Everything's Changing...

I couldn’t help but to get lost in my thoughts this morning after reading from Proverbs 4:20-23 and began to consider how much things have changed in my lifetime alone.  As a father giving sage advice to his children, the author of this proverb, who is likened to God, writes:

“Listen carefully, my dear child, to everything that I teach you, and pay attention to all that I have to say. Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit. Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being. So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.” (The Passion Translation)

Most people in my generation were taught a certain level of moral awareness, that seems to have taken flight over the last few decades.  This portion of scripture makes it pretty clear that each of us are personally responsible for holding to the standards of life that we were taught and/or prescribe to.  But it seems like in past times… that society gave us a helping hand… if you know what I mean.

One of the first examples I thought of was when Piper and I were attending Chico State University back in 1973-1974.  In the year that we attended school there, we lived in the on-campus dorms.   Piper in the older girl’s dorm, Lassen Hall and I across the grassy area in the guy’s dorm named Sierra Hall.  At that time, we had open access to each other’s dorms during the day, but had limited access at night due to the evening curfew when the outside doors were locked.

Things were a little different when my sister attended Long Beach State University six years prior to our college years.  In her girl’s dorm (an identical match to Piper’s and mine in architectural style) all male visitors had to be escorted in by a female resident and the resident also had to yell out upon entrance to the hallway, “Man in the hall!” A quick look this morning on the CSU housing website listed both the halls that Piper and I stayed in, as now having both men and women’s rooms in the same wing with separate bathrooms at each end.

Piper and I both visited each other quite often in each other’s dorm, so it was natural that we got to know many of the young people who lived in our wings.  I knew by name most of the gals whose rooms were close to Piper’s and the same with her for the guys in my wing.

So, as I mentioned in the above scripture’s reference, concerning each of our personal responsibilities to hold up our standards… and in this case, God’s standards… I recall an embarrassing incident early one evening when I came to pick up Piper for a date, and one of her wing mates came prancing down the hall wearing nothing but a tiny, see-through, baby doll nightie.  This little gal (she was shorter than Piper) who most guys who knew her, thought was very attractive (although to be honest… I didn’t quite see it... and then again, Piper and I were engaged), was very outgoing and liked to be the center of attention. 

Well, she made a beeline to me and stopped right in front of me about ten yards from Piper’s room door (that by then, I was desperately trying to get to!)  I was way too embarrassed to think straight, and did my best to keep my eyes planted on her face while we made pleasantries back and forth. 

She was laughing pretty hard by the time she scooted around me and headed to the restroom... at least I think that’s where I thought she was headed… I didn’t dare turn and watch her walk away, but with a beet-red face practically ran to Piper’s room and furiously banged on her door.  When she opened the door, it only took one glance for her and her roommate to almost fall on the floor in laughter! 

I don’t know, but that is just the way that seems right to me.  In that and similar situations, I loved and respected my girlfriend and then my wife, too much than to let my eyes wander anywhere but where they are supposed to be… and thank you very much… but they were ALWAYS content to be on HER and her alone!

And like I said, although I believe that God has set some fairly strict guidelines for us to follow, I also believe that we have to interpret those standards accordingly.  Through the years, Piper and I saw many different standards held by some wonderful, Godly and giving Christians who love the Lord with all their hearts. 

I was raised Catholic and would not think it as unusual to see the priest smoking a cigarette after church or as he walked across the school playground on the way to the rectory.  My parents were very active in the church and school, and I attended many church organizational (Knights of Columbus, The Italian Catholic Federation etc) dinner events over the years with my parents as a kid and then later with Piper, where it was (and still is) quite normal for there to be a bar with alcoholic beverages.

It was also not unusual for Piper and I, as the Youth Ministers at the American Baptist Church that Piper grew up in, to be at a Parent’s of Youth dinner event at a nice restaurant when some of the parents had a glass of wine with their meal.  And on the opposite end of the spectrum, in later years, we were active in churches where any suggestion of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, or dancing (as at a wedding) were seen as nothing short of blasphemy!

The vast majority of the members of these churches were, as I said above, saved, wonderful, God-loving, give-you-the-shirt-off-their-back type of people who would be at your door in a moment’s notice in order to help someone out in time of need.

Our scripture encourages us to stay active in your study of the Word of God, and tells us, above all… “to guard the affections of your heart.”  From my experience, when we regularly do those two things, then the things that are wrong for us to do will lose their interest in our lives… and God’s right and wrong will begin to prevail in and through us.

Our responsibility is NOT to judge other’s behavior, but to seek His truth in his Word, be obedient to what the Word tells us and in doing so, we’ll guard the affections of our hearts.

Have a great new week, and as you do, stay active in His Word, guard the affections that you let into your life and keep EXPECTING His best for your life.