Why do we make so many silly rules? Why do Christian colleges require that the guys have to shave? Why is it immodest if guys wear pants that are falling off but girls HAVE to wear pants that are that too large otherwise they're considered "tight?" Why is it that something that fits and shows that women have curves like God created is considered inappropriate? (Have you watched Little House on the Prairie? The dresses that Caroline Ingles wore are form-fitted - just like all dresses back then were. They were made to fit YOU. Now-a-days, many Christian colleges would say that's tight and immodest.)
Why is okay for a guy to go shirtless but not okay for girls to wear really short shorts? Why is women showing skin worse than men showing skin? Why is it bad for little kids to say "damn" but it doesn't bother us when adults do? Why is it okay for little girls to be more immodest than grown women? Why is it okay for slender girls to wear skimpier bathing suits (or tighter clothes) than heavier girls? Why is having fat rolls that can be noticed under clothing more immodest than having a slender body shape that can be noticed under clothing?
Why are pants immodest but straight skirts aren't? Why is wearing a knee-length skirt considered more modest than wearing full-length pants? Why do colleges require that girls have to wear skirts and nylons in extreme weather (either hot or cold)? Why is loose clothing more modest than fitted clothing? Why is it that people knowing what your normal shape is a bad thing? Why is it okay for guys to wear tight shirts but not women?
Some of these I've thought about over the years; some I came up with thinking back on things that I've seen and heard. I've picked them up from a variety of places - from family, friends, people I met at different churches, and colleges. Honestly, most of them I don't see any Biblical reasoning behind. If skin is immodest, it's immodest on men and women. If tight clothes are immodest, they're immodest on men and women. If skin is immodest, pants would be more modest than even a long skirt that has a slit. How do nylons make you more modest at ALL??? Skin tight and sheer - oh yeah, I get it now. (Sarcasm . . . . )
Double standards bother me as do rules for the sake of rules - especially when they are applied to people who are old enough to be thinking for themselves, like college-age students. I understand where some of it comes from; but some of it is just silly and has no Biblical basis at all. I think we need to be more careful where we get our rules and why we make them, especially if we have a tendency to look down on those who follow different rules.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Some Ponderings
I got saved when I was four. I don't remember a radical change in my life. I don't remember the time of day. I have no idea where I was. I don't remember which house we were living in, who was with me, what kind of prayer I said, etc. There's a lot about it that I have no idea. In fact, there is pretty much only ONE thing that I really remember - there was this feeling of relief and joy afterward. I think maybe I asked my mom to call Grandma, but I'm not sure. For a while, I wondered - if I don't remember, was that really when I got saved? Shouldn't I be able to remember something that huge?
Looking back, it seems kind of silly. But people always ask for your testimony, for the account of how and why you got saved. If you don't remember, how can you know? How can they know?
It's such a funny thought now. How many of us remember being born? Does that mean it didn't happen, or that it should be doubted? Does the fact that I don't remember mean that my parents don't KNOW that I was born, that I'm theirs? And really, how much does a memory prove something? I "remembered" my husband coming to bed at 4:15 this morning. He actually came to bed around 1am. And my memory is something I'm going to base the proving of my salvation on?? That was just last night - I'm trying to remember almost twenty years ago with my salvation!
I highly doubt that most people who grow up in Christian homes have a conversion experience like Paul's. It's not a stark difference kind of deal - because we grow up not being allowed to act like what we are. Our parents curb us and direct us and wall things off (and wisely so), and so we learn to be that way. And then when we get saved and WANT to be that way, there's not a huge outward difference.
So how do you know? I think the parable of the sower has the only answer - time will tell. Some look like they are, they continue for a while - but they leave. They fade. They go away. In the end, they're not. And it doesn't matter how much their conversion experience sounded like yours. And it doesn't matter how many years they've gone to church and how much money they've given. All that matters is where their heart is.
There were certain loved ones that I used to worry about because they didn't ever seem to show the same kind of longing and thirst for God that I saw elsewhere. I used to worry because, how do I know? How do I know that my cousin, my friend, my brother, my parents are actually God's? There are indicators of course - self-evaluation of whether or not you love the Church and such - but I think the only real test is time. And that's why it just doesn't really matter if you remember when exactly God saved you and what the circumstances were. That's not the measurement. The measurement is whether it lasts.
