This is an amazing article written by my cousin’s husband (hence, my cousin) Joel.  It is posted on his own blog, but I wanted to reprint it here as well.

Just to preface this article, I ask that you PLEASE read the entire thing. I would rather you read it all and send me lots of angry comments than for you to just stop reading if you disagree. Thanks!

In order to approach the topic of how we should vote, we must lay a foundation of understanding two key principles–moral relativism and situational ethics.   Moral relativism is something that plagues the church today, but at least in theory most Christians would recognize that it is wrong. Moral relativism says that there is no absolute moral truth that applies to all situations. For example, relative morality says that watching a TV show that endorses sin is okay as long as it’s not nearly as bad as what most people in the church watch. Or that wearing a tempting bikini is okay since it’s not nearly as revealing as what all the other girls are wearing. While many believers fall prey to moral relativism, I have found few foolish enough to argue it is Scripturally warranted.

Then we have situational ethics. This is where many Christians often tend to fall into the trap of pragmatism, but I am convinced it is not scriptural just as moral relativism is not Scriptural. Situational ethics say that there ARE absolute moral truths but that sometimes they must be set aside in certain situations to accomplish some greater good. It’s the concept that the end justifies the means. This leads to people justifying lying when they fear that the truth would be offensive. It also is the leading reason of why people vote for the ”lesser of two evils” rather than voting for a candidate that most closely aligns with Godly principles expressed in the Bible. 

Neither of these can be true. Scripture clearly teaches that God is Truth and that He is unchanging–the same yesterday, today, and forever. God never in His Word teaches that we should measure ourselves by the way others live their lives. The choices in our lives are only measured against the holiness of God. 

How does this apply to how you vote?? Think of it this way… if your vote were the only one that mattered–if YOU alone picked our next president, would you vote for McCain or Obama? I pray that if you know the Bible even a little, you have the sense to emphatically say, ”NEITHER!” Neither of these candidates come close to God’s standard of morality. When there is a Godly candidate like Chuck Baldwin, why would you ever want someone like McCain or Obama in office? 

I ask you then… if only your vote mattered and you know that the right thing would be to vote for someone other than McCain or Obama, then why should your standard change just because of how you know everyone else is going to vote? Does the fact that only McCain or Obama has a shot at the presidency make it acceptable to not vote for the best candidate? Pragmatists like to call this “throwing away your vote” but I think it’s more of a throw-away when you do not heed the Biblical standards of a Godly leader. 

Imagine this… what if you had McCain, Obama, and Jesus running. Jesus is an independent and you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt He has no chance of actually winning. Wouldn’t you still vote for Him? Of course–He’s the best candidate! Now, this is only an analogy and I recognize that no candidate is perfect like Jesus, but I think the analogy is a useful one for helping us recognize we should vote for the best candidate, not the lesser of two evils who at least has a chance of winning. 

You might say “well, you could vote righteously for the next 100 years and it probably won’t make any difference. An independent still won’t get into office.” And you’d probably be right. I am not here to argue that point. But God’s moral standards are absolute, not relative. Where in Scripture are we called to act morally only if the outcome is what we want? I’ll tell you what we find in Scripture. God tells His people to follow His values and to trust that He will take care of us. We do not need to compromise our values in order to help God take care of us or our nation; God doesn’t call us to be pragmatists. God is in control no matter what. What we have to keep in mind is that we will give an account for every godly or ungodly choice we make. And on judgment day we cannot say “but doing the right thing wouldn’t have mattered in that situation.”

God calls us to choose righteousness. Period. If I vote for a candidate who is the lesser of two evils, am I choosing righteousness? No! Can we expect any candidate to be fully righteous? Clearly I am not saying that. But when there is a clearly MOST righteous candidate and we as Christians do not choose him, we are intentionally choosing unrighteousness. 

If you really think that Obama or McCain is the MOST godly candidate running, then by all means vote for them. But if you don’t, I’d ask you to please think before compromising your values for the sake of going with the crowd.

