We are called, as followers of the incarnational Jesus, to be in the world but not of the world.
When talking about being salt and light in the world, I sometimes ask my freshman Bible class which they think is the greater temptation for the church today:
To fail to be “in the world”
or
To be “of the world”?
Is the greater danger today becoming identical with the world or being isolated from the world?
What do you think?
Most churches withdraw and isolate. Many Christians individually merge with the world and indentify completely. They are both bad. Why do I have to choose?
I will say, for the sake of playing the game, becoming identical because there you lose your identity. If you are isolated you are still the person of character that just might have an influence if, by chance, you ever did have interaction with someone out there!
Becoming isolated is the greater danger, I’d think. You can’t reach people with the love of Christ if you’re isolated in your own insular, secret society with all of its own peculiar practices and passwords. We’re called to get dirty; to rub shoulders; to wash feet; to hug lepers. We’re not living the right kind of different that draws those-who-don’t-know-Him to us until we’re drawn to them.
In former days, the church probably had a harder time living “in the world.” I would say that in 2006, the church struggles most with being “of the world.”
Ironically, however, the collective Christian voice railing against “the world” (culture) is louder than ever, but I’m convinced that that’s just another sign of a church that has become syncretistic.
- We have not only condoned the power struggles/structures of the world, but we have adopted them.
- Christians are really no different morally than non-Christians, as Barna poll after Barna poll indicates. Did you know that Christians are more likely to steal from their workplace than non-Christians? Or that the divorce rate is now higher among Christians than among non-Christians? In short, the implication in many churches is that if you’re here on Sunday and putting a check in the plate every week, we don’t care how you live the other 6.5 days of the week.
- The church has adopted the world’s definition of success, judging it by how much is in the collection plate, how many bottoms are warming pews, how big and loud everything can be, and how badly it can “out-church” its competitors. It has even jumped in on the marketing game, “sloganizing” Jesus at every chance. The church has become a business, which is not surprising, as many of those in churches are businesspeople whose values are no different than the world’s.
I could go on, but that is sufficient. Derek Webb, who is a prophet to the church, has done a good job putting many of these truths to music. The church is doing a wonderful job, in my mind, of being “of the world.”
God help us all to do what we can to model a life transformed by Christ, and may HE make his bride even more beautiful for the wedding feast of the Lamb.
I’ll have to say both–but not for the reason you might think.
I think they are the same thing. It is a worldly, not a Christ-ly, thing to draw boundaries and be isolationist rather than reconciliatory. In other words, one of the ways we MOST reflect the philosophy of the world around us is when we pass judgement, place ourselves in the place of priviledge (out of percieved “goodness” or “rightness” or “knowledge”) and separate from the others around us who need fellowship both with us and with God. We are to be ambassadors of reconciliation and the most Christlike thing we can do to be less “worldly” is to refuse to draw boundaries designed to make us FEEL “set apart.”
Loving as Jesus did WILL set us apart AS Christ was set apart NOT in some way manufactured to make us feel like we’re beating everyone else in the religion game.
Let us be not “of the world” by truly embracing those “in the world” with the love and grace that God has shown us.
Mike,
I think the whole “peculiar people” passage has been problematic for primitive parties like ours. The over-development of a doctrine that pits “us” against “them” has contributed dramatically to our lack of being “in the world’ and reduced it to its simplest definition.
For me, during my formative years, the words world and worldly were used almost exclusively in a negative way. It was “us” against “them.” The church vs. the world. Good vs. evil. There were plenty of admonitions against being “of the world.”
So what does it mean then to be “in the world?”
I think it points directly back to our conversation earlier this week:
“…to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
I am frequently wrong.
PS – On the new Johnny Cash album American Recordings V - A Hundred Highways – near the end of his life Johnny does a vulnerable interpretation of the Gordon Lightfoot tune “If You Could Read My Mind”
This song is incredible.
My general belief is the church needs to recommit in whatever radical way necessary to become Jesus to the world. If that means selling the multi-million dollar mega-facility and moving back downtown - so be it. The salt and light is Jesus - not the family life center/gym. As a whole churches are becoming more homogenous, more canned, more feel good, and more outer-outer suburban. Hard to be salt and light to a world of Ipods, blackberries, SUV’s, organic foods, power vacations, and $500,000 mortgages. Easy to be salt and light to the drug abuser, habitually-unemployed, oppressed or poor.
