one another. Yet, that is how love often works though….doesn’t it?