Now That is Interesting

I read a post this morning that sure has my wheels turning. In a nutshell, she is talking about how we can sometimes care too much what others think about us, and how we can over-analyze what other people are doing or not doing (as their actions might be "judging" us). Sometimes words are even redefined in our overly sensitive society. I especially liked this section:

Sometimes, when I play close attention to those buzz words, I'm reminded of a line uttered by one of my favorite characters Inigo Montoya: "I do not think that word means what you think it means." Of course, you don't have to watch The Princess Bride to do a double-take when you hear this vocabulary being thrown around. Sometimes, I think that certain terms have taken on entirely new definitions:

| legalist: a Christian whose zeal for Christ's commands dwarfs mine

| tolerance: the indulgence of the beliefs and practices of others insofar as they do not challenge too many of my presuppositions

| judgement: the process whereby someone forms an opinion that convicts or offends me

| theology: divisive hair-splitting

| gospel: whatever interpretation of God's Word that works for me

And just like the little girl in school who gets picked on for getting straight A's or raising her hand to answer every question, we Christian young women are often guilty of keeping our hands down in class so we don't get labeled as little know-it-alls.

We keep our zeal for the Lord and his commandments a little quieter so we don't get labeled as "legalists." We keep our mouths closed when we see something we don't agree with so that we can be seen as "tolerant." We don't encourage our sisters in Christ towards godliness because we don't want to be "judgmental." That theology stuff? That's for preachers and know-it-alls -we just stick with the rudimentary knowledge because it's more spiritual than delving deep anyhow. Gospel? The Lord saved me... you have to do what works for you, but Christianity could be a good fit.

Do you make it hard for your sisters in Christ to share their passion for the Lord? If, for instance, she decides that she is going to restrict her wardrobe to wearing skirts only so that she can better display her femininity to the outside world, do you:

1. follow the crowd -more law equals more grace, so more restrictions must be right!
2. mark your friend as a judgmental legalist whose conviction obviously means she's looking down on you -you don't like to be held down by a bunch of rules that aren't gospel, or
3. realize that righteousness is the result of saving grace (not the cause of it) (Romans 4:1-8), and search the Scripture for guiding principles while supporting your friend as she searches God's Word for herself?

Which one of those responses do you think is going to encourage your sister to godliness and give you an opportunity to grow in grace as well? Now, be honest: which reaction best fits you?

You can read the entire post here. It sure is making me think--what do you think? And keep in mind, it's not about the "issue" (ex: wearing skirts), but about the underlying attitude and how we relate to one another.