NOW! Righteous.

I am right and you are wrong.  Or perhaps, you are right and I am wrong.  Who is to say whom is correct?  Well if you ask me… I’m right.  And since I am writing this and you are reading this… I must be right… right?

Who is right?  What is righteous?  According to old Mr. Webster, the accepted definition is this:

1: acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin
2: morally right or justifiable
– Websters Dictionary

Faith in God and belief in Jesus Christ helps bring all of us closer to a righteous life.  However, just because you walk with God doesn’t make you important, smarter, or wiser.  Truly these things can come from God only if we ask him with a deep sincerety.

Here’s where I’m going with this.  The other day a friend of ours experienced something that shook them to the core of their faith.  It twisted everything they knew and forced us to take a long look at the bigger picture.

Our children are playing basketball in a wonderful church environment through an Upward Basketball program.  The experience has been absolutely great for the parents and the kids… until this week.   For some reason the director of the program has taken it upon himself to meet with each team through the week and guide the devotion with the children. We trust the church to lead us and our children down the path of righteousness… but that doesn’t mean we stop being wise.

The man pulled up a chair with a team of 8 and 9 year old girls and told them that “they are sinners, they are bad, and that if they left the gym tonight, died in a car wreck, and had not asked Jesus into their heart, they would all go to hell.”  Needless to say, the parents were shell shocked when their daughter was crying and worried and questioning life.  Our friend’s dad was speechless.  How do you go about explaining the mysteries of faith, salvation, and Christ to an 8 year old?  Or for that fact, to a 38 year old?  If your child can’t swim… do you throw them in the deep end and yell “swim or die!”?  No.

Not only was it a stupid assumption that all 8 year olds are going to hell, but even more ignorant of what it means to follow Christ.  Then the audacity to accost the children with this teaching (many of which were scared and crying) without getting to know them first.  This is an irresponsible but pervasive style of teaching that has stalled many, many relationships with God for decades.

Our friend’s daughter (one of my daugther’s best buddies) comes to the house and is around us all the time.  She’s a sweet, innocent girl who is learning about Jesus, faith, and loving others.  She isn’t selfish and cares about her friends.  To me… this is a great start to understanding faith.  (Better than many adults).  Now her journey in faith and understanding God has been halted in order to ponder the “get our of hell ticket” theology.

We can agree that each child comes into the knowledge of Christ, God, and morality at their own pace.  It is our responsibility as parents to live a righteous life and raise righteous children.  Some parents get it right… some don’t try very hard… and a scant few don’t care.

I am certain that this man is a righteous man.  He fits the definition and he wants to follow God in a real way.  But his theology is terrible and dangerous.  His approach is wrong.  And he’s twisting up God’s word.  If you don’t feel what this man did was inappropriate and off track, we need to talk.

I remember being scared into “salvation” at a revival when I was a young child.  I didn’t understand anything except that if I didn’t go to the alter and pray “that prayer”, I would go to hell and never see my family again if I died that night.  I have later discovered that this method of evangelism is irresponsible and does more harm than good to the young children and new believers.  Maybe I have a sore spot and that’s why this man’s words struck me hard.  My parents did well to raise me in a righteous home… but the faith journey is personal for every single one of us.

In the end, our mission as Christians is to make disciples for Christ.  We can live a righteous life and still not have things figured out.  I’m not saying that I’ve got it all figured out, but I am learning from God’s word that faith and following Christ is 99% more than just saying… “I believe”.  And teaching our children to say, “I believe” and scaring the hell out of them is of no use.

Am I right?  You may not think so.  Am I righteous?  I try to be.   Be careful that your theology is in line with God’s word.  Don’t rest on things you heard as a child from another “grown up” and take that ideal to be hard fact.  Go read God’s word… hear what He is saying.  Be challenged by Jesus’ teachings that contradict what you’ve always “known”.  And always… always… always… take God’s word over man’s word at EVERY turn.

May you find peace in God’s unfailing truth today and understand that even well intentioned righteous humans aren’t always right.  Grow in the knowledge of grace of God today and be righteous… accepting direction… testing the world… and be willing to be wrong from time to time.

Pray for all children.  Be righteous in their eyes so they know God’s truth.  Be honest with your failings, and lean on God for direction.

Peace,
Greg
Acts 4:31

PS:  We skipped the devotion when it was our team’s turn.

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.