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When I was a little girl, I was an unconscious legalist. My good-Christian parents had chosen to homeschool their four girls. As kids, products of our environment, we assimilate what our parents, our peers, the adults we respect, the world around us – what everyone else does as the way things should be done.
My wonderful mother ground her own whole wheat into flour and made healthy homemade bread. We grew up active – swimming, playing outside, watching very little TV. I didn’t realize that I was building a moral code based on my observations. Even worse, I didn’t realize that I was equating all of these good things with the “good works” that God had created me for.
Let me explain, here’s what my pre-adolescent mind deduced: all Christians make their own homemade bread, all Christians call the television the boob-tube, all Christians homeschool their children, all Christians eat dinner together as a family and require their kids to drink a full glass of 2% milk every night.
WRONG!
That’s what chapter six in Will Davis, jr’s book, 10 Things Jesus Never Said, And Why You Should Stop Believing Them, addresses.
“The Lie: If it’s wrong for you, then it has to be wrong for everyone else. If God requires you to do it, then every other Christian has to do it too. If we’re not all completely uniform in our Christian beliefs and practices, then someone is out of line. If other’s aren’t acting, worshiping, and believing exactly as you do, then they’re not good Christians. Maybe they’re not Christians at all.”
That’s harsh, and few believers would agree that they think this way, but, if our actions reference our true beliefs, then most of us have been caught in the act. My examples above are pedantic, thoughts of a school girl. But they are none-the-less indicative of how we often treat other believers. To this day, I have to remind myself that my husband was not brought up to believe that the television is inherently evil – it’s OK to watch more than 30 minutes a day.
Now, before you think that I am saying, “Anything goes, do whatever makes you happy,” let me emphasize: I am talking about debatable issues. The Bible is not ambivalent to our behavior. There are non-negotiables: All human life is valuable, stealing is wrong, God’s name is sacred, homosexuality is a sin, sex outside of marriage is wrong, and Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father, are a few examples. But truthfully, God did not prescribe a certain number of hours of television. He never said, “Homeschool thy children.” God does not approve of one church denomination over another.
Davis concludes this chapter, as the others with, Come to Me, All You Who are Weary and Burdened. To paraphrase his final paragraphs: God enjoys all kinds of music and God doesn’t have a favorite color.
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WOW! This is good. This is good sensible writing. I just discovered you on today's devotional, which touched me right where I needed it. So, I went in and read some of your other articles. I've become a fan. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Abby. Well said. I enjoyed reading one of your entries I saw in the critique circle. You have a way of putting things that catches the reader's attention, and I think it's because you write from the heart.
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