One more thing I forgot to say in my previous comment.
The church is equally bad at being “in the world” — in the fulness of that term’s meaning. You know, eating with sinners, touching the lepers, that sorta thing.
But if the church remains “of the world” (and it inevitably will, of course, as humans are imperfect), its ministry in the world will not mean much. It will be bankrupt. Take a walk in the downtown part of your city, asking folks what they think about Christians. You’ll probably hear “greedy,” “loud,” “intolerant,” and any number of other adjectives during the experiment. Chances are, Christians (the Church) are the reason most non-Christians are holding out on joining up.
Like KentF said, I think it’s gonna take each Christ-follower taking whatever radical steps necessary to “become Jesus to the world.” We can’t wait for entire churches to do this. We need to be listening to what God has in mind for us, and obey Him. It’s as simple as that.
I really can’t choose which is worse.
If you’re too much in the world, you are not salt and light — you’ve lost your identity and have become part of the problem. And if you’re isolated, your salt is not doing the rotting meat any good, and your light is doing nothing for the darkness.
Growing up in a Christian home and choosing to stay a Christian is tough. As a 21 year old I look at your question and here’s where I feel I dont’ level up.
I’m not cool, hip, relevant, forward thinking enough to be of the world. Yet, I’m scared if I try to be Jesus in the world, I’ll be tackled by the things that others want me to participate, believe and practice.
So, I deal with both. I think we become so scared of doing anything that we end doing nothing.
Being “of the world” is a danger, b/c we are exposed to so much that was not present even 20 years ago…on TV, movies, Internet. Christians go to movies or watch TV shows with language/scenes that would not have been permitted on the air in an earlier time. Christians have become desensitized to sin…and they have swallowed hook, line, and sinker the idea that they have to identify with someone in order to be able to help them. Although a former … might help someone who is currently struggling with that same sin, a Christian who has never dealt with that sin can also help that person…not by accepting the sin, but by loving the soul. We have to come in contact with the person…and lift them up to the level Jesus would have us both be, not let them pull us down to where they are. Just as Jesus told (Mt 12:43-45) of demons repossessing a man, so when we help someone overcome a sin, we must also help them replace that void/addiction with godly attributes and actions, so there is no room for them to return to their former life. We can’t do that if we accept the sin as just something “everyone is doing” or “that is part of today’s culture.”
Okay, explain the word syncretistic.
My thoughts were identical to Scott Simpson’s. I know sometimes I do need to withdraw just to catch my breath in the troubles that surround me. To understand I am not in control and be in peace with that.
I think for many of us I think the greatest struggle is being Jesus in the world. Fully engaged with people in the world and yet our words and actions act like soothing oil poured on them. Fully engaged with the culture and yet our reference point is always Christ.
It’s being “unchurched” enough to live like a radical Jesus follower at the gym, at a restaurant, at school, at work etc. I did not say live like a radical judger of all moral issues and people in order to keep one’s piety, but as a radical Jesus follower. He’ll take us new places. He is powerful enough to be the keeper of our moral sensibilites and hearts too!
We are going to hear Rob Bell speak in OKC tonight. His tour theme is “everythingisspiritual.” If I were to guess he will address this topic somewhere in this teaching tonight.
I’m wondering: is this a false dichotomy?
If I read scripture correctly, withdrawal from and avoidance of responsiblity for one’s fellow man is one characteristic of “the world.” Therefore, to hole-up and refuse to become involved in the lives of other people is itself an act that is “of the world.”
Western Christians have this concept that people can sit around in small groups or in monestaries or in bible classes with closed cultures and doors and do “spiritual” things together - that this is an acceptable way to do Christianity, but I don’t buy into it. We can never reflect the holiness of God in closed environments because the nature of God’s love is to break down barriers and reach out. Ironically, to avoid being “of” the world, one must simultaneously be engaged *with* the world.
On a more practical level, I also think that we are talking about two completely different experiences here. To be “in the world,” as I read scripture, means to be in the margins of society, healing the hurting. To be “of” the world means to be locked in the eternal, vain struggle to be top dog. “In” and “of” take one to completely different places and in two completely different directions. There shouldn’t be a fear that someone who is truly “in” will become an “of.”
