Are You a Parrothead?
Jimmy Buffet is a well-known pop and country music singer, probably most famous for his song “Wastin’ Away in Margaritaville,” an anthem to a wasted, mindless existence, a life of absolute nothingness. He has quite a loyal following. His die hard fans like to dress like him, drink like him, and follow the philosophy of life portrayed in his signature song. True fans wear Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts, hold a margarita in one hand and a cheeseburger in another, and call themselves “parrotheads.” The Parrothead philosophy is to devote your life to relaxation and to be on permanent mental vacation. In other words, they glorify a state of mindlessness and are happy with just letting the brain be empty and out of gear. The parrot is the perfect symbol for their philosophy: it repeats the words of its owner but has no understanding at all. It imitates and copies, but doesn’t think.
Sadly much of the world follows this same philosophy. And at no other time of the year is it more evident than at Christmastime. People just parrot what their parents and society at large says without even thinking. Their minds are blank and on permanent mental vacation each year when the articles appear in the newspapers telling of the pagan origin of the holiday.
Fifteen to twenty years ago, many members of the Worldwide Church of God became parrotheads and went on permanent mental vacation. They were oblivious to deceivers coming in amongst the flock. When the deceivers traded in the real God for a false god – a god they said was one god in three hypostases, too many just parroted the words and mindlessly accepted a lie.
How does God want us to be? Does He want us to be parrots or parrotheads? Does He expect us to mindlessly copy what someone says or preaches? What does His Word tell us our approach to Bible study should be?
Old Testament Foundation
God instructed Moses to give the Israelites this admonition when they came out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Choosing requires some mental activity. You have to have knowledge of the alternatives; you have to put them to the test; and you have to make a judgement on which is best. Choice cannot be accomplished with an empty mind.
Solomon was inspired to write of the importance of knowledge, instruction, understanding and wisdom in Proverbs.
Proverbs 1:1-5,7, 29, 31-33
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion —
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, …
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD, …
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil."
God expects us to seek knowledge and instruction, to get understanding and wisdom. You cannot attain knowledge and understanding with an empty mind on vacation, and wisdom requires using the mind to rightly apply knowledge and understanding. Those called by God to live His way of life just cannot be parrotheads.
New Testament Example
The New Testament gives an example of how we are to approach messages we hear and how to use the Bible. In Acts 17:11, it says the Bereans “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
Readiness - NT: 4288 prothumia (proth-oo-mee'-ah); from NT:4289; predisposition, i.e. alacrity: KJV - forwardness of mind, readiness (of mind), ready (willing) mind.
Alacrity: From alacer… lively, eager: promptness in response: cheerful readiness
They had a lively eagerness, they were ready, to look into the scriptures to examine what they had heard.
Searched - NT: 350 anakrino (an-ak-ree'-no); from NT:303 and NT:2919; properly, to scrutinize, i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine: KJV - ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search.
NT: 2919 krino (kree'-no); properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, …: KJV - …, conclude, …, determine, … judge, … call in question, … think.
God wants us to think, not have to have minds made of mush. We are encouraged to be like the Bereans – to search and examine, to ask questions and scrutinize. We cannot live in a mental wasteland and have our minds on permanent vacation if we are actively doing as the Bereans did.
New Testament Admonitions
Paul gave further instructions on using the mind in his letters.
In Philippians 2:5, he wrote “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” If we seek to have the mind of Christ, the Creator, in us, we have to know our minds cannot ever be on permanent mental vacation because when has He ever been wasting away and when has He ever just blindly and mindlessly parroted what He heard?
We are admonished to prove all things.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. KJV
Romans 12:2
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Prove - NT:1381 dokimazo (dok-im-ad'-zo); from NT:1384; to test (literally or figuratively); by implication, to approve: KJV - allow, discern, examine, like, (ap-) prove, try.
If we just mindlessly repeat what we hear, we are open to all sorts of false practices and philosophies. But if we prove what is true and right, we become convinced and convicted in our minds and arm ourselves against falling for deceptions and heresies.
