If all your friends jumped off a bridge does that mean you would? These were the wise words of parents everywhere to get children to recognize that we should never do something just because our friends did. We would always answer with a resounding NO even though we knew that if our friends were doing it we would be right there doing it too no matter how dangerous it was.
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Our forefathers worked hard to create a country that is now being destroyed. It sounds like a political rallying cry, a complaint against what is and a call to return to what was. What was it? What should it be? What was their intent when they created it? Is that our intent when we want to recreate it? I believe we would all agree with the words in Jeremiah 3:24 (NIV) “From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our ancestors’ labor— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters,” but would we all agree with what this means?
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It is considered the biggest offence a church/pastor can commit. Those accused of committing this offence often are unfazed while those behind the accusations feel wronged in ways that cannot be measured. Do some churches set out to steal sheep? Some. Do some churches have sheep go missing because they aren’t being good shepherds? Some. Do some sheep change sheep pens because the grass is always greener in some other sheep pen? Some. Do some sheep look for a new shepherd because the one they have isn’t shepherding at all? Some. Is the type of sheep stealing that the modern church concerns itself with actually something God is concerned about? Sometimes.
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…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. I often say to my wife we’ve done the worse, the poorer, the sickness, maybe for this part of our lives we can try the better, the richer and the health. The truth is, regardless of whether we are able to turn the tables, we are committed to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. There are some days I am sure that my behavior puts ideas in my wife’s mind about ways to fulfil the ‘til death do us part, part.
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I can remember it like it was yesterday. I think almost everyone who attended Sunday school during the sixties and seventies has a memory of the high tech presentation systems used to etch memories in the minds of the young people who never missed a week. In fairness to this generation, attendance was not high because of the quality of storytelling but rather the willingness of a parent to use soap or the back of their hand to quickly put an end to any attempt to present an alternate to the fast paced drama that would unfold on the felt board every Sunday morning. We were told they were parables but we cared more about pulling the hair of the girl in the row in front of us or throwing a paper airplane at the teacher’s head. The felt board was a marvel of modern artistry but the stories got old really quick.
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