Saturday, May 09, 2009

When Others Condemn Me

Job 15:5
For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou
choosest the tongue of the crafty.

Again we are looking at Job. However, this passage is not coming from the mouth of Job. Eliphaz is speaking to Job and accusing Job of mocking God. Job stands accused of speaking lies, presenting a pious attitude, and blaspheming God all because Job stands firm on his right standing before God. In verses 7 - 10, Eliphaz accuses Job of thinking he is wiser than them even though Eliphaz has an elder with him in the confrontation of Job.

I can't help seeing how similar this passage is to today. How many times do I talk with someone about biblical parenting, and wifely submission and hear the call "Your just old fashioned." Or what about corperal punishment. You know, the psychologists and hummanists tell me that my children are going to be emotionally scarred because of the spankings they receive. You know, there may be some truth to that -- I am afraid of doing what's wrong because I don't want to reap the consequences. The other day Jenny posted here about parents not setting their kids up for failure in the area of purity because it will injure their self-esteem. How ridiculous is that? If our kids don't have a goal to strive for how can they accomplish anything -- especially remaining pure for their spouse. And yet "all the experts" agree that teens experimenting with sex is now a "right of passage."

I urge you fellow believers, do not allow the world's wisdom (or great lack thereof) to discourage you for doing what we know is right. Critisism from friends and family is very difficult to face, and can often cause us to second guess ourselves. However, we must not question God's truth -- He will strengthen us to stand for Him.

Let me leave you with a little story of the ridiculous wisdom of man. Last summer I was heavy with child :) A couple weeks before Ezekiel was born I was coming out of the doctor's office and ran into a neighbor. He proceeded to tell me how so many third world countries were starving because men and women were having multiple children. (now realize I only have four and yes they are all five and under). You know he was telling this to me to make a point -- Stop having Kids it's not right.

Maybe I'm a little dense here, but how is my ceasing to have children going to take care of solving the starvation problem on the otherside of the world? You don't really want me to send my leftovers to them do you? Let's not consider the fact that my grocery bill for my family of six is less than the typical grocery bill for a family of four. Regardless, am I to question our decision to have a large family because most American's frown on having more than one or two children? I can't begin to tell you how many people have told me that our family structure is perfect with two boys and two girls. You know, that very well may be if God doesn't choose to bless us with more children, but should God choose to give us one more or ten more, does that mean I should be disturbed because American philosophy is against large families? No -- if God chooses to bless us with more children, then my response should be the same as when I found out I was pregnant with my first -- Rejoicing because God has given me a child.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual

1Corinthians 2:13

Please feel free to comment on my posts and share what God is teaching you, or share a story exemplifying the principle discuseed. Also, if you think I am misinterpreting these passages, please let me know. I want my words to honor God and rightly reflect His Word.

2 comments:

Carrie said...

good job on being so consistant in your Bible study and recording it here. This past month has also been a time of struggle for me to find a time and place. Keep up the good work!

Jenny said...

I agree with Carrie - you've been an encouragement to me to study deeper.

Thanks for the link, too! :-) I have read about ridiculous things that people in the world do to "rescue the world" - one woman got a complete hysterectomy at age 20-something so that she would not have children and therefore reduce her carbon footprint. I was so sad for her in many ways.

It IS very important to beg God for HIS wisdom instead of relying on our own. I speak for myself when I say I would be a definite failure if I were to lean on my own wisdom. It is only with God that I can see Him bring any measure of success to my life (right now I feel this need the most in my parenting)

Thanks again!