Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Parenting & Education, tagged abortion, creation, evolution, origin, worldview on November 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Every idea has a consequence.
“Man is descended from a hairy-tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in his habits.” (Charles Darwin)
“Children are sexual beings.” (Alfred Kinsey)
“The entire culture war is being fought over the issue of sex.” (Phillip Johnson)
“Sexual liberty has become the ultimate virtue in American life.” (Charles Colson)
Should we be surprised to hear:
“Aborting my baby is the ultimate sacrifice I have to make for myself.” (American woman)
Posted in Citizenship, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged Christianity, democracy, human dignity, republic, worldview on November 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Christian is often told: Your faith is a personal thing. That’s fine. Keep it that way. Don’t bring it with you to school, on the job, or anywhere else.
But, think what would be missing if Christianity never existed. Or if Christians didn’t speak and live their faith. You may hear the media speak negatively of Christian faith and values. But, regardless of what they say, Christianity – and only Christianity — offers a way of life that benefits the common good and promotes human dignity. Chuck Colson of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview notes, “Western liberal democracy (which gives the media the freedom to bite the hand that feeds it) arose from Christian roots.”
It was in the monasteries of Christian Europe during the Middle Ages where we begin to find democracy for all – rich or poor. The moral standards of Christianity were crucial for the development of democracy: People must be able to govern themselves and practice self-restraint before they can rule themselves via elected government.
Christianity made Western culture the most humane culture in history: schools for everyone, charitable giving and volunteerism, hospitals, the great universities . . . these are all fruits of Christian culture in the West. The belief in the sanctity of human life made Christians defenders of each individual’s dignity and worth – no matter their color or creed.
Accepting God’s Word as true, Christians believe men and women bear the image of their Creator. Yes, we are fallen men and women and no longer bear God’s perfect image but, in Christ Jesus, we possess the medicine for sin, receive forgiveness, and have hope of change and new life. Ponder this. Then consider the impact of Biblical faith on a messed up, troublesome, and hurting world.
It is God that gives life and, with that life, liberty and the freedom to pursue happiness. To pursue happiness means to pursue right things that when said and done make the world a better place not just for ourselves but for others.
So, if someone says to you: Don’t impose your faith on others,” gently remind them that a Christian doesn’t set out to do any such thing. Instead, a follower of Jesus Christ guards the dignity of every neighbor – no matter what age, color or creed. A follower of Jesus Christ promotes ethics, morality, education, labor, and law for the common good.
Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Sexy or holy?, tagged accountability, boundaries, cover-up of sin, Jesus Christ, modesty, purity, sex education, the church, wisdom, worldview, wrong choices on October 19, 2011| 6 Comments »
I’m still wondering: Why did publication of the article, “Child Abuse” (an original post of ezerwoman), bring an angry response from a Christian author on “sexuality?” Might this response be similar to the response of a woman angered by her pastor’s pro-life sermon? Pro-life pastors have learned by experience that when they speak God’s Word on abortion, it’s not unusual for a woman to respond in anger because she is either in denial over a past abortion or maintaining a defensive posture.
For many years, I’ve been made aware of certain choices, behaviors, defensive reactions (i.e. “abortion is the lesser of two evils”), and cover-ups within my own church. Indeed, we are “saints and sinners,” but can we encourage the “saint” without calling to accountability the “sinner”?
Silence is not a virtue, not when virtue itself is being mocked. Disrobed. Stolen away.
Why would concerns about protecting virtue and modesty cause anger? Why would someone take offense when others caution against breaking down naturally protective inhibitions, or putting children in harm’s way with too much information too soon (and then expecting them to “wait”), or raising curiosity about all kinds of “sex,” or borrowing tools and techniques from non-Biblical models, or choosing the word “sex” to describe the subject matter rather than “purity”? To bring clarity, I’ve been digging out old phone logs, journals, scribbled notes, research papers, and stories from pastors, teachers, parents, and students I’ve met along the journey. We are in a marriage-breaking, family-fracturing, child-hurting, soul-risking mess. I wish I could word it better, but simply put: I’ve seen too much on my “watch.” And… there is a shameful lack of accountability.
