Confessions of 349-18-5171 by Ken Nordine

This jazz poet certainly made some interesting spoken-word tunes. One of these was about the ease of going with the crowd. It's hard to be a maverick and march against the tide of the world. But like he said in this piece, "Poof! There goes perspiration." Check out his tune here

As Christians, we're called to follow Christ and not the world. What he said in Matthew 7:13 and 14 (Bible in Basic English) is his criterion for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. "Go in by the narrow door; for wide is the door and open is the way which goes to destruction, and great numbers go in by it. For narrow is the door and hard the road to life, and only a small number make discovery of it."

We no longer belong to this world but are the property of Christ. Religious folks don't have his word abiding in them as we do. As Jesus told the ultra-fastidious Pharisees in John 8:43 and 44 (BBE), "Why are my words not clear to you? It is because your ears are shut to my teaching. You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false."

Neither do we wage jihad as do radical Islamists. As our Lord told Governor Pilate in John 18:36 (BBE) "Jesus said in answer, 'My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom was of this world, my disciples would have made a good fight to keep me out of the hands of the Jews: but my kingdom is not here.'"

And of course Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 (BBE) how we must adopt the mind set of Christ toward worldly things. "And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God."