P.S. - I present all this to you in humility. If anyone can indicate to me where in Scripture where God indicates that the ends do justify the means, then I would be more than willing to admit I’m wrong. However, if you can’t find any Scriptural backing for voting the lesser of two evils, I beg you to not do it because it’s what you’ve always done or because it’s what most Christians do.

We have many sayings for it…

• Getting your toes stepped on.
• Hitting the nail on the head.
• If the shoe fits, wear it.

When confronted with Truth – be it in a sermon, in a book or on a blog – you have only three possible responses:  Repent, Retaliate or Run.

Repentance is the only acceptable response.  It means that Truth, when shown, is more important to you than your being right.  It means that Truth is more important than your comfort.  It means that Truth is so important to you that you’d be willing to change your beliefs, change your mind, change your behaviors, even change your life in order to align yourself with that Truth.  No matter what it costs you in money, time, status, relationships, or beliefs, aligning with Truth is more important.

Retaliation is most often in the form of name calling, angry comments or even,  referring to a story I heard from a friend of mine last weekend who was actually sued by his church for preaching the Truth, litigation.

Running, however, is the strangest of all reactions.  It is akin to putting your fingers in your ears and singing, “La la la la la,” at the top of your lungs.  When he is nervous, my cousin’s son, who is 18 months old, closes his eyes and pretends you’re not there.  Post-modernists wave it off saying, “Well, what’s true for you may not be true for everyone else.”

But Christians play a different game.  Oh, it is still running, but what they do is play it pious.  They say, “Christians shouldn’t torment each other with things like this,” or “It is just a minor topic, I don’t have time for this,” or even, “I don’t feel like God is edified in this.”  The real reason these comments are made, however, is because they should be repenting instead of running.

If I have said anything in these blog entries that you disagree with, that’s fine.  I’m aware that some things may be confrontational at times.  They’re written that way on purpose.  But before you retaliate or run, you should first go back and look at each comment, research each verse, and then comment on those.  Don’t just throw out an opinion without specifically addressing the assertions.

I may not have grasped the Truth perfectly in all of my blog entries, but one thing I know:  When you throw a brick into a herd of pigs, the one that squeals the loudest is the one that got hit!

Too many times, I think, people choose to overlook some of God’s commands in the Bible because they’re not stated explicitly.  They believe that if God wanted us to do something, or not to do something for that matter, He would state it specifically like He did in the Ten Commandments.  But I believe that implicit or obscure commands are equally binding and, just because we have to dig for them a little, must be obeyed as well.  We are not off the hook as Christians just because God wasn’t specific.  Here is an example…

All throughout the Old Testament, God promises blessings to those who remember and obey His commands.  But He also promises curses for those who do not remember and obey His commands.  It is obvious that God is a promise keeper.  So when a people are blessed for keeping His commands, God is a just promise keeper.  Likewise, when a people are cursed for not keeping His commands, God is a just promise keeper.

If blessings come through obedience and curses come through disobedience then, just as disobedience is the opposite of obedience, curses are the opposite of blessings – at least according to scripture.  There is never a scriptural blessing for obedience where there is not a corresponding curse for disobedience.

Psalm 1 begins with “Blessed is the man…”.  This is wonderful news because God is saying here that keeping the command that follows will produce a blessing.  But, as we read further, there is an inherrent curse for not keeping the command as well.

So what is the command that produces a blessing when followed?

Here is God’s explicit command: Do not (1) walk in the counsel of the wicked, (2) stand in the way of sinners, or (3) sit in the seat of mockers.  Obey this and you will be blessed.  How, then, does a man keep this command?  He delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night all the while not taking the counsel of the wicked, doing the same things as sinners do, or sitting with mockers.

And what is the blessing for obedience?  You will be like a fruitful, prosperous tree planted by streams of water with God watching over your ways.  Amen!  Who wouldn’t want that blessing?

So what is the command that produces a curse when not followed?

Well, this is obvious.  A curse is given when the person does walk in the counsel of the wicked, does stand in the way of sinners and does sit in the seat of mockers.

What is the curse for disobedience? You will be like chaff that the wind blows away (not at all like a vibrant, fruitful tree) and will not be able to stand up at the judgment or even in the presence of the righteous.

