Head or heart?

I have an addictive personality. Just ask Mrs. X. If I like something, no matter what it is, I can really go off the deep end. I'm a grown man, but I entered adulthood in the years when computers and video games were just taking off. I love playing video games. My tastes have changed over the years but I could still play Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, FIFA 20xx, Zork...you name it, for hours. Literally. Arcade game? Pinball machine? PC? Console? Bring it.

Castle X from the ocean-side...

If not for my addictive personality, how else can you explain that - at my age - I put the time and effort required into building a castle in Minecrack that is three stories tall, surrounded by water, has a rooftop made completely of glass, has a boat dock, and can be seen for miles because of the Netherrack burning eternally atop its battlements? Do you have any idea how long it took me to dig, mine and build that sucker? I won't even discuss the cavernous, multi-level, underground complex I'm currently building that will eventually be connected - over a significant distance - by powered rail to the catacombs of Castle X (see above). Like I said, an addictive personality.

This is an addiction of the head. I would opine that the head is where most addictions reside. The Bible has (roughly) 95 verses that speak of wine or alcohol in one way or another. Many Christian denominations teach that believers should abstain from alcohol completely, others do not. Clearly, overuse of wine or strong drink is discouraged in the Bible. My guiding principle in this regard comes from Romans 14:21 -

It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother [and by extension, sister] stumbles.

I've pretty much put aside the drinking thing. As I suspect most folks who have addictive personalities will tell you, if someone likes the taste of alcohol or the effect it brings or the impression of good times it engenders, look out.

I believe there is one overriding principle the Bible teaches that covers just about everything, whether it is mentioned specifically by name or not: If something takes your heart away from God - in effect replaces God with something of this Earth - then that, my friend, is bad.

With all your heart?

Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37, among other verses, tell us that we are to love God with all our hearts. Every time I read those verses I am convicted because I know there are compartments in my heart (and mind, and spirit...) that I have not let God into. I would hazard a guess that even the most devout believers might have a few sections in the picture above that are absent of God. But maybe not, maybe that's just me justifying my own weakness.

I know in my head that I need to allow God into every aspect of my life, but the mirror of my heart doesn't always reflect that. As Ferris Bueller said during his day off, "Life moves pretty fast..."

There are two parts to this heart discussion. There is part one: the belief part and part two: the life part. In order for us to love God with all of our hearts, we need first to believe in His redeeming plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. That is not a head decision but one of the heart. The Apostle Paul illustrates this perfectly in Romans 10:9. Based on the Bible a person cannot arbitrarily decide they are a Christian - a follower of Christ - they have to have a change of heart.

I'm not trying to back anyone into a doctrinal corner, far from it. I've read some Christian blogs recently that discuss the openness - or lack thereof - of today's churches. Our churches should be open and welcoming to all. A few verses on, in Romans 10:14, Paul hits on another truth, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?"

If we expect our churches to be places where people can come and hear the truth of the Bible and places where, once having heard, can confess with their mouths and believe in their hearts, hadn't we better make sure that our church doors are wide open?

Not very welcoming...

If someone has decided in their head to give Christianity a try, they aren't Christians. Even if they are attending church regularly, serving the community, etc. there has not been a change of heart. I can make a head decision not to drink alcohol, but if I'm going to dedicate my life to Jesus and call myself a Christian, that has to come from my heart.

Once I've made that heart decision, I've got a whole bunch of other life decisions to make. And in my short time as a Christian, I've learned that it takes both the head and the heart to make those.

What do you think?

X

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...

I do some pretty childish things from time to time. But I'm an adult, so it's mostly seen as cute or goofy when I do them.

Grow up!

The most recent example from the public square that I can think of would be the Miley Cyrus performance at the MTV VMA awards. I'm not going to dog pile Ms. Cyrus or drag that whole thing up again. But to me it's a great example of how different people view adulthood. I would wager that most adults over forty (the ones that are even aware of it) viewed that performance as childish - if not obscene. And a good number of people under forty would see it as her prerogative - after all, at twenty years of age, Ms. Cyrus is an adult, right?

The Oxford English dictionary variously defines adult as:

Noun: A person who is fully grown or developed; (Law) A person who has reached the age of majority.

Adjective: Emotionally and mentally mature.

Men and women  - adults - are what we call males and females when boys and girls grow up. Our society has developed a number of widely accepted milestones which can herald our passage into adulthood:

• Ability to legally view adult or mature television and film content
• Ability to legally drink alcohol
• Ability to vote
• Ability to legally play "M" rated video games
• Engaging in sexual activity
• Becoming a member of the armed services
• Ability to get a driver's license (to a lesser degree)

Perhaps my first exposure to this dynamic was when I lived in the UK and our family went to see the newest James Bond film, Diamonds are Forever. (Spoiler Alert!) I was in seventh or eighth grade and when we got to the cinema, my dad found out I was too young to be allowed in, even with my parents. So what did that teach me? On the ride home in the cab - by myself - I thought, "There must be some cool stuff in that movie if they don't want kids watching it."

I remember when Mrs. X and I were raising our boys. There were times when alcoholic beverages were in the vicinity. When one of them - or another child - would ask if they could have some, our response was typically, "No, this is an adult drink."

We always tried to play it cool and not make a big deal about it. We didn't want to create an air of mystique about alcohol. Yet were we, even unwittingly, setting an expectation for that child - be it ours or someone else's - that drinking alcohol when they were adults was cool, something to look forward to? Think about the crush of advertising that exists today. From clothing, to alcoholic beverages, to sexual activity; our kids are bombarded with messages that say, "Grown-ups do this stuff, and it's cool."

At younger and younger ages we're seeing kids have and engage in things that used to be the purview of much older people. We continue to establish and throw open gateways that lure boys and girls faster and faster toward adulthood. Ever-increasing "graduations", nearly-mandatory limo rides for prom, even Middle School versions; getting their driver's permit and/or license at the bare minimum age. We're treating our kids more and more like little grown-ups every day.

I taught a preteen Bible school this past summer. More than 50% of the kids had cell phones. And not just the basic text/talk phones; we're talking iPhones and Androids. Fourth through sixth graders. With smart phones. Heck, I didn't have a bike until fifth grade. We're putting our kids on an ever-faster roller coaster to adulthood.

Is the smart phone a window to an x-rated world?

Parents are the biggest, best and last bastion against a world full of people who have reached the age of majority but are sorely lacking in emotional and mental maturity. Despite our best efforts, have we shortchanged our future society? Do we let our kids watch television shows or movies and play video games, but not equip them with a level of maturity and critical thinking that will allow them to understand the difference between a make-believe world and a real one? By setting these artificial bars to adult achievement so low, have we convinced a younger and younger set of boys and girls that merely by checking these boxes (drinking, watching R or even X-rated films, engaging in sexual activism, etc.) they can achieve adulthood early?

Do you want your kids walking a mile for a Camel?

In reasoning with the early church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul said, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things."

A couple of other interesting passages read:

Old Testament (1 Samuel 2:26): Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the LORD and with men.

New Testament (Luke 2:52): And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Nine hundred years apart, the sentiment was pretty much the same; both the prophet Samuel and Jesus had very similar statements made about them. Their growth in stature as men - as young adults - was not due to them smoking, drinking, romancing and doing all of the things that the world holds up as earmarks of adulthood. Today, we see young men and women raised in stature for exceeding the world's expectations, but God has been left out.

I know, it can't be as simple as that, can it? Just because God is left out doesn't mean a child can't grow up to be a decent adult, does it?

What do you think?

X