Bearing that in mind, I’m further determined to hold myself accountable. First to my Savior and, next, to those who put their trust in Him rather than human opinion. Dealing with sensitive and difficult issues, even finding myself in conflict with well-meaning Christians, requires the good counsel of wisdom. I make a practice of running my thoughts by my husband because I need his logic and practical sense. He has a “three day rule.” Give major decisions or responses three days. Write the letter. Make the phone call. Speak up… but, when possible, only after three days. In addition to my husband, I seek the counsel of a core group of pastors I’ve come to trust over the years. I seek the counsel of wise women who properly understand the role of “ezer.” By surrounding myself with a group of people who have also seen Christians build on the wrong foundation when it comes to “sexuality” — and then witnessed the consequences and mourned with hurting people — I hope to be faithfully encouraged to the highest standard. The standard of God’s Word. The Word that exhorts us to “speak up” when wrong things are happening and human lives are at risk.
Silence is not a virtue. That’s what a woman told me following a Titus 2 Retreat. She explained years of childhood sexual abuse that led to promiscuity, abortion, and despair. She wanted the cover-up to stop.
Silence is not a virtue. That’s what several men and women told me when thirty years of sexual abuse of children by their Christian school principal came to light. They wanted the cover-up to stop.
Silence is not a virtue. That’s what a young woman told me after being encouraged by Christian parents to date older, more “experienced” men. When she became pregnant by an “experienced” man, money was handed over for an abortion so that the daughter “wouldn’t have her life ruined.” She wanted the cover-up to stop.
Silence is not a virtue. That’s what a Christian youth director told me after marrying his Christian sweetheart. But, because both had learned about sex early and encouraged to be open about their “sexuality,” each had bonded to several others before the youth director and his sweetheart married. The marriage was troubled for a long, long time. He wanted the cover-up to stop.
Silence is not a virtue. That’s what an older woman told me who admitted that, for years, she was taught to be comfortable with her body, her “sexuality.” In boy/girl classrooms, inhibitions were stripped away. Seeing herself as a “sexual” person, she played the “game.” When she captured a man’s attention and certain expectations followed, she grieved her loss of innocence. She wanted the cover-up to stop.
Silence is not a virtue. In a few short years and close proximity, four pastors within my Christian denomination apparently saw themselves as “sexual persons” with a “need” to act out their “sexuality” rather than as human persons created by God to live as men under Christ’s robe of righteousness. One openly embraced his homosexuality, left my church body, and became an Episcopalian priest. Another was charged and arrested for “lascivious acts with a minor and third degree sexual abuse.” Two more were caught in a prostitution sting, one of them the former pastor of my home congregation. Is the response to this: “Forgive me! Love me! Let’s go on with life”? Or, do we want the cover-up to stop?
Christians may think they are different from the world when Jesus is wrapped around everything we say and do. But — you’ve heard me say it many times — Jesus does not wrap Himself around worldly things. Christians may believe they are helping others toward a brighter future. But, if they’re using styles and techniques learned from any source other than God’s Word, then the outcome will have undesirable consequences. God brought to Adam and Eve new emotions of embarrassment and shame with their nakedness and sin. He covered that embarrassment with clothing and that shame with Jesus’ robe of righteousness. We must honor that covering, even when a modern sex educator insists: “No need for modesty! Don’t be embarrassed! Be comfortable in your glory!”
When we see bad things happening and people being confused, hurt or — most tragic of all — tempted away from the Father God, we cannot be silent.
Silence is not a virtue when virtue is being stolen away.
Posted in Faith & Practice, Identity, tagged Babylonian king, care & concern, humanism, Jesus Christ, new age, peace, progressivism, worldview on October 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Most of us have followed a car bearing the bumper sticker: Coexist. Symbols of different religions make up each letter of the word. Sounds good. In order to “give peace a chance,” shouldn’t we all “coexist?” But, what does this mean?