Here are some supporting scripture references:

• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise. ~ Psalm 111:10
• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ~ Proverbs 9:10
• For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:19a
• So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31

According to these scriptures, this world’s wisdom is foolishness to God.  In fact, TRUE wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and TRUE understanding is knowledge of the Holy One.  In fact, anyone who takes counsel from one who does not fear the Lord or know the Holy One is foolish – not wise at all!  But not only is he foolish – according to Psalm 1, he is cursed!

So here’s your choices:

A.  Fear God, seek wisdom in God’s law day and night, doing it for God’s glory and you will be blessed like a fruitful tree near streams of water.

~ OR ~

B.  Do not fear God but, instead, seek the wisdom of this world by taking counsel from the wicked and you will be cursed like chaff the wind blows away.

Now let me ask you this: If you had a choice to study under…

• Someone who never mentioned God as the Holy One, who sought answers solely outside of God’s Word, who did not give glory to God and who, by completely ignoring God ended up mocking His very existence.
• Or someone who knows God as the Holy One, who seeks answers in God’s law at all times, and gives God glory in all circumstances.

…which would you choose for yourself?

Which one of these is our public school system?  Are your children being blessed or cursed?

The simple life . . . that is what we are living now. Gone are the crazy stressful days of traffic, fighting long lines at Wal-Mart, working until all hours of the night, and getting into more debt than we could ever imagine just in order to make a decent living and keep a certain status. No more of that for us. It’s a simple, separate, and more deliberate way to live for us. We will never go back to the other way of living!

The “simple wife” . . . hmmm, the very description would have most women infuriated. Well, to me the title is honorable. Does it mean I have to be barefoot and pregnant, and a slave to housework? Not at all. It doesn’t mean that I no longer take care of myself, that I don’t wear makeup anymore, or paint my nails, or wear nice clothing. Living as a simple wife means: No stress! It means taking pride in my home and taking notice that I have very strong influence in it. My mood really does set the tone of our household, and things don’t go smoothly if my mood is stressed from not seeing my husband, and worrying about what my children are learning in school, or how the next meal is going to get on the table. Forget all that!

Our lives were so filled with worry and strife! The more money we made, the more enslaved to debt we became, and the more we both worked outside our home. A decision was made . . . a realization that the “rat race” kind of living did not honor God, and was not what God had called us to do. There is a Proverb that says “Better a dry crust of bread than strife in the home”. Once we began this journey of a more simple life, we experienced right away what that dry crust of bread tasted like . . . it tasted divine! It tasted like simplicity, and like a blessing. We went from upper-middle-class city living to a small town way of life. My husband works harder than he ever has for quite a bit less money, but we don’t care. We are not worried. We are not stressed. We sold things that we don’t need, we have bought things that we do need from rummage sales, and what we can’t afford to buy right now, we either don’t buy or we make it. I have made more homemade breads, salsas, baked goods, and soups than you can imagine, and I LOVE it! My family loves it.

People around here give you fresh home grown veggies and fruits, and expect nothing in return. They sit on their front porch with their neighbors and share a cold drink with one another and laugh and have good conversations. Back in Colorado Springs, people sat on their back decks—their private back decks—and didn’t share with anyone. Even at church, we saw one another on Sundays, and after church, we’d go our separate ways and not see each other until the following Sunday. But now that we are at the Anglican church in Omaha, it’s not that way anymore.  After church now, we have potluck every Sunday, and we visit and socialize and let each others’ kids play.  We share each others’ burdens and we share each others’ recipes! It’s wonderful, and is the way that it should be.

Being a simple wife means being supportive of all of the above and being content with everything I have. All of my needs are met, and I do not want for anything. I love my home because of who is in it, not because of what is in it. I take care of our home and love doing it because that is what God has called me to do. I take care of my Dad even though he wasn’t the nicest person when I was growing up, because that is what the Bible tells me to do. I’m home schooling my son, because we don’t want the state to raise our child and teach him values that we don’t approve of. And, at 2 1/2 years old he knows his full Alphabet, 7 shapes, all the primary colors plus 4 additional colors, he knows all the words to several songs, sings the Doxology and Gloria Patri, and can answer 27 questions from his children’s catechism book. Aside from the values issue, he will simply learn more from us than he would in school, and in a more relaxing atmosphere. He socializes at church where he can learn how to act in a community with other children who are taught the same way he is being taught. The children are not being raised by Sunday school teachers and children’s church.  Rather, they sit in church with their parents and hear the same message that their parents do, and take communion along side their parents as well. Our precious little boy will not even go to bed at night if we haven’t sung all our praise and worship songs and read from the Bible.  He LOVES our nightly “debotions” and knows no other way of life.

