As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Reasons are the explanation for why you started holding a position or taking an action…. Rationalizations are facts, arguments, principles, etc., that you offer to justify a conclusion you have already reached.” - DBTS Blog
A few years back, in an editorial for the Kokomo Tribune, in a series about “social connectedness,” I mentioned what I call the “anonymous lifestyle.” Now I would like to use that concept as a jumping board for another issue: the “control obsession.”
The term ἀδιάφορα (adiaphora), literally, matters that are to be viewed with indifference or that make no difference, does not appear in the Christian Scriptures and does not feature significantly in Christian Theology until the Reformation era. The term does, however, predate the Christian period by several centuries, being well-established in Greek philosophy/ethics. For instance,
“If we read all of Daniel, we note how powerful, awesome, and dangerous the kingdoms of men are. It’s no wonder that, while working in DC, I felt the oxygen sucked out of my chest when I passed a standing president in the doorway. But Daniel calls us to be captivated by something even more awesome” - TGC
“As Christians, how can we learn to disagree well, especially with other Christians? In 1970, Francis Schaeffer, one of the most astute apologists of the 20th century, published The Mark of the Christian.” - TGC
“Corrie Ten Boom wrote, ‘When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.’” - Randy Alcorn
“Consider 12 ways to improve your listening and make others feel heard. (My advice: Pick one or two to apply in your next interaction. Once you’ve done that, return to this article and pick another one or two to add.)” - TGC
“Am I … determined to please Him in everything I do, or am I about my own profit, seeking to game the system to my best ability so that I can get what I want within the rules?” - Kevin Schaal
“As a mother myself, my appreciation for what the lifetime job of being a mother entails is profound. What our mothers do for us starts before we are even fully formed….I find as I get older that I never stop needing my mother.” - IFWE
“It’s one thing to describe doubting, questioning and, ultimately, shifting faith commitments as ‘deconstruction.’ It’s another to prescribe it as the means of coming to terms with Christianity’s unpopular truth claims or the baggage of a Christian upbringing.” - Breakpoint
Discussion