Not everyone in my circle of family, friends or neighbors believes exactly as I do. Therefore, I “coexist” with people of many perspectives on life and of many faiths by treating them as the human beings God made them to be. They are worthy, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us all, of my kindness. Respect. Civility. Care. Concern. Help.
Does the bumper sticker “coexist” suggest something more? If so, other questions follow. Can the religion of humanism or atheism coexist with the Biblical worldview of Creation, The Fall, and Redemption? Can the way of Mohammed, Buddha, or Gaia coexist with the God who calls Himself “I Am;” who spoke to Job, asking: “Were you there . . . Have you commanded . . . Do you know how . . . ?” Can Jesus Christ coexist with the religion of “save yourself?”
At every Titus 2 Retreat, I share the passage from Ezra 4:3. It is a powerful message for Christians living in this “progressive” age. The Israelites had been captive in Babylon for a long, long time. When the Babylonian king told the Israelites they could return to their homeland, very few of God’s people chose to do so. They had coexisted with the Babylonian religions and practices for so long that they didn’t want to return to their “old ways.” A relatively small number of Israelites returned to re-build the decayed city of Jerusalem.
With such few workers, the re-building of Jerusalem was difficult. Watching the process, some non-believing neighbors in the land offered their assistance. (Did they have an agenda of their own?) But, God cautioned His people not to accept the help of unbelievers. Why? 1) The job of rebuilding Jerusalem was given exclusively to God’s people, 2) accepting help from non-believers would obligate God’s people to pagan ways, and 3) the potential for corruption in worship was too great if God’s people aligned themselves with non-believers.
Can people who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ coexist with those who do not? As kind and civil human beings who see each of their neighbors as creations of God: Yes. But, as believers in the One True God who reveals Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: No. We cannot “coexist” if the definition is “blend,” “bend,” or “bow to other gods.” The Biblical worldview of male and female, children and family, education, human care, law, government, and even economics contrasts all others.
What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial . . . What agreement has the temple of God with idols (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)?”
In the end, it comes down to our answer to the question asked by Jesus:
Who do people say that the Son of Man is (Matthew 16:13)?”
Posted in Citizenship, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, tagged 2012 election, children, family, leadership, marriage, sanctity of life, Santorum, worldview on August 12, 2011| 2 Comments »
What you are about to read is not this ezerwoman’s attempt to campaign. It is, however, an opportunity to point out personal convictions. Ideologies. Worldviews… and why they matter.
Rick Santorum is the former senator from Pennsylvania. He is the father of seven and, together with his wife, homeschools his children. I have the Santorum book, It Takes a Family, in my library. Santorum understands the roles of family and government in light of a particular worldview. That worldview puts him at odds with the media and many other politicians. But, it also compels him to run for high office in spite of the odds.
Many will not consider Santorum electable; nevertheless, he needs to be heard. Here’s what I heard him say at a recent townhall meeting:
We have an out-of-control entitlement program. Santorum believes “Obamacare” will rob the U.S. of its soul. Freedoms are removed when citizens become dependent on government. Citizens are not to be “hooked” and then made captive. Santorum believes that The Constitution without the Bill of Rights is a hollow document. We are not granted happiness — or the right to instant gratification; we are gifted with the pursuit of happiness. (See my previous blog.)
We are Americans not ethnically, says Santorum, but because we believe in the ideology of America. Students of history remember John Adams who said democracy can stand only if the people are moral. Parents, not government, are responsible for children and our education system needs to see parents as the customer. Leadership needs to urge parental involvement and accountability. Character development, perhaps even more than academic, is necessary. A person of character, notes Santorum, can be mentored into leadership.
