One of the best compliments I have ever gotten came from my dad. I can' t remember what the topic of discussion was but he said, "You know, your house doesn't look like the rest of the world." I wanted to climb to the rooftop and say, "Hallelujah!!!" but rather said, "Good!! And if it ever starts to will you please let me know!"
I was thinking about this because of our recent discussions about living in an increasingly non-christian culture and how our lives should look accordingly. I think one of the hardest things to figure out and one that requires ongoing evaluation is what to embrace in our culture and what to reject. This isn't one of those areas that are completely black and white and look the same for each and every family so it makes it difficult. I read a great line on a blog the other day regarding how to make decisions: Why should I do this? rather than Why can't I do this?. In other words, instead of trying to rationalize those things we want to do or trying to make sure that there is nothing biblical that mandates we can't, we should think through whether we should do those things. Why would we want to do so? What good can come from it? What harm could come from it? Is it glorifying to God or idolatry? Is it celebrating God's good gifts or mocking them? Is it going to draw me closer to God or the world?
This is a good framework for my family to adopt. Too often, we don't even think most actions or decisions require much thought. We just go with the flow and figure that if everyone else is doing it why can't we. Not only am I going to adopt this for myself but for my kids as well. When they ask"Why can't I?", I am going to ask that they articulate why they should.
1 comment:
I am continually confronted by the tendency of the flesh to assert its false authority over life. There are so many times when the chief contest is not about weighing options and consequences, but recognizing Who holds the right to command.
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