Our mission here in just the 4 months that we’ve been here is already being accomplished: Live a simple, separate and more deliberate life and build a church and a Godly community. We are doing just that. And we have started with our own family. I love being a simple wife! I love waking in the morning happier than we have ever been! The simple life . . . I highly recommend it!

I am a Sabbatarian.  There are many biblical reasons why.  And I’ll go into it here sometime.  But, in the mean time, let me tell you what happened yesterday.  My family worshipped six times.

At 7:30 am we had morning family worship.  We read the Bible, sing and pray as a family.

At 10:30 am we had our regular Sunday morning church service complete with the Lord’s Supper.

At 1:30 pm we went to the local supportive living center and led the worship service complete with the Lord’s Supper.

At 6:30 pm we had our regular Sunday night church service complete with the Lord’s Supper.

At 8:30 pm I participated in evening family worship with my cousin and his family while Landon was in the bath.

At 9:00 pm we were putting Landon to bed and he said, “NO!”  And he ran to the couch, grabbed the Bible and said, “Read!”  So, we read the Bible, sang songs and prayed as a family.

Thank you, Landon, for reminding us that the Lord’s Day (from beginning to end) is about the Lord.  Thank you for being unwilling to close out the day without family worship.  I love you, baby boy.

A couple of great resources on the biblical mandate to homeschool our children from the Highlands Study Center:

Basement Tape #1: Homeschooling

Book: When You Rise Up

I often hear excuses (they call them “reasons”) why we shouldn’t or can’t homeschool.  Excuses like these:

* Some parents aren’t equipped to teach. They’re not smart enough.
* In some families, both parents must work and can’t homeschool.
* Homeschooled children aren’t well socialized.
* As Christians, our children should be witnesses to the children in public schools.

I’ve heard and read some great arguments against these weak excuses. But…as strong or weak as these arguments are, they would mean NOTHING if the command to homeshool were explicit. If God blatantly commanded Christian parents to homeshool children (maybe creating the 11th commandment) there would be no list of excuses as to why not. But, again, because it is an implicit command, the list continues to grow and propagate throughout the Christian community. Bottom line – these excuses are based in complacency.

And, are you positive that it is not an explicit command?

God specifically commands parents to give their children a distinctly Christian education:

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”  (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

Who shall teach them?  YOU!!!

Note the explicit “You shall teach” statement. It can not be delegated to someone else any more than the “you shall” statement 2 verses earlier can be delegated to someone else. God says, “You shall love the Lord your God”, and you cannot delegate the “you shall” to someone else. Likewise, God says, “you shall teach . . . your children”, and you cannot delegate the “you shall” to someone else in this case either. . . . surely this distinctly Christian education cannot be delegated to a pagan public school system!

Also, note the numerous time-oriented statements in this verse:

“when you rise up” = first thing in the morning
“when you lie down” = last thing in the evening
“when you sit in your house”, “when you walk by the way” = the entire day in-between

It is apparent that Deuteronomy 6 leaves no room for your child to be shipped off for 8 hours a day to be educated by someone else.  In other words, it looks pretty explicit to me.

This used to be posted on the CREC denomination website.  I think it is beautiful because it uses the Bible to make the argument.

All things are to be considered and conducted under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, including education, and especially the education of our covenant children. God has neither charged nor authorized the state to educate children within its civil jurisdiction. God has commanded parents to bring up their children in the education and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4, Deut. 6:7). Given the importance and enormity of the task (Ps. 127:3-5, Deut. 6:7-9), and the impossibility of neutrality in education (Prov. 1:7, Matt. 12:30, Luke 6:40, Col. 2:1-10, 2 Cor. 10:3-5), we do heartily affirm the necessity of educating our children in a manner that is explicitly Christian in content and rigor.