Santorum does not waiver on the sanctity of life and marriage. God is the creator of life. He is the creator and, thus, definer of marriage. Marriage existed before government. Santorum believes that God reveals Himself in nature and in us. He is not distant. Marriage is what it is, what God created it to be and what natural law confirms it to be. To treat marriage other than what it is, says Santorum, will have a huge impact beyond marriage; it will have an impact on freedom of religion. We have now created a right, he says, a “super right” to sexual freedom that isn’t in the Constitution — but the courts have created it and it will, let me assure you, with future court decisions, trump religious rights. So, if you are a marriage counselor in Iowa you have to get a license and you won’t counsel for same sex couples; well, maybe right now there are laws in place that say you won’t lose your license, but that’s just for now. Once this becomes more accepted then we will say: You know what? We really shouldn’t give bigots licenses. Look at what’s already happened in Boston . . . the Catholic Church, the biggest adoption agency in the state of Massachusetts, was told gay adoptions are legal and, therefore, if you don’t do gay adoptions, you can’t be legal. The Church got out voluntarily, but they didn’t want to . . . And, what if your church says “no” to doing a same-sex “marriage”?
The above is offered simply for your personal pondering because I believe worldviews matter. There is a hopeless and generationally-damaging worldview in the White House right now. Therefore, in my role of citizen, I am obligated to carefully study the people who seek leadership. I am doing that — right now.
Posted in Citizenship, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Vocation, tagged 2012 election, economy, government, leadership, liberty, life, morality, pursuit of happiness, worldview on August 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
My husband and I believe in exercising our minds while enjoying a meal. If at home, Paul grills. I steam veggies, broil some garlic bread, and mix a salad. Plates in hand, we settle by a window overlooking a forest of hickory and oak. Or, on a less humid day, we move out onto the deck. We discuss matters of family, theology, and culture. At some point, we slip on our worldview glasses. There are only two pair: God’s — and any other.
Family, theology and culture take on a different perspective depending upon one’s worldview. The same is true with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This Saturday is the Iowa Straw Poll. I plan to go, not so much to cast a vote, but to meander through the crowd. To listen. Watch. Learn which pair of glasses the people have chosen to wear. Most eyes are focused on the economy. But, my worldview tells me that our economic problems have deep moral roots. America may be collapsing on itself because its worldview of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is hopeless.
Life. Abortion fails to see the value of life created by God and redeemed at high price. Abortion is about “me.” “My” fears. “My” needs. It sees no future. It acts in desperation. Legalized abortion is a root cause of our social security and health care woes. I have long been concerned that the babyboomers who ushered in abortion will be ushered out by euthanasia.
Liberty. To worship at the altar of sexual freedom is to eventually loose religious freedom. “Righteous” folk who “tell me” that I have no “right to liberated” behavior, but must instead practice self-control, are “bigoted” and “must be silenced”.
Pursuit of happiness. Some Americans think we are entitled to happiness or the right to instant gratification. But, wearing his worldview glasses, former Senator Rick Santorum disagrees. We are, he says, “gifted with the pursuit of happiness.”
Santorum, speaking in my town earlier this week, asked, “What is the pursuit of happiness? Is it doing what we want, or doing . . . .” He paused, waiting for someone to finish the sentence. From my place in the back of the room, I did so: It’s doing “what we should (ought).” Correct answer. I think many in the audience agreed. But, as citizens, have we correctly pursued happiness?
America has given its citizens the freedom to pursue happiness. But, believing happiness to be “my right to do whatever I want,” leads us to pursue wrongly. Selfishly. Dangerously. Right down a slippery slope into despair.
So, my husband and I remind each other to polish our worldview glasses. Clarify hope and change. Look for leaders who pursue not what they can, but what they should. And, correct our own pursuit of happiness.
Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Parenting & Education, tagged abstinence, bullying, children, gay indoctrination, LGBT, parents, public school, Saugatuck, sexuality, worldview on July 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Saugatuck, MI., is a pleasant village on the shore of Lake Michigan. I’ve spent several nights there on my way home from speaking to teens and their parents in the Grand Rapids area. The first time, I had my cousin along for the trek. I made reservations at one of the local bed and breakfast establishments as a special treat. We were not disappointed. The village of Saugatuck is delightful: cottages with wide front porches, art stores, fine eateries, and the calm of lakeside living. We visited with everyone we met, including shop-keepers who were comfortable being “out.”
