mourning for what's lost

i once thought that it was commendable to 'well-informed.'  the more you know, the more respect you receive, and God-forbid you be caught off-guard by some bit of information or 'common-knowledge' well known by the rest of the world (or even one other person).   i remember a rather embarassing scene where i used a term, thinking i knew what it meant, and discovered later that i had really embarassed myself.  it happens to all of us and whether we are aware of it or not we realize we never want to be caught 'ignorant' because it leads to embarassment.  or such was my case.  in my hidden heart, i prided myself that i was often more savvy than my innocent and naive friends, that they would ask ME what something meant.  wise and wordly.  oh God if i could erase things from my mind and heart...if i could wipe things out of my memory, what a blessing that would be.  i would rather suffer hundreds more embarassing moments if that would mean that i was ignorant of these evil, wordly things. 

 

purity is not reserved to deeds, contend for purity of mind.  this does not mean just mastering your thoughts, but protecting yourself.  protecting your mind means do NOT seek evil knowledge.  i promise you will have just as effective a witness if you are ignorant of these things.  are you worried that sinners will not be able to relate to your pure mind?  i would recommend you trust the Lord on that.  after all, do you really want to be someone to whom sinners can relate?  wouldn't you rather have a lifestyle that inspires sinners?  innocence and ignorance of evil does not equate to self-righteous snobbery.  quite the opposite, innocence from evil means a lack of pretension as well.  though you may not have specific knowledge or experience with a sin, true Christ-like humility is always approachable.  run away from the lie that says you must be able to say 'i know exactly what you're going through' in order to truly be compassionate and offer counsel.  true compassion and counsel does NOT come from our experiences but from the Lord, directly and wholly.

 

so i charge you maidens, by the does of the field, be excellent at what is good and be innocent of evil.