LEANING ON A BROKEN CRUTCH: [James 3:13-17]
A few years ago a sixteen year-old told me he didn’t need God because he was “not that insecure.” What did he mean by that statement? He was implying, “You Christians only go to church and believe in a thing called God because you're insecure and need a crutch to get through life." Where do young people get ideas like this?
First, they see the way some of us live and see that the walk doesn’t agree with the talk, so we’re hypocrites in their mind. As a result, they want nothing to do with what we’re selling.
Second, they lack simple life-experience [aka: common-sense], which breeds selfishness and self-centeredness. As I age, and gain in experience, I’m amazed I survived my own youth.
Much of what we say as young people becomes a hardened belief as an adult. We hear things from others, whom we respect, and accept them as gospel without question. What we don’t know, at that age, is that much of what we hear is what others also heard and accepted without question. The young man I shared my faith with was himself guilty of hypocrisy; however, he lacked sufficient life-experience to discern it.
In repeating, as truth, something acquired from another, without personal knowledge of its truthfulness, we are guilty of using that person as a crutch in the same way Christians are accused of using God ... only we have personal knowledge of the Gospel’s truthfulness.
A few years ago a sixteen year-old told me he didn’t need God because he was “not that insecure.” What did he mean by that statement? He was implying, “You Christians only go to church and believe in a thing called God because you're insecure and need a crutch to get through life." Where do young people get ideas like this?
First, they see the way some of us live and see that the walk doesn’t agree with the talk, so we’re hypocrites in their mind. As a result, they want nothing to do with what we’re selling.
Second, they lack simple life-experience [aka: common-sense], which breeds selfishness and self-centeredness. As I age, and gain in experience, I’m amazed I survived my own youth.
Much of what we say as young people becomes a hardened belief as an adult. We hear things from others, whom we respect, and accept them as gospel without question. What we don’t know, at that age, is that much of what we hear is what others also heard and accepted without question. The young man I shared my faith with was himself guilty of hypocrisy; however, he lacked sufficient life-experience to discern it.
In repeating, as truth, something acquired from another, without personal knowledge of its truthfulness, we are guilty of using that person as a crutch in the same way Christians are accused of using God ... only we have personal knowledge of the Gospel’s truthfulness.
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