Government schools are, by decree and design, explicitly godless, and therefore cannot be considered a legitimate means of inculcating true faith, holy living and a decidedly Christian worldview in the children of Christian parents.

Parents who do not fully understand the indispensability of Christian education should be warmly received into membership. However, the leaders of Christ’s church must thoroughly understand and plainly teach the divine imperative to disciple our children, the divine prohibition of rendering unto Caesar those who bear God’s image (Matt.22:20-21), the divine warning to those who cause their little ones to stumble (Matt.18:6) and the divine promises to those who raise their children in faith (Deut. 7:9, Ps.102:5-7, Ps. 103:17-18, Prov. 22:6, Luke 1:48-50, Acts 2:39).

Discussion on Christian Homeschooling

Public Schooling is Sinful

Research on Homeschooling

One of the reasons we moved to Illinois is to homeschool our son Landon.  We could have homeschooled him in Colorado easily enough, but we’re here now with like-minded people who also homeschool their children.  Our community is being populated with homeschooling families.  We support and help each other in this endeavor.

There are many reasons why we’ve chosen to homeschool.  But the primary reason is because we feel that it is the only biblical way to educate Christian children.

This is the first in a series of blogs on homeschooling.  If you agree with me, please post a comment.  If you disagree, please post a comment. I expect responses to be well thought out, to be charitable, and to contain biblical backing for the argument.  The Bible is our final authority on any issue and attempting to form any argument without the Bible is empty and futile.

I will begin the series with an excerpt from Dr. Voddie Baucham’s book Family Driven Faith.

In a seemingly obscure New Testament passage of scripture, Jesus says some of the most profound words concerning education and discipleship in the entire Bible.  Luke records his words in his gospel: “A student is not above his teacher, but when he is fully trained, he will be like his teacher.” This raises one of the most important questions any Christian parent will face concerning the discipleship of our children.  Whom will your children resemble at the completion of their “formal” education?

Education and the Knowledge of God

Before you run off screaming, “Another homeschool dad trying to convice us all to do what he does,” let me assure you of a couple of things.  First, I would never suggest that everyone should educate his or her children the same way we educate ours.  Second, I don’t want to make it that easy.  I want you to think about what the Bible has to say on the subject and wrestle with the decision you have to make.  That being said, lets look at some key biblical passages and their implications.

Proverbs 1:7 is foundational to our discussion.  Solomon tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; 15-35; Ecclesiastes 12:13).  In other words, our educational choice has to be based on the fact that God cannot and must not be ignored, usurped, or misrepresented in the process.  Any educational system that denies the existence, preeminence, and primacy of God is in violation of this biblical principle and is detracting from, rather than contributing to the discipleship process.  This alone should eliminate government education as an option.  However, this is just the beginning.

Education and the Great Commission

Many object to homeschooling or private Christian education based on the fact that God has called us to be “salt and light” and evangelize the world.  Thus, they argue, it is incumbent upon us to send our children into government schools in order to ‘make a difference’ in the lives of other students.  There are at least three major problems with this line of reasoning.  First, it misrepresents Jesus’ teaching.  Ironically, the “salt and light” command is precisely why we chose homeschooling.  I believe home education is the most distinctive (city on a hill) choice we can make.  It is also the best way to preserve (salt) biblical foundations that have all but eroded in our nation’s schools.

The second problem with this line of reasoning is that it ignores the main thrust of the Great Commission.  The Great Commission states: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you…” How is this possible apart from a Christian education?  How can I “make disciples” of my children if I send them off to the Government school 45-50 hours per week?  How can I teach them to obey all that Jesus has commanded if I send them off to an institution that is anti-Chistian by federal mandate?

Finally, our children cannot “evangelize” our government schools if they don’t know what they believe and why they believe it.  All of the evidence currently points to the fact that our children are the evangelized, not the evangelists in our Nation’s schools.  They are the ones being carried away by every wind of doctrine.  The Nehemiah Institute, The National Study of Youth and Religion, and the Barns Report have shown us clearly that our children do not even understand – let alone obey – all that the Lord has commanded.

