It never ceases to amaze me how God uses children as a metaphor for us growing as Christians.
John 3:3-8
Hebrews 5:11-14
Recently Pineapple has been running to find Mango's pacifier whenever she thinks she needs it. And by saying "whenever she thinks she needs it," I mean, "whenever she thinks of it." It doesn't matter if she is crying, cooing, or sleeping - Pineapple will run to retrieve the nearest pacifier and run back to Mango and attempt to shove the binky in her mouth. I am quite sure that this behavior has mutated from the original version of mom & dad using the binky to calm Mango down when she is crying despite being fed, dry, swaddled and warm.
Is not Pineapple's immature and uniformed behavior like that of many of us? We see a piece of how God works in other peoples' lives (or perhaps our own) and so we become convinced that is the end-all to God's hand in their lives? Let me share some of my convictions that cause me to stumble less in my walk with Jesus:
- No TV
- Church once a week
- Christian radio
- Daily devotions
- Tithing
- Verse memorization
- Playing the piano
- Musing on my blog
You might be thinking, "I don't think any of that has anything to do with my race." Perhaps.
But let me confess something to you. Whenever I hear of someone who has money problems, the first thing I think is, "I wonder if they have been tithing." I don't think I say this in judgement, because I don't conclude that they must not be tithing and that is why they are having financial trouble. The thought just crosses my mind. It crosses my mind because I think my financially-trouble-free existence is God's response to my commitment to tithe. Whenever I hear of parents having problems with their teenage kids, I think, "I wonder how much tv they watch?" I don't think I say this is judgement, because I don't conclude that they must watch a lot of TV and that is why the parents are having discipline problems. The thought just crosses my mind. It crosses my mind because I think my walk with Jesus, growing fruit of the spirit, and respect for my parents has improved since I stopped watching tv routinely.
So maybe I'm the only one with this problem. The problem of taking God's solution (the pacifier) for our lives (Mango) and applying it to a situation that has so many more variables involved than what I can possibly perceive. I don't expect that I am, or God would not have mentioned the speck.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Kid Parallels
Posted by Theo at 1:11 PM
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3 comments:
This is a well written and cited post. I really like to click and find the Bible explaining specifically what you refer to.
It is interesting that you realize that multiple variables affect each predicament, and you give yourself an out because you don't conclude the reason for their trouble, you just are highlighting a possibility. Perhaps if I were to spend some time I could similarly make useful citations but I will instead remind us of some of Job's friends who thought they had it figured out as well. We can see as early as Job 4:8 that Eliphaz is explaining:
8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
He similarly avoids outright saying that Job must have done something wrong, like failing to tithe or letting his kids watch TV, but he thinks it, and later says it.
Thanks Sam, I am actually quite pleased with myself for the hyperlinks to God's Word. It is a convenient blend of prose and technology, which suits me.
Ultimately I think it is the speck. I may not call it judging but I think it is judging when I am critical of other peoples' issues. Yet even as I admit this, I fight with condemnation for "judging" because error analysis is kind of the way God made me. I think. I've always tried to learn from my own and others' mistakes. There's no harm in that, right? I don't think I ever make the mental leap of condemning someone to incineration in the afterlife. Perhaps there is more to the words lost in translation regarding "judging," because I have always taken it as a negative connotation.
Certainly the tone in Job is that his "friends" don't really have the right idea when it came to Job's ailments. It is as much a lesson for those who are struggling in life as those who see others struggling in life: God intends to be glorified in how we all live out our lives. In the example you used, I like how Eliphaz concedes "as I have observed," suggesting that he was humbly suggesting "those who plow evil and sow trouble reap it." He didn't simply say, "Job you have done evil and our reaping the consequences." I propose that the difference in these statements is the fine line between judging and critiquing. Maybe critiquing is ok as long as we don't go so far as to judge.
I think that critiqing places your view in opposition to the other persons actions. An example. I think pirating software or CDs is wrong. I know many people think it is a justifiable act. By mentioning my critique I place the other person at a crossroads. Continue there actions which they know I oppose, this limiting a subject that we can speak freely about, or conforming to my critique, which may not be in their best interest, and may cause a defensive counter critique to ensure equity in the relationship. I think some God fearing Christians don't drink. I know some who do, should we critique each other so that our perspectives can be known.
I think it is best to enciurage one another in Christ as we traverse the ails of this world. Paul tells us the truth is divisive... I think there are plenty of things that we can critique, but it is far better that we love one another, and encourage one another as God reveals to us the logs In our own eyes.
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