"Stay into it"

Kat's birthday was this past week and as part of the celebration we took her and the boys to see a movie. Before the movie started we sat through some ads, including one for Diet Coke. The man in the ad was fond of a particular flavor of Diet Coke, saying he was "into it" and that he drank it "because I can." and then he said the words that really caught my attention, "Whatever you're into, stay into it."

Now I don’t believe that he, or any of the many other people involved in putting the ad together, meant anything malicious in what he said. He was simply recognizing that there is a broad diversity in things that people might enjoy, and encouraging us to keep enjoying whatever it might be that we are particularly fond of. For him, it was a flavor of Diet Coke. For me, it might be running, or green chile cheeseburgers. For you it might be watching your favorite football team, or hanging out with your grandchildren. Know it. Pursue it. Enjoy it. Repeat.

It may have been unintentional, but the phrase, "whatever you're into, stay into it," expressed an increasingly popular belief, which is that all things are relatively equal. And taking that logic a step farther, all things are relatively morally neutral. They aren't good, or bad, but all things are basically equal and oaky. And this is where Christians, in particular, need to practice wisdom.

On the surface there may not be anything necessarily wrong with his message. But the phrase, "whatever you're into, stay into it," when considered a bit more deeply, can lead us to believe that there are no real problems with anything that we enjoy. Considered biblically, it is the kind of thinking that sets us up to be our own gods and live in rebellion to the One True God. And that is a recipe for disaster.

We don’t have to think very long or hard to come up with some of the things that we, or people we know, might "be into" that are actually quite destructive to ourselves, our families and our community. Some of these things are legal and some are not. Some of these things might be allowed in one family and forbidden in another. Once my older son wanted to do something to which I said "no." He then said "So-and-so's parent let him do it," to which I answered, "I'm not so-and-so's dad."

God, in his goodness, shows us where to find wisdom as we follow him. In Mark 12:29-30 Jesus says,

"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

When we look at our preferences through the lens of loving the Lord with all we have, we can begin to see if the things we enjoy are also things that fall within the boundaries where God would have us live. Knowing that his boundaries are good, and living within them, are great ways to both love the Lord, and to love our neighbor as well. More than anything else, those are the best things for the Christian to "be into."

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.