Category: The culture

How to Flourish Regardless of the “New Normal”-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age- Psalm 92:12-14a NIV

 Among other notable distinctions of the year 2020 it also gave us some annoying but unique catchphrases and buzzwords. Thanks to the “Rona” even those generally unfamiliar with medical jargon are now familiar with terms such as “self-quarantine”, “contact tracing”, “social distancing” and “flatten the curve”. 2020 has also given us some notable catchphrases such as: “show you care, mask-up” “spread kindness not COVID-19”, “we are in this together”, “remember to wash your hands”, “staying apart is the best way to stay connected” and “stay home to stay alive”.

Sigh.  

However, the award for the most annoying new slogan or catchphrase of 2020 goes to the expression “the new normal”. I resisted this phrase from day one. I was horrified at how quickly people simply accepted the idea a GERM should automatically change everything about everything. Germs are not a new thing. Germs have existed since the fall and we have managed to survive quite nicely despite them.

Furthermore.

This is the twenty-first century for the love of all that is good and decent! We are not living in the stinking dark ages for heaven’s sake! At this point in history humans ought to be sophisticated enough to cope with a stupid virus, even a novel virus without it destroying the best parts of our civilization (free speech, sporting events, live entertainment venues, face-to-face communication, free exercise of religion, unrestricted travel). Acquiescing to the notion that a virus with anything less than a twenty-percent mortality rate could change EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING is a kind of spineless defeatism I was and still am very uncomfortable with.  

Nevertheless. 

As time has worn on, I have been forced to acknowledge reality.  COVID-19 really has shaped a new normal that will doubtless continue to affect our daily lives for some time to come. Unfortunately, little of the new normal is healthy, pleasant or life-giving. In fact, most of it is corrupt, unhealthy, illogical and extremely distressing in some way.  So far, the “new normal” includes a lot fear, an appalling lack of logic, political division, hostility, hate, rioting and government control. 

I am still not a fan. 

That being said. Because God promises He will never leave us or forsake us, Christians will ALWAYS have the ability to flourish spiritually even in the most challenging of times (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5).  The book of Jeremiah demonstrates this reality.  Jeremiah is mostly a grim and unpleasant book.  After generations of idolatry, sexual sin and open rebellion against God the people of Judah were finally faced with the consequences of their sinful lifestyle.  God lifted His hand of protection and the nation was conquered by the Babylonians. Jeremiah prophesied that this would not be a short-term inconvenience. Israel would remain in captivity to the Babylonians for seventy years. However, Jeremiah also assured the nation that even in the midst of their painful and ugly “new normal” God still loved them.  He promised God would still hear their prayers, He would continue to dwell among them, He would continue to bless them and He still had good plans for their future (Jeremiah 29:10-14). 

What was true for God’s people in 605 B.C. is still true for God’s people in 2020 A.D. God is still God and God is still good. He has plans for His people and they are good. 

This is without question a season of rebuke and judgment. God is not dealing just with those outside the church but also with Christians who have become disobedient and negligent in their devotion to God (1stPeter 4:17). During a season of rebuke and judgment it is vital we ruthlessly root out the idols in our lives and seek to become active participants in the sanctification process (2nd Corinthians 13:5, 2nd Peter 1:5-11). We must examine our lives and repent quickly so we can be a peaceful and life-giving presence to non-Christians who have reached the end of their own coping mechanisms and false belief systems. Our ultimate obligation before God is to live holy lives and seek the good of the culture we have been placed in, no matter how corrupt or sinful our culture happens to be (Jeremiah 29:4-7, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 28:18-20, 1st Peter 2:12). That means being spiritually ready when God  brings revival to the unbelieving.  

 Historically, God does His best work in the darkest of times. Our time is no different. God promises to do great things in and through the faithful.  The seventy years of captivity gave us some of the most heroic, encouraging, and instructive stories in all the Bible. The books of Daniel, Esther and Jonah are all stories that tell how God worked in and through those who remained faithful during their season of rebuke and judgment. If we cling to God and stay open to what He is attempting to do in us through this season we will not lose heart we will see God do great things in us and in our culture. 

We will flourish. 

Five Ways Christians Can Turn the Tide of Church Culture-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

 

 The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light- Romans 13:11-12 NIV

My week began on a spiritual high note.

  Sunday, I attended one of the most moving church services I have ever been a part of. It was a sweet reminder that God is and people are still being transformed by His presence in their lives.

 It was all kind of downhill from there.  

