I grew up in a small community in the foothills of the Sierras. Reared in an orthodox Adventist home, I knew very little of the evils that pervaded the world. We didn’t listen to non-Christian music or read fairy tales or novels. We didn’t own a TV or go to theatres or shows. Mine was a sheltered childhood, and what a wonderful gift it was.
But when our close neighbors started inviting us over to watch Disney movies or Bonanza, I was fascinated as this new world of media and culture opened before me.
Always an avid reader, I devoured books. Most of them were good and uplifting, but occasionally I would find that what I had thought was going to be good was tainted. But at least I was learning about human nature; about how other people believed or lived, I thought. It created a new curiosity in me.
There is a saying, “curiosity killed the cat.” It is what lured Eve into answering the snake when it spoke to her from the lovely tree of forbidden fruit. And this curiosity led directly to death and decline in our world. Curiosity is not sin, but the wily serpent uses it even today to ensnare and enslave the world. He uses natural curiosity and feeds it with unnatural desires.
What does all this have to do with missions? The mountain jungles of Palawan are an idyllic setting in many ways. It is a quiet place, untainted by lowland culture; a safe environment with sweet, humble people. But as the years go by, we have seen lowland culture steadily creeping in, feeding people’s curiosities about the outside world and morphing their values. First, cell phones opened up the world to them. Worldly music poured into the mountains. Now they could also text people they had just met in the lowlands, and this led to some elicit alliances. Then came video downloads and hours of soap operas in various languages. Their eyes feasted on the images, and their minds put the stories together. When I heard about a church member telling a Korean love story for a children’s story in church, I realized just how far video had infiltrated the church. Then portable DVD players started pouring into the mountains. I was horrified when I realized that many of our people were actually viewing hardcore sin. When I learned that someone had loaned hardcore materials to our high school girls, I felt sick. (Later I learned that the girls had been shocked at what they saw and quickly turned it off, and for that I praise the Lord.)
As I have thought and prayed about the situation, I have come to understand more about how the devil uses curiosity about the “real” world to destroy people’s purity.
“The love life of a Christian is a crucial battleground. There, if nowhere else, it will be determined who is Lord: the world, the self and the devil, or the Lord Christ. . . . If there is an Enemy of Souls (and I have not the slightest doubt that there is), one thing he cannot abide is the desire for purity. Hence a man and a woman’s passions become his battleground” (Elisabeth Elliot, Passion & Purity, p. 14, 28).
“Purity is a heart attitude that affects how I live my life, not just how I use my body. . . . Purity is . . . personal and less visible [than abstinence], it requires the working of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. It requires His grace and His enabling in order for us to live lives that honor and glorify Him. Purity is a daily, even moment-by-moment battle that is only getting worse. Preparation for the battle does not take place in one moment. Victory is not guaranteed because of choices you made yesterday. Purity is a lifestyle” (Jessica Harris, www.beggarsdaughter.com).
So where does this leave us? It was a shock when we came to realize the depravity that had entered our Palawano culture. But though the devil wants to discourage us, God wants to take this opportunity to open the heart and souls of these people and help them realize that we all are dealing with matters of the heart. This is where people will have to make decisions. We have taught them the Bible. They know the stories, the commandments, the fundamental beliefs. They have experienced conversion, but there is a deeper part, a hidden part that must be dealt with. True Christianity must go to the core of one’s being. Unless everything has been given to God, it is living a lie.
We have another opportunity to stand and ask, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Who is willing to put this area of their life under the control of the Holy Spirit?” Sanctification is the work of a lifetime. It is false to think that we have “arrived” when we are baptized. At every step, Satan will contest our advance.
In spite of our disappointment, through God’s power we hope to raise the flag of purity—purity in our own lives and in the lives of our Palawano brothers and sisters. We want them to take a strong stand for God. The Christian life is not a plateau but a constant upward journey, growing into God’s likeness so that someday we will be like Him through and through.
Where does this leave you? I urge you to search your own heart and life and let the Lord remove all that is impure. Pray for us as we seek to raise God’s standard and disciple and mentor our members to pureness of heart. The devil wants to discourage us with how far many have fallen, or how far we have to go to reach the holy standard, but Christ has gone before us, and victory is ours through Him.
“The enemy of our souls is known as ‘the accuser of our brethren,’ and when it comes to the brethren, most of Satan’s accusations have to do with sexual sins. . . . You may lose some battles, but the war has already been won. And while the enemy never stops accusing us, our Almighty Ally never stops fighting for us, never gives up on us” (Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker, p. 172).