Interestingly, the very passage that contains Jesus’ teaching on “Salt and Light” also contains clear teaching on the aforementioned issue of children being led astray.  If you continue reading in Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus says: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Thus, the same passage used to call home education into question for not being “Salt and Light” makes it clear that Jesus’ admonition could not possibly include anything that would contradict biblical truth.

Education and Worldview Development

One of the clearest issues in the education debate is the question of worldview development.  The Nehemiah Institue continues to demonstrate year after year that Christian children in government schools who actually retain anything close to a biblical worldview are the rare exception and not the rule.  This makes even more sense when measured against scripture:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

“O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge – which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith” (1 Timothy 6;20-21).

Clearly, believers are to avoid unnecessary exposure to worldview influences that would contradict and/or undermine biblical truth.  Again, any educational choice we make must take this biblical principle into account.  Imagine a Christian family sending their children to a Muslim school.  Unthinkable, you say?  But why?  They could be “Salt and Light” there.  They could influence other students.  They may even get a better academic education.  They certainly would not be exposed to the same levels of immorality.  However, this would be unthinkable because of the contradictory worldview with which our children would be innundated.  If we can see this, we can certainly see the problem with a school system mired in Secular humanism, evolution, Social Darwinism and the like.

Education and Morality

Contrary to popular opinion, there is no such thing as ammoral or value-neutral education.  All education teaches and shapes morality.  It is impossible to separate one’s view of God, man, truth, knowledge and ethics from the educational process.  Every day our children sit behind a desk, they are either being taught to know, love and obey God, or they are being taught to love and obey someone or something else that is attempting to usurp God’s authority and role.

If you think your child is above such influence, think again.  The Bible clearly warns believers about the dangers of association with immoral influences:

“Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)?

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3)

Psalm 1 has to be one of the most poignant passages in the entire Bible in terms of the evaluation of immoral influences.  If this text is to be believed, we must not allow our children to stand, sit or walk with those who deny biblical truth and morality.  Instead, we must place them in situations that will aid them in meditating on the law of the Lord “day and night”.  Surely this involves how and where they are to be educated.

Education and Accountability

Ultimately, while I wish every believer could experience the rich reward of educating their children at home, I know that will not always be the case.  However, I want to make one point clear:  We can no longer coast along and ignore biblical truth when deciding where and how to educate our children.  The Bible is not silent on this issue.  We will be held accountable for our obedience or disobedience to the Bible’s teaching in this regard.  We must do everything in our power to place our child in an educational environment that facilitates their discipleship.  We must do everything in our power to avoid the influence of government schools, which are incapable of bringing our children up in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Let me be clear; I applaud men and women whom God has called to teach in government schools.  These people are front-line warriors and many of them need to be right where they are.  However, there is a big difference between sending “fully trained” disciples into enemy territory and sending our recruits to our enemy’s training camp.  If we do the latter, we shouldn’t be surprised when our children come home wearing the enemy’s uniform and charging the hill of our home while waving an enemy flag.

This article was published in the “Norris City Banner” in Norris City, IL on June 25, 2008, in the “Gallatin County Democrat” on June 26, 2008 and the “Ridgway News” on June 26, 2008.

Last year my wife and I were given a gift.  My in-laws called us and said that they would like to buy us a new bed.  The following Saturday, we went to the “Furniture Emporium and Tire Center” (not the real name) to look around.  I had my heart set on a brand name memory foam bed, but Christa said they were too expensive.  We found a mattress that we liked – not too hard, not too soft, but just right.  We were currently sleeping in a full sized bed and really did want to upgrade.  Christa thought we should get a queen.  But I talked her into a king.  She called her mother for pre-approval on the price, got permission, and the bed was purchased.

When we brought it home, it took two men to carry the mattress into the house.  The box springs were two twin sized boxes because a king sized box springs will rarely make the tight corners and stairs in most homes these days.