A year or so later, I returned, this time with my daughter-in-law and niece . I selected a different bed and breakfast for our night’s stay. By this time, it had been explained to me that Saugatuck is a popular weekend and summer destination for homosexual travelers from the cities. I guess it’s more than just a destination. For some, it’s their home. I know. The B & B I had chosen for Angie, Lisette and I was home to two women who greeted us, showed us to our rooms, and then invited us to come knock on their bedroom door should we need anything. Their obviously shared bedroom. As in “we are a couple” bedroom.
So, you might understand why I took special note when Saugatuck made national news. In June, the school board rejected a video for its eighth-grade anti-bullying program. The video’s title is: “Coming Out: What Every Teen (Gay and Straight) Needs to Know.” Some board members apparently would have supported the video for a sex-ed class, but noted that it had little to do with bullying.
Board member Jason Myers told the Holland Sentinel, “It’s about sexuality. We got sold on it as something more about bullying.” “This does little on the harassment and bullying component,” added board President Mike VanLoon. “It’s not the bulk of the video.”
Interested in what the homosexual community might have to say, I visited advocate.com. They reported that the vote was 5-2 against the video. Joan Lamb, board secretary, voted in favor of the video, noting that educational professionals had endorsed it and few parents opposed it. Steve Hutchins, who cast the other favorable vote, said Saugatuck’s demographics make it necessary for the school to address gay issues. Many businesses are owned by or cater to LGBT people. I remembered our B & B hosts.
Taking the demographics of Saugatuck into consideration, I find the school board’s vote curious. School boards across the country are under pressure. In a growing “gay community,” I wouldn’t have been surprised if the vote was 5-2 in favor of the video. Why?
Dan Savage is the founder of the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign, widely seen in a variety of media outlets. But, has he adapted a bullying approach of his own — toward parents?
“The whole point of the campaign,” he said in an interview with Salon magazine, “is that we’re not waiting for permission anymore to talk to your kid, whether you want us to or not.”
Daniel Villarreal was just as candid as Savage in his article that appeared on the prominent New York homosexual blog Queerty in May. “I and a lot of other people want to indoctrinate, recruit, teach and expose children to queer sexuality.” Many things Savage said are unfit to quote, but the reason “gay activists want educators to teach future generations of children to accept queer sexuality,” he said, is because “our future depends on it.”
It would appear that in the charming village of Saugatuck there is a battle of worldviews. The school board decision against a video that appeared to teach more about sexuality than anti-bullying may be evidence of conflict, but it is also evidence of hope. As activists for a behavior with harmful consequences push hard — and boldly — to indoctrinate our children and grandchildren, perhaps they are exposing their true agenda. They want nothing to do with abstinence education. They want nothing to do with real marriage or family values. But, they do want to teach children that they are “sexual from birth” and have every right to express their sexuality any way they choose. Maybe more and more parents are beginning to recognize the deception and danger.
Saugatuck is a beautiful place. I would like to visit there again. In the meantime, I want to think that the two women who hosted my daughter-in-law, niece and I in their home will continue to be hospitable. Good neighbors. Self-controlled. Not in favor of bullying parents… or indoctrinating children.
Excerpts from CITIZEN, August/September 2011 and http://www.advocate.com
Do you want your children under the instruction of Planned Parenthood or SIECUS?
Discover their worldview for yourself by visiting http://www.teenwire.org
Posted in Citizenship, Faith & Practice, Vocation, tagged budget, children, debt, family, future generations, government, Jesus Christ, marriage, morality, parental rights, sanctity of human life, the church, unions, worldview on July 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Rep. James Lankford (OK) and Rep. Tim Scott (SC) are Christians who unashamedly discuss their faith — in the home, on the job and against political odds. Both are in their 40s. Both were raised in less than perfect homes but with God’s Word. The book of Nehemiah convinced Rep. Lankford to take the path to Capitol Hill. Biblical mentors encouraged Rep. Scott to work his way toward Congress.
Both Reps. Lankford and Scott are fully aware of the ideological and spiritual battles in Washington, D.C. Rep. Scott is pro-life, a faithful pray-er, and a defender of Biblical values. He has sponsored legislation that prevents unions from demanding mandatory dues; thus halting the devastating effects that unions have imposed on the federal budget and socially conservative values. Unions spend hundreds of millions to undermine marriage, the sanctity of human life, parent’s rights, and other values that are cherished by the very members who pay the dues, but have no say on how the money is spent.