 The rest of the week was mostly just a series of weird and unpleasant reminders life is short, the world is still a dark place and there is no shortage of spiritual work to be done.

 One such reminder came via a long conversation with an individual who was, from a biblical perspective one of the most tragically ignorant people I have ever interacted with. The whole discussion was frustrating. However, the thing I found most maddening was how this person is fully convinced they already know everything they need to know about God and the Bible. In reality, all they really know is what other ignorant people have told them and precious little of it is accurate or nice.

 Sigh.  

 My heart is still broken for the lostness of that person. I was reminded once again that there is a battle raging—not a physical battle— we are not literally at war with anyone. Christians are, or are supposed to be fighting for the hearts, minds and souls of people who do not know Jesus (Philippians 2:25, 2nd Timothy 2:3-4, Ephesians 6:10-17). The shocking number of biblically ignorant individuals in the Western world indicates that we have lost more battles than we have won in recent years. 

 We are losing because EVERY professing Christian, regardless of age, gender or denominational preference is a soldier called to fight.  However, some of our soldiers appear to be woefully ignorant of their status. Others understand there’s a battle but are too busy arguing about stupid stuff to be of any use to anyone. Still others are simply not in any kind of spiritual shape to fight. Even more are so busy chasing worldly squirrels they don’t have the focus they need to fight even the tiniest battles effectively (1st John 2:15). 

 A course correction is desperately needed in our ranks. If we all commit to making a few changes in what we do and how we view the world Christians would become far more effective very quickly. It all begins with:

 Understanding the times we live in- 1st Chronicles 12:32

 Americans live in a culture that is rapidly becoming post-Christian. This is a complex issue but basically it means the gospel is irrelevant at best and stupid at worst to the majority of people in our culture. Furthermore, most churches have done a sloppy job of teaching people who already believe in Jesus what the Bible teaches about most issues. This means our primary responsibility as Christians right now is to help the world and the church to understand that individuals CAN choose to live their lives anyway they wish. However, there is such a thing as “best practices” when it comes to relationships and life choices. Those “best practices” are found in the Bible and begin with making a commitment to Jesus Christ and then choosing to live life the way the Bible calls us to live it. This means Christians must make a real commitment to self-education so we can teach others the truth of God’s word.  

 Getting in fighting shape-

 This means dealing with the sin in our lives decisively and doing our best to live a holy life (Matthew 5:29 Colossians 3, 2nd Peter 1:3-11, 1st John 4:9).  Getting in shape spiritually means committing serious blocks of time to prayer and learning as much as possible about the Bible and what it says about life. It means knowing ourselves. Every Christian should have a complete understanding of their own strengths so they can be used effectively for the Kingdom. Believers must also understand their own weaknesses so that they are not destroyed by them.

 Aligning yourself with the right people-

 Christians should love everyone but only align themselves with those who believe in inerrancy of the Bible and are willing to live out its principles.

 Putting your armor on-

 Every believer should study Ephesians 6:10-18 in depth and have the entire passage committed to memory. It should be a prayer we pray daily.  For a sample of what I pray click here-

 Engaging the right way-

 It is imperative Christians make a regular practice of getting into the world and interacting with the people in it (Matthew 5:13-16, John 3:17. It is equally critical we do it the right way. Christians should never bully, intimidate or make people feel like anything less than a person made in God’s image.  That said Christians should never be afraid to speak the truth of the gospel with passion.

 We are where we are mostly because too many of us have been spiritually complacent for far too long. It is time for all of us to set ourselves aside and get into the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can Christians deal Effectively with the Gender Madness Sweeping our World?

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them- Genesis 1:26a-27 NIV

Like every human over the age of forty, I have witnessed a great deal of change over my lifetime. Some of these changes have been wonderful, others meh and some others have been simply awful. It’s fair to say that no area of human society has seen more change in the last two decades than the areas of gender and sexual expression.

Back in the day, there were men and woman.

Those two options pretty much covered the scope and scale of the gender spectrum. A man might have wished he was a woman or dressed like a woman but all of society would have agreed that if a human was born with a penis that was all the evidence needed to declare the person a man.  There were women who impersonated men but it never occurred to anyone that a woman behaving like a man might actually be a man. How one chose to express their sexuality (gay, straight, bi-sexual) had no bearing on whether or not a person was male or female. Gender was determined by this thing called biology. 

Biology is so 1955.