“To be of the world” is the danger I see from a parental perspective for our up and coming generations and even for my generation (I’m 40).
Many, even those within the church think that if you don’t assimilate and accept all types of different thought patterns, choices and lifestyles, you aren’t being a very understanding Christian.
I agree with Dee’s comment regarding being expected to accept sin as part of today’s culture. Sin is sin.
We are all guilty of some sort of sin, but that doesn’t make the sin any less sinful. In today’s culture we are encouraged to think that if enough people engage in a sinful activity, we are to accept it as today’s lifestyle and culture, not as sin.
As a parent, I know I fight this everyday, even from within the church.
From Wikipedia:
“Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought.”
In the context of this conversation, it’s the attempt to reconcile our idea of Christianity with the beliefs and values of the world. Christ’s way opposes many of the ways of this world, and He seeks to transform those areas through his people. We must first choose to follow Christ’s way ourselves and as communities, however.
Interesting thought and comments. I note that many comments talk about isolation vs. identical to the world. I dare to say those comments have missed the mark made by Jesus.
Let me illustrate: If you were to write an honest autobiography about yourself would anyone read it and know you followed Christ? Or try this: If you quit “going to church” would it make any difference how people see you?
As you walk through this world is what is important. You can have a gym in your church or you can meet in a shack, it doesn’t matter-things is not what God measures us by. How we “walk the walk” not “talk the walk” is our measuring stick.
Jesus said that we will lose our life … are you prepared to lose it? Maybe physically, maybe all those things you have or maybe just the fake control over it you think you have.
In the world, but not of it…a young woman at our church walks the hallways of her high school…people change how they talk to her, how they do things, how they act, not because of her preaching, but because of her life. They know that she is a Christian because she is of this world, but not of it.
Did Jesus place more weight on one part of His statement than the other? I think not, rather one is a commandment “be IN the world” and the other a word of caution “but not OF the world.”
Iow according to Jesus, we are to plunge into the the world’s problems, being a guide on the path to the Cross for the lost, all the while staying close to the Savior so that we, as Paul warned, do not fall into the same sins.
Just MHO.
Don hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head. Good form!
Isolation takes us away from people. How can we win souls in isolation? Our own, maybe…
As many have already said, the answer is both. There has to be a healthy balance between the two. We can’t forfeit holiness to be in the world, and we can’t isolate ourselves in order to keep our holiness.
Isolation has left us in turmoil:
-Very few churches are multi-cultural (less than 5%). We tend to flock to those that look like us, dress like us, and live like us.
-Very few churches have HEALTHY relationships between the rich and poor. Some churches accept the poor, but they are just as isolated. The issue IS NOT for the poor to be in our churches. The issue IS NOT how we can help the poor. The GOAL is can the rich and poor sit on the same pew, eat from the same bread, drink from the same cup, etc.
-20+ years ago, many people (predominantly white, mid-upper class) abandoned the inner-cities in order to isolate themselves. Now, look at the educational system. This move for many was for safety reasons. However, is it not just as dangerous to live, walk, and allow children to go to shopping malls where materialism and greed lurk at every corner as it is to enter into a lower-income neighborhood or school in inner-city Dallas or Houston?
-Many Christian, private schools were formed out of isolation. Whites needed to be isolated from blacks. (I have family and close friends who attend and work in private Christian schools and many live out discipleship in amazing ways. I’m not bashing these schools.) But somehow, we need to have dedicated, devoted, committed disciples that are willing to enter into lower income and multi-cultural arenas, schools, and social groups in order to be light and salt. These are some of the greatest mission fields. And who knows, we might end up finding that we could learn a thing or two.
Matthew 13:30, Jesus says, “Let both of them (wheat and weeds) grow together.”
What is that to look like?
Isolated.
Followers/Christians have their own: culture, stores, identifying symbols, club houses, TV and radio stations, books, magazines, lingo, t-shirts, etc.
It’s impossible to of the world when you’re barely in it.
A lot of my thoughts on this have been covered by others and in a far better way than I could ever hope to express it but I’m going to give it a try.
Both are equally bad as any extreme is and both are the extremes, isolated or whole of the world. If we choose isolation then no one sees the love of Christ through us and never gets a chance to share in that love. Then the church becomes this exclusive little country club where we just affirm our own worth and false image of our importance.
