Convictions

Do you hold more opinions than convictions?

Opinions litter our cultural landscape while there is a "conviction famine" in our land today.  The late Dr. Howard Hendricks said,

A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for!

Find a dictionary and it will give you the basic definition of a conviction, "a firmly held view or opinion." In my "opinion" that is a poor definition of a conviction.

Convictions run deep, real deep, they are not found on the surface waters of our lives.  America is drowning in the shallow waters of views and opinions. We even have a daytime show even called "The View." I digress. 

Conviction is not just a feeling. A strong feeling without a settled judgment, commonly produce very weak convictions. The irony of our lives, we tend to have strong convictions on weak issues. Like, I will never fly coach, or I will only buy Hondas. Yet the meaty issues of life like holiness, divorce, tithing, and sexuality slide under the canopy of mere opinions.

The Apostle Paul was a man who lived and eventually died by his convictions. Paul actually wrote four letters to a spineless church in Corinth, we just have two of them today.  In I Corinthians 6:12 he provides some insight to the ingredients of his convictions when he wrote,

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.

Those are some strong convictions as they focus the mind and alter character. Notice two attributes about Paul's convictions.

First, just because you could does not mean you should.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful.

Second, in my freedom I will not become mastered by anything.

All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything. 

Convictions lead to choices, choices over time leave a legacy.

Make convictions the rudder of your lives.

Don't let your moral moorings slip.

Fight the natural drift into the perceived safe harbors of bland beliefs.

Know your "why" and then drop your anchor.