Have you ever heard anybody say "I do so-and-so because it's a personal conviction?" Hogwash.
Why would you suffer persecution or weird looks or whatever, just because you feel like it? Or better yet, "The Holy Spirit prompted me to do (XYZ)." ?? Does He have nothing better to do than convince each person to do a different thing, when He already inspired the Bible to tell us all what to do? If we all only did what we felt like, the world would be in chaos, and blaming Holy Spirit for it just isn't fair. He's been blamed for everything from marriage to divorce to church splits, and I don't think it's all His fault.
So what would be a good reason for doing a thing? I've already hinted at it - "for the Bible tells me so." If it's not in God's Word, it isn't worth fussing about. If if IS in there (and a lot of things are), then it applies to everybody. And I almost agree with R.C. Sproul on this one: there is only one right way to interpret a scripture. We can't disagree about what it says and both be right. I do believe there are oftentimes several complimentary meanings in one passage, but there cannot be contradictory ones.
So how does one know the proper meaning? Start with a basic understanding of English vocabulary and grammar. Read the King James, and take it at face value. Read the whole section, then go back and dissect it, then read it all together again to make sure you got it right. If you still need help, you can look up specific words in the original, read other versions (but be careful!), read commentaries, and consult church history (what was the generally accepted meaning up til the last 150 years).
Well, this post isn't going where I intended to take it!
Anyway, I say if you are going to have a conviction about something, it had better be based on truth. And if it's truth, have the courage to admit that it does apply to other people.
2 comments:
Oh, Olive! My mum used to sneak sultanas in & I'd have to pick every last one out. I still can't abide the disgusting things. (love mushies BTW)Ditz does it to mushrooms, onion, tomato ~ drives my mother crazy but just because she's a child doesn't mean she doesn't have her own likes & dislikes. I know about just eating what's put before you but I've never figured out why. If you don't eat it you do without. No big deal.
Ah, this showed up on the wrong post, but that's okay.
I am training myself to be less picky.
I don't force my children to eat anything, but I'm with you - eat it or don't. There isn't a 3rd option. Riah will eat what he doesn't like in order to get more of what he likes. Cedwryck will just quit. They are both well-built, so I don't worry about it either way. One thing you can be sure of; my children will EAT.
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