Are we robbing our children blind?

Back into the fray, let loose the dogs of war!!!

All this talk on Resolution number five has got me thinking.

First, I think that would the name of my beer, if I started brewing it myself. "Hey, you should really try my Resolution No. 5 Ale. It's got a really nice body, and it goes down really smooth." The tag line on the bottle would be this: "Resolved - to enjoy the good gifts of God!" I think that would be great. I'm sure some of you are rolling your eyes right now, and that's okay. I use that example merely to upset you, and now that you are surely steaming I will move on.

Second, I have been thinking about how Southern Baptists (and I'm one of them) have reacted to this resolution and all the controversy surrounding it.

Now, I want to make some connections here because I think we are dangerously close to losing sight of something that is really important. We are losing sight of the fact that God created the world and everything in it through the Word of His power. Not only that, but he created it for our enjoyment.

Let me be a little more specific. I think there is a trend among evangelical to focus more and more energy on separating themselves out of the world and creating a subculture where they are "protected" from the societal evils that exist today. Many cite their families, and specifically their children, as a major factor for this. Christian parents have a desire to protect their children from the world and its influences. But is this the model that is laid out for us in scripture? Is this really what it means to be in the world but not of it? I would say no, it is not.

There is a very real sense in which Christians should flee from all immorality and sinful behavior. However, we must understand that it is part of our call as believers to exercise our faith in the spheres where God has placed us. Regardless of whether we are in school or at work 8 hours a day it is still our responsibility to be salt and light.

I think one of the ways that we fulfill that call to be salt and light is by properly modeling to the world how to use and enjoy the good gifts that God has so richly blessed us with. As salt we should be preserving the intended purposes for those gifts as well as bringing light to where there is gross perversion of them. One example is in the area of sex. Instead of shying away from talking about it, which is typical of evangelicals, we should be teaching people how sex in marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given to his people, and when we use that gift the way God intended it we will experience pleasure that we never thought possible.

Music is similar because the trend among evangelicals is to copy the latest fads in the world. Instead of teaching our children that all secular music is evil (which it is most certainly not) we should be teaching them that music was given to us by God for our good and His Glory, and that in using our creativity to make music we reflect the imago dei. We should be teaching them how to make music that honors Christ and speaks to issues that people face everyday. We should be teaching them to discern between what is good and true and beautiful and what is edifying and helpful. A Christian should be able to appreciate the inherent beauty in a song without being led astray by whatever error may be in the song.

As far as liberty of conscience goes, we must teach our children (especially as they grow older) that love is the boundary for all Christian freedom. When Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians he says that love is the foundation for all Christian liberty and that our love for the people of God must overrule any concern for personal freedom. That being said we also seek to be truthful about what is contained in the Scriptures concerning certain things. As someone who works with youth I find myself in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to this issue. But I will hearken back to what I've said before. We need to model for them what it looks like to properly handle the gifts of God like sex and alcohol. We need to show them that the Scriptures are sufficient for all matters of life and faith.

So I guess my question is, do we really believe in the inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency of Scripture, or do we believe it is better not to examine our lives and traditions in favor of keeping the boat steady? I think an examination of the way we teach our children and youth concerning these issues would show that we really don't know what it means to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We are merely passing along the same stale, leftover, prohibition moralism that was given to us.

This is no way to live, instead Christ came to give us life, abundant life that experiences and enjoys the goodness of God through the gifts he has given to us. Whoever has been set free by the Son is free indeed!!