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- Den of Satan
In independant fundamental Baptist circles, actually admitting you have ever been inside a theatre to see a movie-any movie, including The Sound of Music (a perfectly wonderful film, by the way) and Left Behind (really, really, really bad. Awful, even.), in some extreme cases can earn you the label “Dangerous Liberal”. IFB’s in general shy away from such nicknames, and so in an effort to avoid being lumped in with Known Compromisers, my husband and I hold the conviction that being seen publicly in a movie theatre (possible translation: “Den of Satan”) can be viewed as A Bad Testimony: “What are they doing here?? Are they going to see that?? It’s rated PG-13! The pastor and his wife can’t see that!! Wait-whoa, Nelly-if they can see it, why can’t I?
So, I’m wondering, should the pastor and I steer clear of public libraries, too? I mean, dude, do you know what sort of stuff you can find in the library?? Oh my word! She is checking out “To Kill a Mockingbird”! There are Bowling Words in that book! And, there is some Real Big Rated-R Sin, too! What about museums? There’s nudity in museums! 3-D sculpted nakedness! Gack! Oh man-that means the beach is out too. And water parks. Bummer.
Music…there’s a whole other Can-O’-Worms. Don’t tell anyone, but I know (and by “know”, I mean I can start singing right now) virtually any country song written between 1940-2000. Test me, I dare you. I’ve also got a pretty thorough command of eighties pop music as well, and God help me, I am familiar with lots of contemporary Christian tunes (although, in my defense, my tastes lean more toward Phil Keaggy, Rich Mullins and the other pioneers of the genre. Most current CCM makes me itch.) In some IFB churches, all that’s grounds for a month on the Backslider’s Pew. In others churches, no one really cares. In still others, folks have no idea there is any other type of music than Southern Gospel which has been stamped, approved, and de-drummified by Pensacola Christian College.
Sigh…
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Oh no: it says "Grill & Bar" right there in green neon in front of God and everybody.
Where does one draw the line? And then, how does one walk that line? (Did y’all catch that super-smooth Johnny Cash reference?) There are alcoholic beverages in both restaurants and grocery stores-should I only eat out at Denny’s or Big Boy? (please, for the love of all that is holy, no.) Even those places play that Evil Worldly Music. And, some of the waitstaff is, well… Maybe we should just eat all of our meals at home.
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Clik here to view. - “Don’t look, Ethel! “
And, have you seen the stuff in the check out line at grocery stores? I mean, that Wal-Mart check-out line is not kid-friendly. Should I just have my groceries delivered? While I realize this is an odd problem (did you know people in the ministry actually ask themselves these sorts of questions?), there is something important about the public testimony and the protected private life of those in the ministry. It can often be a tight-rope walk to nowhere.
The first word, and in my opinion, the most important word, in “independant fundamental baptist” is Independant. I will answer solely to God for the stewardship of my life, as you will for yours. My walk with Christ belongs to just Jesus and I. You, dear reader, gotta walk your own walk. Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have Bible for that:
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12
(See that, you can understand the KJV.) God alone will judge my stewardship of the life He has given me. This singular accountability is a cornerstone of my faith: I am responsible for how I live, what I believe, what I know, what I don’t know, what I do, and what I don’t do. The amount of influence others have on me is my responsibility as well. I must determine if those influences bring me closer or draw me further away from God, and act accordingly. Conversely, I must make decisions considering the effect of those decisions on the lives of those over whom I might have an influence. There are weaker brothers out there, and part of loving Christ is strengthening them. Yup, I got Bible for that, too:
“But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idols temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye so sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.” -I Corinthans 8:9-12
As a pastor’s wife, there’s a spotlight of sorts on my visible walk with the Lord. Some people will pattern their own walk with Christ after mine to one degree or another, and that is a terrifying thing. On the other side of the coin is this equally terrifying thought: I don’t get to whine, “But, God, she did/saw/said/drank/ate/listened to that, so I thought I could, too! She’s saved, after all!”, and neither do you. We will each be judged only against the life of Jesus Christ the Righteous.
These standards of behavior we develop for ourselves are important because they are an outward expression of love to others. When we begin to use our standards as weapons of mass destruction against those whose standards are different from our own, we have missed the entire point of having standards in the first place. My personal standards should be motivated by a desire to a) grow closer to Christ, and b) help you do the same. That’s it. There’s no room in there for moral superiority, misplaced judgment, or arrogant “I-can’t-believe-you-let-your-kids…”.
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Walking with Jesus
And so, you won’t find us at the theatre, but you might see the pastor and I at a booth in an Applebee’s (dressed appropriately, of course). I won’t be at Tim McGraw’s concert, but you might hear me humming “Live Like You Were Dyin’” while I weed the garden. The tightrope we walk as Christians is necessary-it produces a well-disciplined balance.
You may not realize this, but someone is probably patterning their walk with God after yours. This ain’t how it’s supposed to be (we should be comparing ourselves to Christ alone), but it is human nature. Be very careful to walk in a way in which others can place their feet in your footprints and end up a getting little closer to the Lord.