Slave of all

In the Monday, August 6th, edition of the Orange County Register, there was a column on parenting and grandparenting in the modern age. This particular columnist tries to get to the bottom of the problem with children and teens today. I believe she tries in this article, in a limited and mistaken, worldly way, to really grasp the problem with teaching kids they are entitled and special above others. The article is entitled "What to Do When Everyone is Special?"

First, she tongue-in-cheekly blames the Fred Rogers, of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, who told every listening child they were special. Next, she diatribes the media and birth of MySpaces, YouTubes and reality TV, which can make a nobody a superstar. Finally, she ends with a dig at education, which teaches too much autonomy and worries too much about building self-esteem and making kids feel unique and precious.

Though this columnist is long on theory and short on Biblical truth, she brings up an important problem with our society. We have taught people to shirk responsibility, look for an easy way to success, stomp on others to put yourself first, and, as the Revlon commercial states, to say, "I'm worth it."

So where does the problem lie? As with all imperfections, the root of the problem is sin. Our society has strayed from the commandments of our God, our Creator. The world has turned the example of Jesus Christ upside down. Christ told us in Mark 10:43-45,

"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be
your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many."

Because many adults and children are all about getting ahead and serving themselves, these verses might sound archaic or okay in "theory." However, as followers of Christ, we must not theorize on Christ's example. We must act upon it.

When was the last time you sacrificed your free time to make a phone call to a friend in need? Have you recently allowed others to go ahead of you in a line? Are you willing to go see a movie your spouse prefers and not mention the movie you'd been waiting to see? Ladies, do you meet your spouse with a hug and encouraging words at the end of the day, waiting until a better time to complain about any defects to your day? As Pastor Bobby mentioned, do you serve to a point where you are sacrificing for God, or do you hold back and worry about burnout?

Start a habit of being a slave to others. You will be amazed at the benefits you receive in your new attitude and outlook. God knows what is best and what we should be doing to serve others around us. He was the ultimate slave of all.

Grandpa Padilla and Carter

Amazing Grace

I have always found that I love to discuss Biblical truths with other sisters-in-Christ. Sometimes I might be discipling, and sometimes I'm definitely the one getting discipled. It is so wonderful! God can speak to us through our sisters, and He gives us all different gifts and strengths.

A specific area which is near and dear to my heart is the Biblical role of a wife. Ryan and I co-lead a marriage ministry at our church, so I've felt extra-motivation to feed myself Biblical wisdom on being a godly wife. I finished reading The Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace, and, as I wrote in my second blog post, it was wonderful to find such a Biblically reliant book with unapologetic admonishment and encouragement. I am now reading Helper by Design, by Elyse Fitzpatrick. I am enjoying this book as well, though it has different strengths than The Excellent Wife. In Fitzpatrick's book, I appreciate the thoughtful application and summary questions at the end of each chapter. I am only into chapter 4, so I cannot speak to the whole book as of yet.

Fitzpatrick brought up a good point in chapter 3 of her book. She spoke of the amazing grace we have received from our Heavenly Father. We recognize our sinful states and the hopelessness we would face without the undeserved forgiveness and love from God. She went on to say that we recognize the grace we receive, yet we very often do not offer such forgiveness or grace to our husbands, our best friends and companions. She uses Matthew 18:32-33 to support the need for grace and mercy.

"You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with
me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same
way that I had mercy on you?"

She asks if we have mercy on our husbands, and if we still act unbecomingly in expecting perfection from our husbands. How do you treat your husband when he forgets to do the chore you mentioned earlier, when he accidentally wakes up the baby, or when he is running late in getting home from work? Do you outwardly show agitation with sighs, confrontation or a grumpy face? Do you grit your teeth, smile, and still sin in your thoughts and heart? Do you get upset, immediately repent and ask for forgiveness? I know I have a lot of work in this area. I am constantly repenting of my lack of patience. Thank goodness that God treats me better than I treat Ryan! God's love gives me a perfect model to emulate. His grace is my goal. It is amazing!

Got milk? Grow up in your salvation.

I Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it
you may grow up in your salvation."