There is now a whole gender spectrum to choose from. Among the plethora of options, one can now be male, female, androgynous, transgender, gender queer, non-binary, gay, straight, bi-sexual, pansexual, asexual, gay trans, bi-sexual-trans, binary trans, gender questioning and gender fluid. 

Sigh. 

For all sorts of really rational reasons average Christians have struggled to address this issue in a logical, respectful and kind way. It’s a difficult issue to wrap our minds around. Further complicating the whole messy muddle any objection to or questioning of the gender spectrum is perceived by most non-Christians and some Christians as transphobic, homophobic, regressive and mean. Consequently, Christians have either ignored the problem altogether, avoided discussing it outside of Christian circles or ridiculed the whole situation openly. Regrettably, none of the aforementioned strategies actually do anything to help Christians act as salt and light in our increasingly confused and broken world (Matthew 5:13-16). 

Ephesians 6:14 commands Christians to stand against evil ideas. In order to do that we have to understand from a biblical perspective what’s wrong with a particular philosophy and where it will likely lead us. 

The gender spectrum is clearly one of the Satanic schemes the Bible warns us about (Ephesians 6:11, 1st Peter 5:8). The notion that there is a gender smorgasbord out there with dozens of different options from which to choose from is an assault on God’s design. It is also a direct contradiction to God’s assertion that He created human beings as male and female only (Genesis 1:27). Among other things, this particular assault is intended to generate doubt concerning the goodness and truthfulness of God in the minds of people who are struggling with questions regarding sex, sexuality and gender. It’s critical we remember Satan has been planting doubt concerning the goodness and truthfulness of God since the dawn of the human race (Genesis 3:1) 

Human beings were made for connection with God (Genesis 3:8). It’s inherent in our design. Because most in our culture have rejected the Creator gender identity and sexuality have become a strange form of religious expression for those who have spurned belief in God (Romans 1:24-32). This explains the peculiar post-modern practice of folks introducing themselves by stating their name, sexual orientation and gender identity. Sexuality and gender give their life meaning and is where they find their identity. 

This turn of events ought to break our hearts because it breaks God’s heart, It should not drive us to despair or hateful rhetoric. Rather, we should be overwhelmed with grief for a generation that has lost its way morally, spiritually and sexually. There are six practical things Christians can do to help lead our culture come back to a healthier understanding of sexuality and gender and back into right relationship with God. 

We must:

Love our neighbors- 

We should look for ways to love everyone, even those super messy people who freak us out a little bit. We must search for ways to engage people who are different from us. The engagement must be done in a spirit of both truth and love. It helps no one when we bend our beliefs to placate the culture. That being said, people need to know there is God who loves them beyond measure who wants to free them from the spiritual and sexual bondage they’ve gotten themselves into.   

Pray for revival-

It almost goes without saying our world has problems that cannot and will not be solved using human methods. We have fallen too far down the proverbial rabbit hole. We supernatural intervention. Stat. Prayer is the only way to get the intervention we need (Ephesians 6:18, 1st Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer has the power to transform unbelievers and give believers the spiritual power needed to love the lost and hurting. Christians are commanded to make a practice of praying for everyone all the time. If your church has a regularly scheduled prayer time, go and pray. If your church does not have a scheduled prayer time consider starting one in your home. Invite your friends and begin by praying for revival. When people truly get right with God their view of gender and sexuality will align with what the Bible says about these issues.  

Model healthy families-

It has never been more critical for Christians to have healthy, functional family units. The world needs to see families where men protect and nurture their wives and children and where women respect their husbands and make mothering children a priority.

Celebrate the differences between men and women-

God made men and women and different from each other. The diversity in the created order is a beautiful thing that deserves celebration because both men and women reflect the image of God in different ways (Genesis 1:27) Little boys should be told it’s a good and special thing to be a boy and little girls should be told it’s a beautiful thing to be made female. If we don’t the world will step in and tell them something different.

Stop being weird-

There are Christians who believe it is wrong for men to cook or do housework because it’s “not manly” and an “affront to God”.  Others believe that women should never work outside the home or attend college. There are still Christians who sincerely believe a woman should remain “under the authority “of her Father until she is married. These absurdly antiquated ideas are almost impossible to backup biblically without twisting Scripture and they make Christianity look really weird to non-Christians, weird does nothing for our cause.

Last but not least.

Christians must speak the truth with an attitude of love and grace. Admittedly, this is tricky and difficult. But it must be done. We simply have to find ways to engage people in hard conversations where we tell them the truth in loving tones and with a spirit of humility rather that self-righteousness (Ephesians 4:15). If we can do this we might have a shot of not just changing their minds on gender but also turning their hearts towards Jesus.