On the other extreme if we are wholly of the world then we cannot show the love of Christ since to do this would be in conflict with the modern view of me first. Paul wrote “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind reqard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others.” Phil 2:3-4 That is a thought that is in direct conflict with the world but is how we should live.
What is that to look like…
Hmm…
Well, I think it might look a whole lot like The Simple Way in Philly, a group that has taken [what some would call] radical steps to “love God and love people.” They bring in prostitutes and homeless people. They advocate for the poor. They have committed to simple living, sharing what they have and respecting the resources of the earth. They are commited to each hearing from the Lord regularly. They are making “church” more about a rhythm of life rotating around a center (Jesus) than a fragmented, compartmentalized series of meetings and events. I’d say they are on their way to a healthy balance of “in, but not of.” (sounds like a group of people I read about somewhere…Acts 2, maybe?)
There are examples out there of Christ-followers who are taking their leader’s words literally rather than over-spiritualizing them. They are also lowering the bar on what it means to “be a church,” while raising the bar on what it means to “be a disciple.” That’s the key, I think, to avoiding losing the peculiarity of the Christ-life.
Two thoughts …
1. As a parent of 9- and 6-year olds, part of our isolation comes from wanting to protect our kids. We send them to a Christian Bible camp rather than the YMCA camp, they are homeschooled rather than public schooled, we are careful about the kids they hang out with in the neighborhood and wary of others, etc. I admit I find it difficult to find a good balance between giving my kids a good moral environment to grow in, and still let them rub shoulders with the world.
2. As an adult (and kids too) isolation is a product of the church being such a social club. For example, I attend a worship team practice one night, a men’s prayer meeting another, have an acountability partner meeting, small groups after church Sunday, and all the “special events” like VBS, potlucks, movie night, youth group, etc. etc. This and my job, and my family. When is it that I’m going to be “in the world?” The hard part of this is that Christian fellowship IS IMPORTANT. In fact, I think it is more important than we give it credit for in solving our quarrels over divisive issues. So, how can I knock all the activities that limit my interaction with the world?
I won’t comment on the tendencies of Christians in general or today’s churches at large.
I know for me my bigger problem is not being in the world. To overcome that, I have to make a concerted effort to look for ways to get into the cracks and crevices of society. My goal isn’t to convert people in my encounters with them. My goal is to show them the love of Christ, meet physical needs, and hopefully plant seeds of desire to reconcile with Jehovah.
Brian
obviously you are a devoted parent and Christian, otherwise your priorities and calendar would not look like it does. However, that is what I meant when in my comment I said, I think we need to be “unchurched” enough to be real salt and light. Our living like salt and light can not be determined by the constraints of church, however I think if our churches freed up their people from programatic ministry more and our church structures were more about “going out” and not “coming in” we would have a whole better perspective on living like outposts of the kingdom in the world. If our accountability groups, small groups etc were preparing us to live authentically missional in our culture that would equip us far more than our “good old church fellowship” does. IMHO
Brian-
Home education dad here, too. You talked about the need to “find a good balance” for your kids, and I wanted to reiterate something I said earlier in the context of HE: “in” experiences and “of” experiences are (largely) two different things. We’re subjecting ourselves to a FALSE DILEMMA when we think its either/or. Thus…
1. Sending my kids to middle school, where they are forced to either play or be victimized by popularity/power games when they should be learning only puts them in a situation where they are forced to be “of” to survive. Some parents can’t take their kids out of this environment for very good reasons - and thats okay. At this moment, my wife and I can. But even if we couldn’t, the most important thing to me would be…
2. Taking my kids *into* the world, which means…
- My nine year-old eagerly getting up at 6 in the morning to go feed poor and homeless folks with my wife.
- My thirteen year-old spending three days in inner-city Fort Worth doing volunteer work and serving a local church and women’s shelter (she’s doing that right now, by the way).
- My sixteen year-old spending an evening with his youth group at a local school that provides care for the mentally disabled.
- A trip to the grocery store to buy some food for a friend at our church whose pantry is empty.
- Skipping a meal where we would normally eat out so we can give money to someone who needed food or clothes.
- Keeping our minivan stocked with water bottles and non-perishables to make available for people who ask for these things as we travel around town.
