Here is a collection of good reads gathered from across the internet this past week. Enjoy!
On gossip: Gossip Says More About Me by Stephen Witmer
But gossip offers what it can’t deliver. When gossip says, “You’re interesting,” or, “You belong,” it’s lying. To people who thrive on gossip, you’re only interesting as long as your gossip is interesting. When we use gossip to gain access into a community (a church, a workplace, a friendship circle), our words tear apart the very community we want to join. (click here to read more)
Two on parenting:
Give It All, Just Not for Your Kids by Emily Jensen
Doesn’t this type of parental sacrifice seem rational? Because we love our children, we should also give it all for them, right? This is certainly a popular idea in our culture as evidenced by our social norms. Our children’s birthdays and holidays abound with monumental traditions and heaps of presents. They are rarely without entertainment, activity, socialization, and internet-capable devices. We think our children are deserving of only the finest athletic and academic training. They take our sleep at will, our nerves over time, our public acclaim in an instant, and our rational minds when we’re not looking. But we don’t notice, because we’re busy handing out donuts. We’re just doing our best to give it all for their sake.
The thing is, Jesus doesn’t tell us to give it all for our children. In fact, he wants just the opposite. He says that we are to give it all to him, and hate everyone else in comparison to how much we love and treasure him (Luke 14:26). (click here to read more)
Learn to Stop Yelling at Your Kids by Brook Wayne
However, the atmosphere yelling creates can break a child’s spirit. It wears on a body to be spoken to harshly and in an unduly loud voice. As soon as Mom or Dad’s voice goes up, a child’s defenses go up as well. Yelling does the exact opposite of what a Christian parent wants to see happen in her child. Instead of drawing that child closer to seeing the issue at hand, they are pushed away from receiving your word. (click here to read more)
On reading the Old Testament: 4 Practical Guidelines for Reading Old Testament Stories by George Guthrie
In the Old Testament stories, God is the ultimate hero, not any human being. God is the one working out the salvation of his people. Seeing him as the ultimate hero gives us an important frame of reference for reading the Old Testament stories. (click here to read more)
And finally, some wisdom on marriage… (from the desiringgod.org instagram feed)
First Baptist Church 