God has plans for every one of his children. However, He gives us free will in order for us to make decisions on our own. As much as he does not impose his love on us, so he does not impose his will.
However, there are instructions and commandments that have been given to us that we are expected to follow. This includes ungodly things to avoid as Christians. God has outrightly told us some of these things, and the others can still be found in the scriptures or in our society.
There are two categories of things that we should avoid:
1. The Things That We Know Are Bad For Us
As the popular saying goes, “one man’s meat is another’s poison.” This means that there are things that other people would do that would be good for them and when we do them, we would regret it because they are bad for us. This is why in Christianity, it is strongly advised that we find the things that are good and work for us.
There are things that we may get involved in that would lead us into temptation and hence backsliding. Such things include visiting some kind of environment for evangelism. Your intention may be pure, but your strength cannot carry it.
Therefore, when you find yourself in such situations, you should totally avoid it and not try to test or push yourself beyond your strength at the moment because you may end up being enticed and drawn to such a crowd. These are the kinds of things to avoid even though God did not tell you to avoid them.
2. The Things God Outrightly Commanded Us To Avoid
As there are things that we need to take the initiative to avoid, so also are things that God has commanded that His children avoid. Such things can be found in the Ten Commandments that God gave to the children of Israel in Exodus 20:1-17.
There are many other instances where God gave commandments in both the new and old testaments, which Christians are expected to adhere to even these days.
Such things that have been expressly given as instructions and commandments are clearer, which makes it possible for us not to be confused about which things are sins and should be avoided and which are not.
Are There Some Sins To Avoid?
“Are there some sins to avoid?” is a question many Christians tend to ask in their walk with Christ. Dear believer, there are definitely sins to avoid; all sins should be avoided and not just some.
Any action that does not glorify God is an ungodly thing to avoid as a Christian. A right-standing Christian should hate sin and so should not select or indulge in any part of it, whether “small” or “big,” whether “partial” or “complete.”
Granted, everyone has the urge to sin as no one is beyond temptation, but what we make of the temptation is what really matters.
Even Jesus was tempted by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11, but Jesus gave himself to the spirit and not the flesh, then rebuked the devil and overcame the temptation. This is why the Bible says in James 4:7 (NIV)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Submitting to God allows you to function in the spirit. Therefore, when sinful circumstances arise, you are more vigilant and guarded enough to resist the devil instead of falling for the temptation.
Many times when we do things that we know are wrong, even though they are not stated as sins or ungodly things to avoid as Christians, we are still sinning.
We may be thinking that it is just a rule in society that we broke, but this is also a sin before God, even though it is not written out in the Bible.
God is heavy on obedience, and obeying the law is one thing God loves, as long as it does not go against your faith as a believer.
For example, if we please God by obedience, we should ensure we pay taxes, obey road rules, be patriotic, and the like. Going against these are certain sins before God and, therefore, should also be avoided.
What Are Ungodly Things?
Should you be wondering, “What are ungodly things?” here is an answer to that; Just like the word, ungodly things are things that are not of God. They are things that Christians cannot and should not do. This includes things that God has condemned.
Being ungodly means being separated from God. When you are separated from God, you will find that you are walking in the flesh and not the spirit, which is a total act of ungodliness.
What do you do when no one is looking and even when people are actually looking? Are you representing God as much as you can? Are you applying the scripture to your daily life? These are questions Christians should regularly ask themselves in order to remain on track with God or to return when they seem to be derailing.
Ungodly things are those things that are abominable before God. When God says “don’t”, do you “do”? As you answer these questions, you can examine your Christian life and identify those ungodly things to avoid as a Christian totally.
10 Things To Avoid As A Christian
In regards to ungodliness, many questions may pop up in our minds, such as; What are those things that are ungodly, unacceptable, and abominable before God? Is it possible to totally avoid them in order to lead a Godly life that would please God in every way?