Nine Crazy-Bold Prayers Christians Should Pray Everyday

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence- 2ndChronicles 6:19 NIV

It does not take any exceptional insight or wisdom to see that our world has morphed into a flaming-hot-dumpster-fire of a mess in what feels like record time. 

Human life does not have the value it did just a few years ago. Poor neighborhoods in larger cities have morphed into war zones with weekly body and injury counts. One out of every three children conceived is aborted and the body parts of many of those children are peddled for profit under the guise of “science” and “improving life”. The market for sex slaves is booming. Millions of boys and girls are bought and sold for the pleasure of adults who have no regard for anyone or anything including vulnerable children. 

Everybody hates everybody. Name-calling and character assassination are the new normal. One wrong word either spoken or written and the thought police is unleashed. No one is exempt from the hate and nothing is too outrageous to say anymore. Words that were once earmarked for truly dastardly people with proven track records of actual evil, words like racist, white supremacist, Nazi and fascist are now lobbed around with casual indifference at anyone foolish or brave enough to offend the thought mob. Those who hold to a conservative view of morality and truth are hated and no group is more despised than Bible-believing Christians.  

Sigh. 

These are times that are sure to test even the best and brightest of God’s people (Matthew 24:9-13).  Christians should strive to remember two truths about the time we live in. First and foremost, God promised this day would come (2ndTimothy 3:1-5, 2ndPeter 3:3).  There is nothing we are seeing or experiencing that should come as a shock to anyone with even a casual familiarity with the New Testament. Secondly, Christians are told to stand against evil. We are not to run or hide in our bunkers or curse the darkness on social media. Rather we are told to do what we can to fight the evil and then stand brazenly against it (Ephesians 6:13).  The way we stand is through prayer. I believe God is calling His people to pray some crazy bold prayers these days. Following are ten hard prayers every Christian should consider praying every day. 

Pray for the delusion to be lifted- 

2ndThessalonians promises that there will come a day when people will hate truth so much that they will consciously reject God and refuse to be saved (2ndThessalonians 2:10b-11). The result of this reckless rejection of God and His truth is that a powerful delusion will come on the earth causing people to hate truth (all truth, not just spiritual truth) even more.  Christians should do their best to be as much like God as humanly possible. This means we should want people to be saved and we should never, ever delight in the death of a wicked person (John 3:16, Ezekiel 33:11).  Pray the delusion is lifted and people will embrace truth.

Pray for an end to lawlessness- 

A natural consequence of the above-mentioned delusion will be a level of lawlessness that will be unlike anything the world has seen since the days of Noah (1stJohn 3:4, Genesis 6:11). The rise in violence, sexual-slavery, hate groups and the upsurge in attacks against the police are natural consequences of human beings willfully choosing spiritual rebellion over spiritual obedience.  

Pray for genuine racial healing- 

All human beings are made in the image of God. Conflict between the races breaks the heart of God (1st Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11). Furthermore, we will not move forward as a nation without authentic racial reconciliation. 

Pray church leaders will rethink how church is done- 

In recent decades there have been radical changes in the way Christians do church. Church has shifted from a member model designed to train Christians to evangelize unbelievers into a seeker model designed to attract unbelievers to church services. Intentions were noble but outcomes have been less than stellar. There have been very few lasting conversions in recent years and many “Christians” are leaving the faith altogether. Most alarming of all, most believers freely admit they do not feel adequately equipped to reach the lost. We must return to a model of church that attracts non-Christians to Jesus (John 13:35) and teaches and trains Christians to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-15). 

Pray God will show you your junk- 

Every single person, Christian or non-Christian has junk. Junk is our stupid, sinful and weird ways of relating to God and people.  Junk is bad because it hurts other people and holds us back from maturing into the person God wants us to be. Pray fervently that God will show you your junk so you can repent, change and become the man or woman God needs you to be at this point in history. 

Pray for a movement of repentance in the church- 

God moves when people repent (2ndChronicles 7:14, 2ndCorinthians 13:5). We need God to move, so, pray for repentance. 

Pray for the crazy person who is convinced you’re a racist or a meanie or whatever- 

There is literally nothing worse than being falsely accused of something awful and nothing easier than loathing the people who accuse us falsely. Pray for the haters. There’s a lot of them out there and they need our prayers more than they need our judgment.