For me, this isn’t about hard choices and difficult dilemmas. “In” and “of” move us all in two diametrically opposite directions. Some environments are likely to teach the ways of force/power/popularity/top-dog contests. Some encourage service, humility, and selflessness. Its usually not hard to distinguish one from the other.
Good question. I think that being positively for God and, for his sake, being for the world will send us into the world and keep us from being like it. The mission of God led to the holy incarnation.
I’m glad to see so much discussion on this! It’s a subject near and dear to my heart, having been a “converted” Christian instead of a “reared and raised” Christian, if ya’ll know what I mean.
As it is right now, I’m organizing a county-wide homeless count for part of a statewide effort up here in CO, and the saddest thing for me has been the lack of response from my church family. I’ve gotten more response about wanting to help and be involved from complete strangers who saw my name in the newspaper. And, I’ve sent our church e-mail list-serve *all* of the same information.
So tell me, how does that line up with the comment that “If I read scripture correctly, withdrawal from and avoidance of responsiblity for one’s fellow man is one characteristic of “the world.” Therefore, to hole-up and refuse to become involved in the lives of other people is itself an act that is “of the world.”
I’m glad to see so much discussion on this! It’s a subject near and dear to my heart, having been a “converted” Christian instead of a “reared and raised” Christian, if ya’ll know what I mean.
As it is right now, I’m organizing a county-wide homeless count for part of a statewide effort up here in CO, and the saddest thing for me has been the lack of response from my church family. I’ve gotten more response about wanting to help and be involved from complete strangers who saw my name in the newspaper. And, I’ve sent our church e-mail list-serve *all* of the same information.
So tell me, how does that line up with the comment:
“If I read scripture correctly, withdrawal from and avoidance of responsiblity for one’s fellow man is one characteristic of “the world.” Therefore, to hole-up and refuse to become involved in the lives of other people is itself an act that is “of the world.””
I really feel that we must have an even balance with being in the world but not of. I admittedly have a struggle with being OF it more than I do being IN it - due to “from whence I came,” on both counts. I want to help those who’ve been where I’ve been, but then there’s the temptation to act similarly too.
This is a great question. How do you do that?
I think growing up my experience with church was that we saw the need to be isolated from the world. We were so much more spiritual than them, you know.
Today, and now that I’m a parent, I see the greatest threat as being “of the world”. Our churches seem to be doing a much better job reaching out into our communities than we used to.
I think the question you posed is something the church will always be wrestling with to achieve the right balance. We need to depend on the Spirit to lead us in being Jesus (salt and light) in our communities.
Public schools can be great places for kids to be salt and light. They can be “in” and not “of”. Parents worry so much that their children will be negatively influenced by the system, yet, they underestimate what influence great kids can have on others. Just a thought.
It is true that many Chrisitans isolate themselves or try to isolate themseleves fromt he world. Even try to isolate their children by home schooling. We need to remember what we have been called to do as Chrisitans. We are to be in the world. We are to be light, and salt. As salt we have to get out of the salt shaker in order for us to make a difference for the kingdom. Will it be uncomfortable? Yes. Does Jesus call us to comfort? The son of man has no place to lay his head…He calls us to take up our cross and follow. He calls us to make a difference in the world.
This may have already been explored in the comments, but I’m too lazy to read all of them! Mike writes:
Is the greater danger today becoming identical with the world or being isolated from the world?
A thought… I’m wondering if it IS being identical with the world to isolate oneself…
In “the world”, all groups isolate from those unlike themselves. Various ethnic groups and/or socioeconomic groups tend to live in close proximity, work together, play together, hang out together, etc. I’m thinking of the homogeneous make-up of country clubs, public parks, neighborhoods, schools, many workplaces, clubs…. the list could continue.
This is a question that Grant and I have wrestled with at length. We tend to end up different places because of our personalities and gifts to some extent. I think I’ve decided that in order to not get caught up in the isolation that most of society gravitates toward, we must constantly be re-evaluating what we do as a family and why we are doing what we do. This is hard. Jesus was in the business and still is in the business of drawing ALL people to Himself which definitely seems to make isolating oneself a rather ineffective way of being in His business.
What a delight to find this.
