I love the old TV show “Lost in Space” and memories of that show flood my mind from time to time when something similar happens that parallels an episode I saw as a kid. The basic premise of the show was they were lost in space after a ship malfunction that set them adrift and off course. The bad thing about them being lost was “they were lost!” They didn’t know where they were most of the time and they had no way of getting back to earth. The good thing was they really developed a closer family unit that learned to work together through times of adversity and danger. Their family unit became very efficient in dealing with danger as well. A part of the show that is even funnier now than then with all our new technology is the robot. He had a very original name….Robot. He would scoot along with the Robinson’s and his arms dangled at his side as he maneuvered and I thought that was so cool. Now I just laugh. Robot was programmed to be their helper and their protector and he was good at it. One person in the show who would always throw a monkey wrench into their plans though was Dr. Zachary Smith. Dr. Smith had stowed away on the ship and his constant desire to hurt the Robinson’s and help himself kept them in constant danger and turmoil. For whatever selfish reason, he would do something stupid to slow them down or put them in danger and at the end of the show they would forgive him. I always wanted them to leave him alone on one of those weird planets they visited and get on with getting home. Of course, that would have been too boring and the show would have ended sooner than the 83 episodes they compiled. The great line that came out of the show was when Robot would try to warn them of impending danger by saying, “Danger Will Robinson!” Robot was always looking for that danger and his warning was almost always right on target. That warning would save their lives and help them escape the danger.
In 1 Timothy 4:1-5, Paul writes to Timothy, and like Robot he is saying, “Danger Timothy.” In verses 1 and 2 he specifically says the danger will come from those who have fallen away from the faith. Not only have they fallen away from the faith, but they start paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. “Danger Timothy, danger!!” The danger is they start believing liars more than the truth of God and their minds get clouded with half truths that draw them away from Christ. They start doing things that sound a lot like some people today. They pick out certain things that they think are wrong and come up with their own moral code. The moral code is flawed from the beginning because it takes things God has given us and tries to make them bad for us. In other words, they say the good is bad and the bad is good. Boy that sounds familiar. Morgan Cryar, a Christian artist, wrote a song years ago entitled “Kingdom Upside Down.” It tells of the bad being good and the good being bad and that the world’s perspective is upside down. Little did I know at the time, but that song is right on with how our world is today and seemingly how Timothy’s world was at the time. Paul’s instructions for Timothy resonate with us as we have so many ungodly teachings that have surfaced in the past few years. Some of those teachings are so dangerous that they will affect all of us for years to come. In 1 John 1:4 John writes, “Dear friends do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We need to pray for discernment to be able to know right from wrong. If we don’t, there is no telling where our faith will end up. So, take the warning and when something doesn’t line up with God’s Word you can say it!! “Danger Will Robinson, Danger!” It will certainly apply to many things we see and hear in the world that appear to be lined up with God, but they are a shadow of the truth at best. Be alert, be aware… 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Be smart so you don’t become Devil’s Food Cake!!
The Pilgrimage continues….
David Warren