Looking back, it seems kind of silly. But people always ask for your testimony, for the account of how and why you got saved. If you don't remember, how can you know? How can they know?
It's such a funny thought now. How many of us remember being born? Does that mean it didn't happen, or that it should be doubted? Does the fact that I don't remember mean that my parents don't KNOW that I was born, that I'm theirs? And really, how much does a memory prove something? I "remembered" my husband coming to bed at 4:15 this morning. He actually came to bed around 1am. And my memory is something I'm going to base the proving of my salvation on?? That was just last night - I'm trying to remember almost twenty years ago with my salvation!
I highly doubt that most people who grow up in Christian homes have a conversion experience like Paul's. It's not a stark difference kind of deal - because we grow up not being allowed to act like what we are. Our parents curb us and direct us and wall things off (and wisely so), and so we learn to be that way. And then when we get saved and WANT to be that way, there's not a huge outward difference.
So how do you know? I think the parable of the sower has the only answer - time will tell. Some look like they are, they continue for a while - but they leave. They fade. They go away. In the end, they're not. And it doesn't matter how much their conversion experience sounded like yours. And it doesn't matter how many years they've gone to church and how much money they've given. All that matters is where their heart is.
There were certain loved ones that I used to worry about because they didn't ever seem to show the same kind of longing and thirst for God that I saw elsewhere. I used to worry because, how do I know? How do I know that my cousin, my friend, my brother, my parents are actually God's? There are indicators of course - self-evaluation of whether or not you love the Church and such - but I think the only real test is time. And that's why it just doesn't really matter if you remember when exactly God saved you and what the circumstances were. That's not the measurement. The measurement is whether it lasts.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Political
I saw a post on Facebook this morning that claimed that Santorum is going to drop out of the race - it used the word "suspend" when talking about his campaign, but the idea was that he was out of it (or would be very soon). I'm not sure what the difference would be at this point between a suspension and quitting, but whatever.
I feel bad for the guy because at least part of it had to do with his daughter getting sick.
And then there's the question, "Is this good or bad?" Personally, I want Ron Paul. And I've always been very AGAINST Romney. So I'm a little scared. If Santorum's votes go to Paul, great! Somehow, I think Santorum might end up ENDORSING Romney though - the thought of which plays with my mind in unhappy ways and basically makes me want to cry because we're going to go from bad liberal to bad conservative.
The foreign policy problems people have with Ron Paul have gotten to the point where I find it funny. Honestly, we're going to worry about FOREIGN anything when we're imploding? If we don't fix the economy, there isn't going to be anything over here that's worth spending a missile on. Oh sure, we have big weapons - not much good when you have no soldiers because you can't pay them and they had to go learn how to farm in order not to starve. :)
That might be extreme; it might not. Who knows? If the economy comes crashing down though, I think the least of our worries is going to be foreign policy. We're going to have no money; no money equals no food; no food equals - no people. I'm going to guess illegal immigration won't be much of a problem at that point either.
Of course, it's all in God's hands, so I shouldn't be afraid. It would just make me very sad if all the people I know who wanted Santorum are now going to stoop to vote for Romney.
I feel bad for the guy because at least part of it had to do with his daughter getting sick.
And then there's the question, "Is this good or bad?" Personally, I want Ron Paul. And I've always been very AGAINST Romney. So I'm a little scared. If Santorum's votes go to Paul, great! Somehow, I think Santorum might end up ENDORSING Romney though - the thought of which plays with my mind in unhappy ways and basically makes me want to cry because we're going to go from bad liberal to bad conservative.
The foreign policy problems people have with Ron Paul have gotten to the point where I find it funny. Honestly, we're going to worry about FOREIGN anything when we're imploding? If we don't fix the economy, there isn't going to be anything over here that's worth spending a missile on. Oh sure, we have big weapons - not much good when you have no soldiers because you can't pay them and they had to go learn how to farm in order not to starve. :)
That might be extreme; it might not. Who knows? If the economy comes crashing down though, I think the least of our worries is going to be foreign policy. We're going to have no money; no money equals no food; no food equals - no people. I'm going to guess illegal immigration won't be much of a problem at that point either.
Of course, it's all in God's hands, so I shouldn't be afraid. It would just make me very sad if all the people I know who wanted Santorum are now going to stoop to vote for Romney.
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