What happens when I shun ungodliness and embrace everything good and Godly? Well, as earlier mentioned, this article will give you 10 things to avoid as a Christian, as well as reasons to avoid them. These are:
1. Lukewarmness
One of the things that God greatly dislikes is lukewarmness. This is because it is a state of being neither here nor there or neither hot nor cold. Revelations 3:16 (NIV) “So, because you are lukewarm neither hot nor cold I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
Just like every other relationship you have, you need to define your relationship with God as a Christian. Are you for God, or are you for the world? Are you sitting on the fence, or have you picked a side?
You cannot be one leg in and one leg out at the same time, so you must decide where you want to be. The spirit of God is not that of confusion, so when you are with God, you should not be indecisive.
Lukewarm Christians are dangerous to the body of Christ and are also in danger themselves. Here is a detailed article here:(insert article) that teaches how to stop being a lukewarm Christian.
2. Temptation And Distractions
In our Christian journey, we have to know our strengths and weaknesses. When we know this, we begin to know ungodly things to avoid as Christians. It would help you know where and when to draw the line in ugly situations.
As a child of God, many distractions and temptations will come your way because the devil does not want you on the right path. However, it is funny how sometimes we put ourselves in such positions to get tempted and distracted, which is why we have to be sensitive.
There are things that we can do to avoid unnecessary temptation because, in many cases, it can totally be avoided. You can do this if you spend quality time with God daily as you look into understanding your weaknesses.
As different individuals, we are tempted by different things and distracted in different ways. For instance, your struggle may be lust, while another person’s struggle is pride.
How to avoid these situations are different for you both. Therefore, you have to find how to avoid and overcome every temptation your struggle may put before you.
3. Immorality
This is so common among young folks. “But among you, there must not be even a hint of immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Ephesians 5:3 (NIV).
It is an instruction that things such as immorality should not be associated with children of God. Engaging in such marital acts outside of marriage is distasteful to God and so ungodly.
From the scripture, we find that these kinds of intimate acts were created for marriage and married people. Therefore, people who have not been joined before God should do all that it takes to avoid such temptation.
When we still go-ahead to do this, we walk in an ungodly and rebellious path in the sight of God which sets us apart from Him and His presence.
4. Pride
The spirit of pride is one of the things to avoid as Christians. Pride does a lot of things to us, all of which are negative. It can disrupt your connection with God, keep you stagnant and close your mind from learning.
The Bible says so many things about pride, but one of the most popular is found in Proverbs 16:18 (NIV), it reads; “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
When you are proud and think yourself superior, it becomes impossible for anyone to get close to you and spoils your relationships. Pride is not in the character of God. Therefore it is a sin and should not be in our character.
So as we go about our daily activities, it is important to pay attention to ourselves in order to know when pride is setting in. This is because the spirit creeps in consciously and even unconsciously.
It is probably hard to notice your own flaws and pride, but you could ask others to help you out. And if you can not do that either, then you should know that pride is coming into your heart.
The Bible encourages us to shun pride and be humble to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:5-6 (NIVm
5. Judging One Another
Another thing on the list of ungodly things to avoid as Christians are being Judgemental. It is only in God’s place to judge anyone. We are all humans and, therefore equal before God. So when we try to judge others, we see ourselves as superior to them.
Only God is bigger than all of us humans. Therefore, it is not in our place to judge because only God has final judgments. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV).
The Bible expressly warns against being judgmental, and if you go ahead to judge others, you should expect God to judge you in the same way.
Every one of us has shortcomings and has gone wrong one way or another, so why should you judge someone when you have your own sins to deal with. “…Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 (NIV).
Therefore, let us avoid judging others, no matter how bad we think their actions or words are, let God do the judging, for it is only Him who is without sin.
6. Procrastination
The “I’ll do it later” syndrome called procrastination is one of the ungodly things to avoid as a Christian. This is something many people do daily but do not realize that it is not in the nature of God to procrastinate.
Imagine God had said to himself, “I’ll do this later,” when it was time to create us. Would we have been in existence currently? How about if God keeps procrastinating our blessings for a later time? What do you think would become of us? So also, if you as an individual procrastinate, you can disrupt some things that would bless you and others.
