I have the dubious honor of being judged. Not for a beauty contest or for an essay I've submitted. No, I was judged for a testimony I gave in church at the podium. NICE.
Now I don't know about you, but this is a precarious place to be, for the person doing the judging, that is. After all doesn't the Bible caution us strongly about this?
Yep, I was right and here it is in black and white!
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. (Romans 2:1)
Now this goes deeper, since we understand that there are actions worthy of being judged. For example adultery is easy to handle, the bible is very clear on this issue. And murder for that matter, idolatry, greed, lust as well. There is no getting into heaven for these things and we are called to handle such issues head on, calling the transgressor to the carpet for such offenses.
Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. (1 Timothy 5:20)
But how about, say... listening to Christian rock? Or, what about eating a certain kind of food? What about the issue of resting on the Sabbath? The bible is clear that we are to rest on the Sabbath, but then Jesus tells us that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. (Mark 2:27). I have met those who are fine with their actions as long as they make it to church on time and others who won't lift a finger to turn the lights on, since that constitutes "working".
Make your peace with Jesus, worship Him as you see fit. Next we are going to look at the relationship with God and why judging may be so detrimental to your health, at least from my perspective...
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Leave the family at home...
The other day, I was listening to a radio host and her guest talk about Christians not being active enough, when I was driving home from work. The first thing I thought of: I am too busy trying to feed my family to be an active Christian. But that's stupid of me; I know that God takes care of us (sorry Dad!) Anyway, after I did a mental check and started to give the host and her guest my time, I was finding myself more and more confused with the conversation. Apparently, going to church, Bible studies several times a week and participating in other church activities is not enough! I guess we have to give a little more, then a little more and then we die. Hopefully, if we gave enough, we get to go to heaven. Come on!
I realized the reason I was having trouble with the conversation is this; with having to make ends meet, raising children so that they don't end up as money grubbing, antisocial, unpatriotic, baby killing, hate machines is hard work if you look at it like that. Apparently, I have to make even more accommodations for things that I really don't have time to do, just so I won't feel guilty?
I have a proposal that I hope will make everyone happy. How 'bout those that have time to go on missions for God do so and leave the family out of it. I admit this may sound like madness! But hear me out.
First, let's take a serious look at the family here in America. I think, without doing any serious research we can safely say the family is in trouble. Let's stack this up. Think about the divorce rate, which is around 45% [1]. Now think about the divorce rate of those that go to your church. OK, let's go sit outside of any public high school and look at how the kids act and dress and are conducting activities that definitely will not get them voted as head of the class. Should I go on? Gay marriage, adultery, drug and sex addictions...let me count the ways the family is in peril.
Now with the family under such attacks, should parents consider a new mission field their own marriage and the welfare of their children as well?
What would be the result if teens, young adults and those older folks whose children have left home took care of spreading the gospel and all the parents were told to go home, save their marriage and give the kids a solid foundation in Christ? I wonder if the church did just that, which I have, would we parents have to feel a little less guilty about our role in the church.
Let me toss out a scenario: Mom and dad sitting with the kids talking about their adventures of spreading the gospel before the kids were born and then telling the kids how much fun it will be when it is their turn! Hmmm. Sounds a lot better than "daddy still loves you even though he won't be living with us from now on..."
[1] Stanton G. (2008) Do Half of All American Marriages Really End in Divorce? Retrieved from http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000596.cfm
I realized the reason I was having trouble with the conversation is this; with having to make ends meet, raising children so that they don't end up as money grubbing, antisocial, unpatriotic, baby killing, hate machines is hard work if you look at it like that. Apparently, I have to make even more accommodations for things that I really don't have time to do, just so I won't feel guilty?
I have a proposal that I hope will make everyone happy. How 'bout those that have time to go on missions for God do so and leave the family out of it. I admit this may sound like madness! But hear me out.
First, let's take a serious look at the family here in America. I think, without doing any serious research we can safely say the family is in trouble. Let's stack this up. Think about the divorce rate, which is around 45% [1]. Now think about the divorce rate of those that go to your church. OK, let's go sit outside of any public high school and look at how the kids act and dress and are conducting activities that definitely will not get them voted as head of the class. Should I go on? Gay marriage, adultery, drug and sex addictions...let me count the ways the family is in peril.
Now with the family under such attacks, should parents consider a new mission field their own marriage and the welfare of their children as well?
What would be the result if teens, young adults and those older folks whose children have left home took care of spreading the gospel and all the parents were told to go home, save their marriage and give the kids a solid foundation in Christ? I wonder if the church did just that, which I have, would we parents have to feel a little less guilty about our role in the church.
Let me toss out a scenario: Mom and dad sitting with the kids talking about their adventures of spreading the gospel before the kids were born and then telling the kids how much fun it will be when it is their turn! Hmmm. Sounds a lot better than "daddy still loves you even though he won't be living with us from now on..."
[1] Stanton G. (2008) Do Half of All American Marriages Really End in Divorce? Retrieved from http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000596.cfm
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