Proud of our new bed, we set it up immediately.  We then realized that we didn’t have any sheets to fit the mattress.  So Christa went out and bought a set.  Well, two sets actually.  Did you know they’re more expensive than full or even queen sized sheets?  Oh, and we needed a blanket too.  And a comforter.  And a bed skirt.  Oh, and two king pillows (ours were only full sized pillows).  And a couple of decorative throw pillows too.  Oh yeah, and two wall hangings to match the comforter.  Our “free” bed ended up costing us several hundred dollars.

And this isn’t the first time we’ve done this routine.  We’ve done it while decorating other rooms in our homes as well.  We are so accustomed to having bigger & better and more of it that this process has become a habit.  We super-size our fries, we double-gulp our sodas, we upgrade our service, we increase our credit limit.  “More – more – more” is our mantra.

And guess what: we don’t really like our bed either.  It sleeps wonderfully!  But king sized beds don’t just fit in any bedroom.  We’re finding that out as we search for a home for our family here in Omaha.  King sized beds are more expensive.  The sheets and blankets are more expensive.  The comforters and bed skirts are more expensive.  The pillows are more expensive.  The bed frames are more expensive.  King sized beds are definitely more difficult to make.  Plus, Christa and I don’t cuddle with each other nearly as much as we used to because there’s so much real estate to spread out in.  Bigger is not always better.

As we were packing the moving truck to come here a couple of weeks ago, it wasn’t long before I had the sinking feeling that we were going to need more than one truck.  Moving trucks are not cheap.  But the fuel is even worse!  Each truck had a 40 gallon diesel tank ($4.69 per gallon as I write this) and each truck got an average of 8.5 miles per gallon.  With three fill-ups per truck, we spent over $1100 on fuel alone to get here from Colorado Springs.  What did we move?

Ashamedly I began to count:

• 4 beds
• 8 end tables
• 2 desks
• 2 tables
• over 30 chairs
• 5 dressers
• etc, etc, etc

Keep in mind – there are only three in our family (one is a 2 year old) and we had a garage sale before we left selling even more furniture.  Did we really need this much “stuff”?  I brought boxes and boxes of books and dishes and tools and pictures and electronics and toys.  The list is ridiculous!  And, because we have yet to find a permanent home here and are staying with family until we do, we have rented storage units for our belongings – FIVE storage units, to be exact.  We’ve turned into bower birds.  Check this out:

Source: The most notable characteristic of bowerbirds is the extraordinarily complex behaviour of males, which is to build a bower to attract mates. Depending on the species, the bower ranges from a circle of cleared earth with a small pile of twigs in the center to a complex and highly decorated structure of sticks and leaves — usually shaped like a walkway, a small hut or a maypole — into and around which the male places a variety of objects he has collected. These objects — usually strikingly blue in hue — may include hundreds of shells, leaves, flowers, feathers, stones, berries, and even discarded plastic items or pieces of glass. The bird spends hours carefully sorting and arranging his collection, with each object in a specific place; if an object is moved while the bowerbird is away he will put it back in its place. No two bowers are the same, and the collection of objects reflects the personal taste of each bird and its ability to procure unusual and rare items (going as far as stealing them from neighboring bowers). At mating time, the female will go from bower to bower, watching as the male owner conducts an often elaborate mating ritual and inspecting the quality of the bower. Many females end up selecting the same male, and many under-performing males are left without mates.

Doesn’t this sound somewhat familiar?  We spend hours collecting and arranging our trinkets and baubles, making sure the throw pillow matches the comforter, making sure the china (which we never use) is arranged just right in the china cabinet, waxing our cars, polishing our trophies, cleaning bathrooms, dusting furniture, vaccuming carpets.  Is this Kingdom work?

Taking care of what God has given us is a must.  But accumulating things also takes up more and more of our time – time that could be much better spent doing things for His Kingdom.  The fact is, I’d rather Christa spend her time teaching and playing with Landon than cleaning and dusting.  I would rather spend my time with my family, studying Scripture and reading than shuffling papers, moving boxes and rearranging my bower.

This next move – from the storage sheds to the home we find – will be different.  If you decide to help us move, bring marshmallows.  There’s gonna be a bonfire!