**This response does a good job of answering the questioner’s query while also addressing the deeper issues exposed by the question. The response helps teach the questioner how to think through similar issues by providing him with a biblical framework. The response is logically organized, well written, and connects on a personal level. **

Question: Hi. Should Christians travel? Weird question… Lets say i have a lot of money and i decide to travel to many beautiful places, nature created by God (like Norway switzerland etc) and beautiful architecture places like in Rome, is this selfish? Im using my money to see beautiful things.. (please note that im not living in expensive hotels or eating expensive food or buying expensive cars etc, im simply using this money to travel and see the world with all its beauties)?

Profile: Male, Africa, Christian, 19-25

Answered by: John Ruiz-Bueno, who has been a volunteer with us since September, 2016.

Answer: The Fallacy of “Is this sin?” Questions

I want to open very briefly by pointing out a trap that new or young Christians often fall into. They will ask over countless things: “Is ___ a sin?” In virtually every case, they want to do whatever “___” is, and they have an inclination that it might be wrong, but they want to find a way to rationalize doing it anyway.

The only way to rationalize behaviors this way is by pointing to the law. Is there a law against it or not? If there is, does the law technically cover the way you’re doing it or not? The problem with this line of thinking is that you’re looking to the law to justify you.

In reality, the Bible says that the law can never justify you; rather, the law exists to make you conscious of your sin (Romans 7:7). Anyone who looks to the law to find technicalities that will justify their behavior may very well find them. But if you look to the law to justify your actions, you must submit all of your actions to the law and not only the individual one you’re trying to justify. That is, if one behavior is justified by the law, I’m certain you will find dozens of others that are condemned by the law. Accordingly, never look to the law to justify the things you want to do; rather, look to your motives to justify you, if they are prompted by Christ, and let the role of the law be to convict you when you would otherwise be unaware of your sin.

Nothing is Inherently Sinful

With the above in mind, Romans 14:14 says, “I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.” The idea here is that your motive matters more than your actions.

Suppose a man were to ask his pastor: “Is it a sin for me to watch child pornography?” Of course it is, the pastor replies, heavily instructing the man to avoid doing this. Everyone knows that watching child porn is sin, says the pastor.

Now, suppose that man happened to work for a governmental agency and watching a video of child pornography is what would provide the clues necessary to catch the perpetrator and arrest him so that he couldn’t force children to do those things again. Now was it sin for him to watch child porn? Well, you didn’t tell me why you were watching it, says the pastor, who now realizes that the man’s motive matters more than his behaviors.

Everything is Inherently Sinful

Somewhat paradoxically, a few verses after Romans 14:14, in verse 23 Paul continues: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” That is, everything is automatically sin if you’re not doing it from faith. This is affirmed by numerous other passages, like:

1. Isaiah 64:6 – Even their good deeds are as filthy rags.

2. Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God.

3. 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands us to do everything for God’s glory; and it would be a sin to directly break a command, even this one.

So, while Romans 14:14 says on a theoretical level that anything could be done in a non-sinful way, 14:23 tells us that as a practical matter, virtually everything we do is going to be tainted by sin, if we are not doing it because our faith would compel us to. It’s no accident that Paul put these two verses only a couple paragraphs apart.

Godly Pleasure v. Worldly Pleasure

Brother Lawrence once wrote that the true work of sanctification is not in changing what we do, but in doing for Christ that which we would ordinarily do for ourselves. That is, I could do one thing today and it would be sinful, but do the exact same thing tomorrow and it would not be sinful – because my heart may have changed, and the reason I am doing it the second time is for God’s purposes instead of my own.

Watching TV is a great example. I watched countless shows – so many that I would even have to keep a written list because I couldn’t remember all the TV shows I wanted to keep up with. This was sin. I was wasting away my days.

But at some point I read Philippians 3, where Paul talks about all of his great accomplishments before he was saved – and that he considered them rubbish that he may gain Christ. That intrigued me because Paul’s history was the very thing that made his story so compelling every time he shared it with new churches and believers. What Paul had done for sinful purposes, God had redeemed to make Romans 8:28 a reality: “God works all things for the good of those who love him.” Just as God had worked Paul’s sinful history for the good of his ministry, so also could God make use of my TV-addiction for His purposes.

How? I first noticed it at my wife’s work party. I didn’t know anyone there. Rather than talking about the weather and work drama, like most of the other guests did, I started asking people, “See any good shows lately?” Instead of a mundane and placating response, something lit up in their eyes as soon as they found out I had seen the same show they did. An immediate connection was built. Two weeks later, that couple went out to dinner with us, and a couple weeks after that they were going to church with us.

After the work party, I started asking that question to my neighbors – and then other people in my church, co-workers, and random people I met from time to time. Want to know what I discovered? That people in America LOVE watching TV. What better way to build relationships with non-believers and young Christians than to initiate with something they’re passionate about.

To this day, I form immediate connections with new people I meet over TV shows. For example, when Patrick showed up to our church for the first time after having just moved to our city, most people talked to him about the standard topics: “How’d you find our church? What part of town are you from? Crazy weather, right?” I asked him my staple question: “See any good shows lately?” He mentioned Goliath. I hadn’t seen it. I watched it over the next two weeks. When I saw him at church the next time, I told him he inspired me to watch the show and we talked for about 20 minutes about it! Next thing I knew, we were setting up some time to hang out with our kids, we’re getting together at the gym, and he’s opening up to me about his alcoholism and how desperately he needs Christ to bring healing in his marriage.

You see, I didn’t change what I was doing in my free time. I didn’t stop watching TV shows. I still enjoy watching TV. What I’ve done, instead, is redeem what I do in my free-time to be used for godly purposes.

Conclusion and Application

So, I ask: why are you traveling the world? If it is purely for your own pleasures and gratification, then yes, you are almost certainly in sin. But if you are doing it to enjoy with God the fruit of all that he has given you, then you do what is right, as affirmed by Ecclesiastes 2, which says, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.” So, if you have worked hard to earn a living, there is nothing wrong with finding satisfaction in this and in enjoying the fruit of what you have earned. Just don’t enjoy it so much that you sacrifice other attributes of a godly man, like generosity or compassion for the poor.

Even more important: is there a way that you can redeem your traveling adventures for God’s purposes? Can you plant missionaries in the places you travel? Will you write a book for other believers to learn about the cultures you’ve visited so that missionaries can better prepare themselves for service in those countries? Are you going to find others who love to travel and let your mutual passion be a foundation for a relationship that can lead to your sharing the Gospel with them? These are the things you should be thinking about as you travel.

Of course, I can’t end without a caution: don’t use this as a justification for your motives. You cannot have wrong motives, then come up with a good excuse for your behaviors and pretend that your excuse and your motives are one and the same. If your motive is wrong, it doesn’t matter that you pretend you’re doing it for a good reason. Search your heart and discern what your actual motives are before doing a thing.