Pray for transparency in government and that duplicity will be revealed- 

Seriously. 

Pray for boldness, wisdom and spiritual strength-

What the world needs more than anything is Christians who will use wisdom and sound biblical theology to boldly and lovingly reach out to their friends and neighbors with the good news that Jesus really does love them. People need to know God has the power to transform them into something infinitely better than they are right now.  

What Happens when Christians Love People Without an Objective Standard of Truth?

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge~ Hosea 4:6a NIV

 There is a super weird debate that’s been going on for a while now:

  Female athletes argue transgender women (men) should not be permitted to compete against women who were born women in athletic competitions. These folks assert women who were born men have some distinct physical advantages over women who were born women. Those advantages include greater overall physical size, superior muscle mass and improved lung capacity.  

 Those fighting for the rights of transgender women to compete against biological women say that transgender women (biological men) ought to be allowed to compete against biological women because when a man declares himself to be a woman he is a woman and no one should be allowed to dispute his claim.    

 I cannot believe I have to explain why this is a super weird argument but I do and I will:

 Less than a generation ago no one would have even believed rational human beings would even be having this discussion. Even ten years ago it would have been considered certifiably INSANE to argue that a person can change who they are simply by making a declarative statement. Period.  Furthermore, clear-headed people know in their heart-of-hearts that declaring one’s self to be something does not, nor, will it ever affect reality or change that person’s situation. The fact that this discussion is taking place at all goes a long way towards proving exactly how far we have fallen down the rabbit hole (metaphorically speaking) as a society. Lastly, these crusaders are arguing for something and they have no idea what they are arguing for but they are managing to do it quite effectively.

 They are really arguing for the existence of objective truth.

 Those who want to ban biological men from competing in women’s sports are attempting to hold up two fairly rudimentary standards of objective truth. The first being that men and women are fundamentally different. The second is that wishing something to be true cannot and will not make it true. The problem with these standards is not with the standards, the standards are both perfectly reasonable, demonstrably true and historically accepted.

The problem is that all this truth telling is just a little too little and a little too late.

The secular world has been denying the existence of objective truth for several decades now. The longer a person or a society chooses to believe a lie the less likely they are to believe the truth when they are confronted with it. In other words, the secular world is in no mood to be set straight about what’s real and true after fifty years of partying it up in the land of make-believe.

 Sigh.

 Okay, so here’s the thing:

 It is easy for Christians to look at this situation, roll their eyes and feel superior to those who have willingly bought into obvious chicanery and are now paying the price for it.

 However.

The same disregard for objective truth has crept into Church world.  

 Christians of all ages use the terms “my truth” and “your truth” as if there are versions of truth that all have equal validity and should be taken equally seriously. It is true, human beings can interpret the same event in two entirely different ways but only one of the interpretations can actually be true. It is also not uncommon for Christians to say things like “that may be true for you but it’s not true for me”. It is true, there are times when God convicts one Christian that a behavior not forbidden in Scripture is wrong for them as an individual. Because He knows that behavior will become a gateway for truly sinful behavior for that particular Christian (Romans 14, 1st Corinthians 8:9-13, 1st Corinthians 10:23-31). Nonetheless, that situation is an entirely different breed of cat from one person deciding that they should not be held to the same moral standards as every other believer on the planet because they have chosen to believe that God’s opinions on morality have become wibbly-wobbly and open to interpretation (Judges 21:25).  In most evangelical churches love has been held up as the highest value. However, we have forgotten love that is not built firmly on a foundation of theological truth inevitably devolves into a puddle of messy, inarticulate, crazy-town sentimentality.  

We have become victims of some really bad doctrinal teaching.

For at least two decades now, Christians have been told it doesn’t matter what Christians believe as long as they sincerely love Jesus and people. There are teachers and preachers who have even argued against their people attaining biblical knowledge because they misinterpreted 1st Corinthians 8:1 where Paul says “knowledge puffs up”. Paul was not criticizing all biblical knowledge as something that puffs people up with pride. Paul was simply stating that the Corinthians “knowledge” concerning the fact that idols are nothing had made them prideful. Their understanding of truth was causing them to ignore the needs of those who had not reached their level of understanding concerning THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.

Here’s the thing:

If Paul were asserting that biblical knowledge inevitably leads to pride he would have been refuting his own teachings about knowledge found in Ephesians 4:13, Philippians 1:9, Colossians 1:9 and 2nd Timothy 2:25.

Seriously.