One of the hallmarks of the true Church of God over the years has been a repeated admonition to prove what is being preached. If what is preached is the truth, it will stand up to all questions and minute scrutiny. God is not interested in having a bunch of parrots as children; He does not need a host of millions just blindly repeating His words. What He wants is for us to know His Words, examine His ways, and choose with our minds to follow Him. He wants us to “choose life” so He can give us all the blessings of life He is eagerly waiting to pour out on us.
Sadly much of the world follows this same philosophy. And at no other time of the year is it more evident than at Christmastime. People just parrot what their parents and society at large says without even thinking. Their minds are blank and on permanent mental vacation each year when the articles appear in the newspapers telling of the pagan origin of the holiday.
Fifteen to twenty years ago, many members of the Worldwide Church of God became parrotheads and went on permanent mental vacation. They were oblivious to deceivers coming in amongst the flock. When the deceivers traded in the real God for a false god – a god they said was one god in three hypostases, too many just parroted the words and mindlessly accepted a lie.
How does God want us to be? Does He want us to be parrots or parrotheads? Does He expect us to mindlessly copy what someone says or preaches? What does His Word tell us our approach to Bible study should be?
Old Testament Foundation
God instructed Moses to give the Israelites this admonition when they came out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Choosing requires some mental activity. You have to have knowledge of the alternatives; you have to put them to the test; and you have to make a judgement on which is best. Choice cannot be accomplished with an empty mind.
Solomon was inspired to write of the importance of knowledge, instruction, understanding and wisdom in Proverbs.
Proverbs 1:1-5,7, 29, 31-33
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion —
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, …
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD, …
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil."
God expects us to seek knowledge and instruction, to get understanding and wisdom. You cannot attain knowledge and understanding with an empty mind on vacation, and wisdom requires using the mind to rightly apply knowledge and understanding. Those called by God to live His way of life just cannot be parrotheads.
New Testament Example
The New Testament gives an example of how we are to approach messages we hear and how to use the Bible. In Acts 17:11, it says the Bereans “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
Readiness - NT: 4288 prothumia (proth-oo-mee'-ah); from NT:4289; predisposition, i.e. alacrity: KJV - forwardness of mind, readiness (of mind), ready (willing) mind.
Alacrity: From alacer… lively, eager: promptness in response: cheerful readiness
They had a lively eagerness, they were ready, to look into the scriptures to examine what they had heard.
Searched - NT: 350 anakrino (an-ak-ree'-no); from NT:303 and NT:2919; properly, to scrutinize, i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine: KJV - ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search.
NT: 2919 krino (kree'-no); properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, …: KJV - …, conclude, …, determine, … judge, … call in question, … think.
God wants us to think, not have to have minds made of mush. We are encouraged to be like the Bereans – to search and examine, to ask questions and scrutinize. We cannot live in a mental wasteland and have our minds on permanent vacation if we are actively doing as the Bereans did.
New Testament Admonitions
Paul gave further instructions on using the mind in his letters.
In Philippians 2:5, he wrote “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” If we seek to have the mind of Christ, the Creator, in us, we have to know our minds cannot ever be on permanent mental vacation because when has He ever been wasting away and when has He ever just blindly and mindlessly parroted what He heard?
We are admonished to prove all things.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. KJV
Romans 12:2
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Prove - NT:1381 dokimazo (dok-im-ad'-zo); from NT:1384; to test (literally or figuratively); by implication, to approve: KJV - allow, discern, examine, like, (ap-) prove, try.
If we just mindlessly repeat what we hear, we are open to all sorts of false practices and philosophies. But if we prove what is true and right, we become convinced and convicted in our minds and arm ourselves against falling for deceptions and heresies.
One of the hallmarks of the true Church of God over the years has been a repeated admonition to prove what is being preached. If what is preached is the truth, it will stand up to all questions and minute scrutiny. God is not interested in having a bunch of parrots as children; He does not need a host of millions just blindly repeating His words. What He wants is for us to know His Words, examine His ways, and choose with our minds to follow Him. He wants us to “choose life” so He can give us all the blessings of life He is eagerly waiting to pour out on us.
posted by Manuel at 9:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home