Have you ever had a spiritual epiphany or lesson that you passionately shared with other women, only to have blank stares and blinking eyes as your response? Why is it that what the Holy Spirit is teaching me may have little or no meaning to another sister-in-Christ? Sometimes you may even find resistance to Biblical challenges you want to share with others. Beyond our human sinfulness, which keeps us from readily embracing change and discipline, why do we all respond differently to sermons, Christian books we read, scripture and conferences? The answer lies in our spiritual diet.
When I was teaching elementary school, a method in differentiating lessons for children of various levels in ONE classroom was "scaffolding". We don't teach long division before number sense and counting. It would have no meaning and the child would be hopelessly lost. We build skills into more difficult skills and so forth, constructing a network of knowledge that connects and builds upon itself--counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, division, long division, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and whatever crazy math comes after that! It has order and sequence. We group the children and scaffold, or build, upon where they are developmentally in understanding.
God tells us that there are Biblical truths that are more elementary than others. Some of the truths are spiritual milk, easily digestible and more comfortable. There are more difficult truths that come along, and the lessons get more complex and challenging as we grow in our spiritual walk.
While you may be thrilled to finally understand the need to have joy in all situations, even difficult trials; your sister may be ready to delve into the depths of studying God's attributes or the topic of predestination. Another sister may be struggling with submission to her husband and obedience and repentance to God. Another sister might not understand her need to have quiet time each day and may just be sipping milk like a newborn infant.
In fact, the Bible tells us that elementary teachings are such things as "repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment." Hebrews 6:1-2. These are all basic instructions in the Bible, and Paul hopes that the Hebrews will leave these elementary teachings and move to maturity.

Hebrews 5:12-14 "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you
need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over
again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk,
being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about
righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have
trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

Are you still drinking milk from a spiritual bottle? How long have you been a Christian? If you realize you need to move forward, pray that God would give you the energy, desire and understanding to start eating solid food. If you are obediently growing in your spiritual maturity, remember there are still dear sisters drinking milk, and we need to urge them to "go on to maturity" (Hebrews 6:1). Realize also that the Holy Spirit is "scaffolding" our spiritual "education," and what you are learning may be way behind or ahead of what a sister is understanding. Be patient and loving, but Biblically admonish and encourage others to always be moving forward.

I Thessalonians 5: 14 "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle,
encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

Heroes--Who is on your list?

All it took was a furry, red fuzzball with big, beady eyes to light up my 16 month old's face. The high pitched squeals of "mo-mo" (Elmo, for those not up to speed on Carterese)were followed by waiting in line for a chance to take a quick snapshot with the famous Sesame Street character. The attached picture speaks volumes as to my toddler's joy at meeting his television "hero" at the Discovery Science Center. We also recently spent time at the Aliso Viejo theater to view a free movie entitled "Elmo in Grouchland." Though we only lasted twenty minutes before we had to leave--when Carter started petting the nice lady's hair sitting in front of us, I took that as my sign to go--to Carter it was a wonderful twenty minutes of watching Elmo as large as life on a movie screen.

Though Elmo is a great character for kids to enjoy, it made me ponder the priority we place on other people, or red muppets in this case, over our God and King. Does it speak to an error in my parenting that I haven't spent as many hours praising our Heavenly Father and talking about Him to Carter as laughing at Elmo antics on TV? The other day, Carter pointed to his Bible and said "Jzus". I was thrilled! However, this came several months after learning to nickname his favorite furry monster. I so want Carter to adore God and have Him be his hero! The celebrities of this world are meaningless when compared to the majesty of our Lord. Imagine the stares I'd get if I replaced all the worldly heroes "stuff" with pictures of Jesus! Carter could have a Jesus lunchbox, a Jesus T-shirt, God videos, books, puzzles, etc. Okay, that might sound over the top, but you get the point. Early on, we need to teach our little ones that God is number one, and He deserves our adoration over anything else. I need to be his most powerful role-model of this practice. My life needs to clearly demonstrate that God is my hero. If I looked at your life, who would I say was yours?

Exodus 20:3-4 "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not
make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or
worship them: for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God."