Have you fallen in a ditch?
Before my
wife and I moved to Illinois, we had some wonderful Christian neighbors.
Not long after we met them, they had a baby girl. I distinctly remember
one conversation I had with the dad concerning raising their daughter (at that
time my wife and I didn’t have any children and knew nothing about home
schooling). He said he planned to raise her so far to the right so that
when she rebelled a bit, she would wind up in a more centered walk with
Christ. Again, I knew nothing of home schooling then, but even then his
words did not seem the best way to raise a child.
This
tendency to fall over in a ditch (or jump from one ditch to the other) is a
common problem for all of us. We see something we are doing wrong and
over compensate our lives to the degree that we still are sinning, just in an
opposite ditch. One example of this is politics and government, and it
seems to be a timely subject to discuss.
The
straight and narrow: Romans 13: 1-7 (ESV)
“Let every person be subject
to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God,
and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore
whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who
resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a
terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in
authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he
is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not
bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who
carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore
one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the
sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also
pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very
thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them:
taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom
respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
Left
Side Ditch: Have nothing to do with
anything political. No voting, No Discussions, No Protests.
Right
Side Ditch: Disrespect all government
authority that does not line up with the Bible. Protest at every
opportunity, and have a goal to belittle and humiliate anyone that does not
agree with your political views. (Note: “Right” does not indicate
correctness here, just an opposite directions from “Left”)
As you
faithfully pray about where you are in your walk with Christ as it relates to
the government and politics, please spend more time in prayer and reading
Romans 13: 1-7 (and related passages) than you do listening to Fox News
or some conservative talk show. The answers to our involvement in
politics and government can be found in the bible if we seek His will and pray
for His revelation.
To
continue the metaphor let's discuss having pride in our children's
accomplishments. A loving parent will most always have an inner joy when
their child accomplishes something. How that inner joy manifest itself to
outward praise is what needs to be considered. Too often it shows itself as
pride in the child over praise for Jesus.
When
pondering our praise for our children, consider Paul's praise of the church at
Ephesus. Because of their faith and love for the saints, he praised and
prayed for them. To keep this simple and brief, praise should be given to our
children as a pattern of praise that we should give our heavenly father. That's
exactly what Paul was doing. Praising people that were praising God.
The
straight and narrow: Proverbs 22:6 and Matthew 25:23 ESV
“Train
up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from
it.”
“His
master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been
faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your
master.'”
Left
side ditch: Give no praise or "pats on the
back" for any accomplishment or spiritual growth of your children, for
fear that they will develop pride in themselves and not offer thanks to
God. Result: A child that does not understand the affection and love God
has for His people.
Right
side of ditch: Heap praise and adoration on your
children for every accomplishment no matter how small, and teach them they can
do whatever they set their mind to. Result: A child that takes pride in
him/herself over Christ and believes God owes us blessings for our service to
Him.
As we
train our child in the way that he or she is bent, let us do so with the goal
that they understand the real purpose in life. All praise should help
them see a pattern of praise for Jesus Christ.
Mr. J.C. Harrison
J.C.
Harrison is the son of a Southern Baptist Minister, a 13 year homeschool dad and
the current coordinator of the Saint Clair County Christian Home Educators
support group.
Image by Leaping Lizard
Image by Leaping Lizard
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