The Temple

2 Corinthians 6

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”

17 Therefore,

“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”

18 And,

“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”[d]

2 Corinthians 7

1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Our pastor preached on this passage a year or so ago. I promptly went home and told my girls that we would be memorizing these verses. I was so struck by the import of these words. "For we are the temple of the living God." Wow! My heart was full for my girls to understand that thought.

The world is out to convince them otherwise. "Your body is your own." "You are supposed to look, act, be a certain way." "You aren't good enough.". The media, their friends, all the world screams at them. But God has declared, in a quiet voice, yet in a loud roar, "You are mine! You are my dwelling place!" Oh for them to hear that, and to know it with a knowing that is deeper than any hurt or fear or question. The Word of God is, indeed, living and active, it never returns void. So, rather than try to convince them myself, I determined to let Him plant it firmly in their hearts.

That doesn't let me off the hook, though. I still have an obligation. It's that Deuteronomy thing again. Teach them as you sit at home, as you walk along the way, when you get up and when you lie down. So, how do I teach them to honor the Lord's temple? How do I protect them from all the world throws at them? How, as they are becoming young women, do I teach them to protect themselves? It is a battle I face daily, one they face daily, and will all their lives.

Outward beauty is a huge deal for girls. And it is a fragile thing, a tightrope of too much, too little. To dwell on it too much breeds discontent and vanity. But isn't it ok to encourage a girl to look her best? To revel in being a girl? I say yes. Back to the temple...God had specific instructions regarding the appearance of the temple and its care. He was not pleased when it was not treated properly. I believe he wants us to look our best. But we are not to worship the temple.

There is a clothing line I have recently discovered called Nation's Outfitters. They are a Christian company, and I love their motto: "It's what you do in your clothes that makes you beautiful." What a great thought! You can dress up all you want, but if the girl inside doesn't reflect the beauty of the Lord, it's all emptiness. Sometimes they are "beautiful" in old jeans and a sweatshirt. Sometimes they are beautiful in a dress and heels and earrings.

The hardest part, for me, of navigating this whole issue, is helping them find modest, yet pretty, clothes. Have you been in the mall lately? We have some pretty strict rules around here. Stricter than most. They aren't just dressing themselves, they are adorning the temple. I have felt blessed, though, to have never faced an argument with either girl about our rules. Maybe an "Are you sure?" a few times, but nothing more. I hope that is because our "rules" are not just rules for them, but their own convictions. That is the goal, for them to take ownership of their own temple.

Deuteronomy 6

"These commands that I give you today are to be on your heart. Impress them on your children."

This verse has been the guiding principle of my life as a mother since before my girls were born. It is also the hardest thing I have ever done. What I have discovered, along the way, is that "impressing" on my children has little to do with what I say. It has everything to do with what I do. And so, in order to impress God's Word on my children's lives, I have had to allow God to impress his Word on my life. Ouch. It has been, and still is, an ongoing process.

The "do as I say, not as I do" mentality has led to the culture we now live in. Children don't buy that. Just look at the thousands of adults who grew up in church, only to leave it the minute they were out from under their parents' authority. Why? Because mom and dad's behavior-what they did-never matched up to what they said they believed.

It is easy to say "be kind to others". It's not so easy to be polite to the girl at the checkout counter who messes up my order three times on a day I am in a hurry. It is easy to say "don't talk about your friends", but it's not so easy to hold my tongue when I don't agree with how someone else does something. It is easy to make a rule, choose a standard, draw a line. It is hard to keep that rule in place, remain true to the standard, stay on the right side of the line. I don't mean that I can never change my mind. Sometimes I am wrong. Sometimes circumstances change. Sometimes they outgrow my rules. There are, however, rules and standards that don't change, shouldn't change. If my rules and standards become situational, they become void. They mean nothing.

And so, I have come to realize that parenting according to Godly standards means living according to Godly standards. There is no room for compromise. There are no days off. On October 18, 1995 I became a mother. I will be a mother every day for the rest of my life. I will be "on duty" full time every day until Banana leaves home to start her own home. This is hard stuff.

Hello Again

I have not blogged in one year. I have thought about it, I just haven't done anything about it. I have felt guilty about leaving my little blog alone and forgotten. But I have just been lazy. Couldn't think of anything worth saying, or didn't want to put forth the effort to say it. And, I confess, I have let Facebook suck up too much of my time.

But I think I might return to the blogging world. There are a lot of things floating around in my head that I might need to say. I will let you know...those of you who are interested. If nothing else, I might do it for myself.