Take, for instance, the parable of ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. In this parable that Jesus told, He spoke of the 10 virgins; 5 foolish and 5 wise.
The foolish virgins missed out on the bridegroom due to their attitude of procrastination, while the wise virgins went in because they knew what they had to do and did it at the right time.
Procrastination only affects us negatively; therefore, we should avoid it as much as we can in order to prevent damage (in most cases, irreversible). Always have it in mind, that it is not in the nature of God, and so to be Godly, procrastination should be out of our character.
7. Idleness
We have often heard that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, and such a mind will definitely be ungodly.
This is because the devil will constantly plant evil seeds and thoughts in such a person. And it would only be a while before these seeds would germinate and the thoughts would manifest.
Proverbs 24:30-31(NIV) “I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.” When we speak of weed and thorns, nothing good comes out of them.
So take your mind to be the vineyard and the weed to be evil thoughts. If you remain sluggard and idle, and you refuse to work on your mind in order to be productive, evil thoughts coming up in your mind will be inevitable.
And when your mind does not produce fruits, you are like the fig tree that would be cut off. Also, the Bible condemns idleness, saying that every man should work in order to eat and avoid poverty. So despite idleness being ungodly, it is also detrimental to our lives and finances.
8. Faithlessness
“And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV). Being faithless brings displeasure to God, therefore is an ungodly trait. Faithlessness is so ungodly that it can destroy our relationship with God because when we have no faith in God or His words, then we cannot love nor fellowship with Him.
Faith is not easy, but it is necessary. This is why God does not ask for too much; just as little as a mustard seed, and we will cast mountains into the sea by making form declarations with our words.
But when you are faithless, you are giving room for mountains to stand before you and disobey the instruction from God to have faith. You can not be a child of God if you do not have faith and trust him.
Do you trust your mortal parents? Do you believe them when they make you promises? Then how much more God, who is the ultimate. To avoid being ungodly, we have to ensure that we have faith in God in all situations, both good and bad.
9. Unfruitfulness
Jesus saw a fig tree that was barren, and he got upset, so he cursed it. A tree that does not produce fruit is as good as useless in a vineyard and would be taken down.
“So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now, I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’” Luke 13:7 (NIV).
The consequence of being unfruitful is being cut down. This is because God has made every resource required for you to produce, but you refuse to be faithful. It is also just like the servants in the Bible who were given talents.
Those who knew the value of the talents that were given to them put it to good use and doubled them. However, the servant who refused to be fruitful and productive was cast out by the master. An ungodly thing to do, therefore, is to be in Christ and be unproductive and fruitless.
10. Unforgiveness
Unforgiveness basically stems from ungodliness and self-righteousness. It is not just an ungodly act; it is also a self-destructive one. It is even more of a problem to you than it is to the offender because you will be bitter alone.
God is upset at people who do not forgive because He has forgiven us. If God can forgive you despite all your shortcomings, then why should you not forgive those who offend you? So when you tell yourself, “I can’t forgive him/her”, know that this is an ungodly act and is unacceptable by God.
There are no exceptions when it comes to forgiveness, so no matter how much a situation hurts you, learn to forgive those who brought that pain to you.
We often pray to God to forgive our sins, but we ignore the second part of that prayer. It says, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” Matthew 6:12 (NIV).
“Have forgiven”, means that it is after we have forgiven people that have hurt us that we can have the right to ask God to forgive us for what we have done. We should understand that unforgiveness is one of the ungodly things to avoid as Christians.
Ungodly acts keep us away from God. They make us guilty as individuals, and so, just like Adam and Eve, we begin to avoid God. However, there are still ungodly things to avoid as Christians.
We usually do not pay attention to these things, and hence, the need to study and understand this article, as a of such things has been presented for you.
As we consider ungodly things to avoid, let us also remember godly things to embrace, such as the fruit of the spirits, which are “… love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, “gentleness and self-control…”
Galatians 5:22- 23 (NIV).
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