Rep. Lankford says he is grounded by the wisdom of Proverbs. “How do we handle debt as a nation?” he asks. “A wise man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. We [are spending] the inheritance of our children’s children. So, how do we correct that? How are we able to honor the poor . . . promote justice . . . [practice] what is right and just?”
He continues, “I don’t know of another generation of leaders that has said, ‘Times are tough. I’m going to make it tougher on my kids to make it easier for me.’ As weird as it may sound . . . debt is the moral issue of the day.”
“At the heart of many of the problems facing our country stands an institution under siege,” Lankford proclaims. “That institution is the American family. The best way to ensure a strong nation is to have strong families.” The U.S. Department of Justice announced on February 24 that it would no longer defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Lankford took to the House floor to call out the hypocrisy. “Many in this chamber are aware of my . . . Biblical worldview. I am unashamed of my personal faith in Jesus Christ . . . I believe words have meaning . . . the meaning of marriage is the union between a man and a woman. The Defense of Marriage Act codified that definition into law . . . this issue is well beyond faith . . . or social or political issue. Marriage is now not only the center of a national social debate, but also a constitutional debate.”
Scriptural warnings, said Lankford, are clear for politicians and for the church. “We have a first responsibility to take care of those in poverty. To take care of our own families. To take care of the needs around us. The more that the church backs up from that, the more the government engages in it . . . [T]he more the nation and the family break down, the more social services are needed. But, the more strong families you have, the less government you have . . . so we have this endless cycle that we have got to pull out of. The only way to pull out is [to have] churches engaging in [preserving the] family.”
Are we raising sons and daughters with a Biblical worldview so that they can be morally upright citizens? Marry and start a family? Use their skills through honest labor? Become involved parents? Not be burdened by our failure to invest in the future?
Lankford says it’s not about what you do, but whom you follow, that should define you: “My calling is first and foremost not to an occupation. It is to follow a person. My calling is to follow Christ.”
Rep. Scott agrees. He tries to surround himself with believers that “keep me accountable.” There is “peace and direction for me in my leadership role,” he says, quoting Psalm 23 and Luke 6:38.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want . . . He restores my soul . . . I will fear no evil . . .
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Excerpts from CITIZEN, August/September 2011
Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, tagged brights, consequence, creation, despair, evolution, forgiveness, hope, human life, immorality, Jesus Christ, logic, moral living, origin, purpose, secular naturalist, sin, worldview on May 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »
How does the world turn? By chance, proclaims the secular naturalist.
By the hand of God, proclaims the Biblical Christian.
During a Titus 2 Retreat, the answers to a number of simple questions are followed to their natural conclusion.
If I evolved by chance from primordial soup; if my only purpose in life is self-fulfillment; if I’m not responsible for my own messes; if I rely on myself or science to perfect the world; and when I die, well, that’s all there is… how do you think I will live my life? What will the consequences be?
On the other hand, if I was created by God to be a woman quite different from man, and certainly not an animal; if my purpose is to be in a relationship with God and glorify Him with my behavior; if the world and every person in it is sinful because Adam and Eve disobeyed God; if I am responsible for my own messes; if I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose victorious over evil; and when I die, I will not stay dead but be raised to stand before God… how do you think I will try to live my life? What will the consequences be?
It all seems reasonable and quite simple. Follow secular naturalism to it’s logical conclusion and we find devaluation of human life by abortion, “mercy killing,” and school shootings; broken relationships; abuse; tyranny and terrorism; racism and hopeless, human misery.
But, follow Biblical Christianity to it’s logical conclusion and we find value in every human life; restored relationships; kindness and mercy; forgiveness; and hope for the human family.
That’s how my world turns.
Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Parenting & Education, tagged abstinence, Alfred Kinsey, boundaries, Christian schools, creation, God's Word, health risks, hope and change, humility, mentor, modesty, myth, parental rights, promiscuity, purity, sex education, sexual behavior, sexual choices, sin, spiritual warfare, virtue, worldview on October 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
When did God say, “Educate children in sex”? I challenge you to find this passage in Scripture. While you’re looking, you will find an opposing thought. Parents are to train their children in purity. The theme of purity is woven throughout Old Testament and New.
When our sons were in elementary school, I purchased a series of “sex education” books from a Christian publisher. Something about them troubled me, so I put them on the shelf. I found a better substitute — chivalry and more about biology than “sexuality”. Of course, there was no substitute for the Bible. I was amazed to see how much God had to say about training in purity. I began to contrast God’s Word with “sex ed” textbooks and resources. The teachings were world’s apart.
The question for me was this: Which worldview was best for children? Some years later, speaking nationwide to teens and their parents, I realized why I had been uncomfortable with Christian-wrapped “sex ed” material. Jesus does not wrap Himself around worldly ideas.
“Sex education” is not a Biblical teaching. It is the idea of Alfred Kinsey who coined the phrase “children are sexual from birth.” Too late, his criminal and fradulous research was exposed. Opinions had been shaped — in education, media, and even courts of law. If we define ourselves as “sexual” (with “needs” to be met), or “sexy” (“it’s our right”), then that’s how we’ll live. Our Creator God defines us differently (Genesis 1:27):
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The first man and woman were made in God’s perfect image. God defines Himself as “Holy.” Therefore, God called the bearers of His image not to a “sexy” life, but to a holy life. We all fell from perfection when sin corrupted God’s perfect image-bearers, but His original design for male and female did not change. We are called and equipped by God to be holy (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). Unlike animals, we are not captive to our sexual desires. Our bodies (knitted together by God) and our lives (held in His arms) are not our own. They were “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20). That price is the blood of Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we are forgiven and set free to pursue what is good, right, and holy.
God created male and female, not to bring glory to themselves, but to Him. We do this best when we realize that God does not define us as “sexy” or instruct us to call attention to ourselves; rather, He defines us as “holy” people who help our neighbors see God.
God’s Word says,
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather, train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. To this end we toil and strive . . .
This passage from 1 Timothy 4: 7-10a tells me that Jesus can’t be wrapped around unholy and “silly myths.” It is impossible for Truth to wrap Himself around foolish and destructive philosophy and practice. Certainly, as the passage above notes, we have to “toil and strive” because disconnecting ourselves from worldly influence is extremely difficult. It threatens to sap the energy right out of the most persistent Christian. Still, every father, mother, grandparent, pastor, teacher, and mentor is obligated by God’s Word to train children in purity. To do otherwise is to remove the protective boundaries of modesty and send vulnerable children to wolves — big and bold or dressed in sheep’s clothing.
Jesus doesn’t wrap around modern sex education. He can’t. He is the Word of purity, modesty and humility. For this reason, His Word tells elder brothers that they have the responsibility to guard the purity of their younger sisters (Song of Solomon 8:8-9). If the little sister is a wall (virtuous), they are to help protect her chastity. If she has fallen into sin and is like a door (swaying open to promiscuity and harmful choices), then they are to do what they can to rescue her, call her to repentance, and put a stop to her sinful behavior.
Jesus contrasts the world. He is Light; the world is dark. He is Truth; the world is myth and changing opinion. Jesus, the Word, tells us: Do “not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (Song of Solomon 3:5b). We must not disregard the order that pleases God. It is His design — for the good of all — that love be stirred, awakened, and fulfilled only in marriage between one man and one woman.
So, I challenge you to answer one question: Which practice is compatible with Jesus?
Jesus is Truth. Truth cannot wrap Himself around unholy and “silly myths.” To protect children from wolves (big and bold or dressed as sheep), Jesus guards walls of virtue. He rescues the hurt and repentant after doors have swung open. He tells me to do the same.
This is the love of Him who holds young ones in such high esteem.
(Looking for a resource? You may order “The Failure of Sex Education,” a little book I wrote for Christian parents, from www.lutheransforlife.org )
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