To isolate yourself is to kill your faith. Today I had lunch with a Christian woman who is having an affair. I had dinner with an old boyfriend whom I had not seen in 29 years who is now an atheist. Rubbing shoulders with these two cut away some of the excess, wishy-washy fuzziness of my beliefs that accumulates from living in a culture of political correctness. I am firmer now in what I know to be the Truth because I see first hand the devastation of not keeping to the Truth.
Don,
What a great idea - let me rephrase what you said in case someone missed it. If you could write your autobiography but leave out all the references of “going to church,” could the reader tell that you were a Christian? Very convicting!
the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Gal.5:6
[Doing my best Napoleon Dynamite impression]
Sheesh, Amy! I already said that! Gosh! Read the comments, already.
As a former homeschooling Mom (2 in college were homeschooled, 2 in elementary public school now), I think we should not expect our children to be isolated missionaries in the public elementary school setting–this is a time of training, and exposure to the world needs to be measured-
Although many children can be salt and light in school, a lot of kids don’t even spend enough time with Mom and Dad to know what salt tastes like and light looks like with all the busyness of our lives, especially if both parents are working (not that another caregiver cannot present the light of Jesus).
Oops… sorry Matt. I’ve now gone back and read your comment. I at least had a couple of different examples. It won’t happen again. If it does, I’ll send Pedro and he’ll give you protection!
I think we are already “in the world.” The problem is that I often don’t take Christ with me! And if I don’t have Christ, then I look just like the world.
However, as a youth minister, I also would say that I shut myself up behind church doors alot. I believe all ministers fight with this…maybe even more so that the rest of the church. Maybe it’s just me!
I think the struggle here (either with being both “in” and “of” - or being “in” and isolated) may come from a poor understanding of what Kingdom of God actually is.
The present Kingdom is an inbreaking of an eternal kingdom that we await. The ones that hoard up there faith and remove themselves from the world’s activities miss the point. Eternal life doesn’t begin for the Christian when Christ returns - rather it starts now. On the flip side, the ones that “clasp hands with the world” (Is. 1:6) also miss the point of the kingdom. As new citizens we are to learn the Way of the master to prepare ourselves for the fullness revealed in the last days. Spiritual development isn’t merely something we do to gain spiritual status (in the eyes of men or God) Rather it is preparation along the path of a journey. The preparation or development serves the function of recreating us to citizenship in the fullness of heaven. To fail to prepare is to act foolishly as the bridesmaids in Matt. 25. Evangelism is also about this - creating disciples, not merely people who believe rightly, but co-exist as people of the world.
So I think our pulpits should be full of talk about kingdom life. This requires a deeper understanding of what the Jewish expectation of the new Aeon was - and a deeper understanding of the Christian eschaton. We live in the in between age. We are agents of change. That change is “Seeking justice… encouraging the opressed… defend the cause of the fatherless… and pleading the case of the widow.” (Is. 1:17)
The greatest danger is definitely to “be in the world” and become like it. As a matter of fact, the lines (yes, no matter how hateful it sounds, there are lines) drawn between the church and world have gotten more and more gray, sometimes to the point of being indistinguishable.
One of the greatest influences we can have for Christ is our ability to be distinguished from the world.
As far as homeschooling your children “isolating” them from the world, nothing can be further from the truth. As a matter of fact, the public school system (and most private schools) do absolutely nothing to prepare children for life in the real world.
A lot of ways to frame thoughts on this subject. Perhaps the most common way to be “of the world” is to try to “not be in the world.” In a world where each person is full of hurry and worry, it is so easy to pass by on the other side or smugly thank God that we are not like those folks or silently pray “be warmed and filled”. Churches, politcal organizations, etc. show themselves to like everybody else in the world when selfishness, power plays and arrogant agendas call us away from sacrificial service. The call of Jesus says, “Insulate but don’t isolate; be different from a selfish world that ignores hurting folks–get in amongst ‘em and help ‘em.”
Juli, AMEN! There is a time to train and protect children…and we do this in many ways. We put a fence around the yard and keep them in it; we use a playpen in the house; we put up a gate, so they cannot climb up or down the stairs unsupervised; we watch what they eat and give them healthy food instead of cookies and candy. How much more important is their spiritual training, and if it means private Christian schools as we did or home schooling as many are now doing, it is a manner of training them to someday reach out into the world…when they are prepared, not when they are still vulnerable to any teaching that might come along. They must have a foundation of God’s truth first.
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