Christianity must do some intense soul searching on the subjects of truth and love. Love is important.  Love is critical. Without love we are nothing (1st Corinthians 13). However. Love that is not based on truth is less than nothing.  But when we offer the people around us the love of Jesus without telling them the whole truth of the gospel (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) we deceive them into believing God is okay with their sin.

That’s not loving at all.

A Defense of Motherhood in an age of Disdain for Children and Family-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

  Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from God. Psalm 127:3 NIV

 They’re everywhere.

 Stories of women from around the world who freely admit they seriously regret having kids.

 The first time I saw one of the headlines I was dubious. Surely, the author was overstating the extent of the issue to get clicks? However, research revealed this is indeed a real thing. I found dozens of articles on the subject and a plethora of chat rooms and support groups that serve as safe spaces for women who sincerely wish they never had kids.

 My first impulse was to judge.

 Not because women feel the way they feel. I learned long ago, feelings (unlike actions) are not something easily controlled. And as someone who has had some pretty inappropriate thoughts and feelings concerning all sorts of things and people I would never judge anyone for feeling a particular way.

For reals.

 That said, I struggled to withhold judgment when I saw these women vomiting up their feelings all over social media. Call me old-fashioned, but even in the age of compulsive over-sharing I still believe there are circumstances where it is thoroughly appropriate to shut our pie-holes. I still believe some feelings are best left bottled-up nice and tight in the presence of most people. There are some feelings that should only be shared in the privacy of a counselors office or in the presence of a very close friend. Regret over giving birth to a person who might see those regrets in print is one of those times.

Seriously.

 Because defending something or someone is far superior to judging something or someone I will do my best to lose any judgment I’m struggling with and attempt to make a defense for the cause of Motherhood (Matthew 7:12). I will not attempt to gaslight you by feeding you some insipid or overly spiritualized line about how fulfilling and blissful every moment of motherhood is. That is simply not true. Like most things in life mothering does have its moments of blissful fulfillment, but it’s far from easy and blissful, especially in the early years.

 As the Mother of four I know for a fact that while you’re in the middle of raising young children, parenting FEELS like nothing more than a lot of hard work, exhaustion and frustration punctuated with moments of agonizing self-doubt and fear. That being said, as someone who has raised kids to adulthood I can also tell you that mothering is worth the effort for four reasons:

 Mothering impacts the future like nothing else-

 To my eternal shame my children know very little about their great-Grandmother. She was an amazing woman who sadly, died long before they were born. I doubt any of them could tell you her first name (it was Areta). They certainly don’t know what she did for a living or any details concerning her likes or dislikes. However, I see a lot of her attitudes and values including fair-mindedness, generosity, and the value of hard work living on in my own kids. She sowed those ethics into me and I have done my level best to pass her legacy on to them. Most people a hundred years from now will not know or care about what you did for a living but they will know exactly what you valued in life because they will see those values living on in your children and grandchildren.

 Mothering is the best discipleship opportunity you are ever going to get-

 Most Christians long to make a spiritual impact on the future (Matthew 28:18-19). Parenting gives us the better part of two decades to impart spiritual truth into the hearts of our kids. If we go the extra mile and live what we say we believe we will make a significant spiritual impact on the lives of the kids we raise and they in turn will make a spiritual impact on future generations (Psalms 127:4-5) .

 Mothering has the power to make us better people-

 Mothering reveals in gory detail every single one of our shortcomings and less-than-healthy coping mechanisms. When our weaknesses are exposed we have two options, we can ignore reality or we can become better people. There is nothing quite like having a couple of kids watching to give us the incentive needed to work at becoming better people. (Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18)

 Parenting makes us dependent on God for wisdom and direction-

 Seriously. Anyone who has parented a child for more than an hour knows parenting kids is scary. Being scared causes a lot of people to look to God and we are all better people when we look to Him for insight and assistance.

 For decades now women have been force-fed the lie motherhood is a waste of their time, energy, and talents. That lie is spread in blogs, books and articles that promote a survivor approach to parenting. Social media is littered with snarky memes belittling motherhood with little adages like “Mommy needs vodka” and “don’t mind the mess the children are being a**holes”. With those attitudes so deeply rooted in our culture it’s not surprising that many women regret having kids. As Christians it is incumbent on us to take the long view of things and remember that we are not called to live comfortable, stress-free lives today, rather we are called to live our lives for the glory of God and future generations. If you’re a mom reading this you are doing a good thing that will make a difference.

God approves. I promise.