What are you reading? What are you listening to? Who are you allowing to speak into your life? Is God’s Word the final say? Is God’s Word even a big enough part to warn against false teaching?
There is a philosophy going around that appears sweet on the outside, but has no basis in Truth.
An example might look like this: It is cleaning day and all hands are needed to bring the house back into order. Six year old Joey doesn’t “feel” like working so he pouts and scuffs his feet. Mom wraps her arm around him and acknowledges his feelings by whispering, “I know you don’t feel like working, I understand that, but we will have lunch when we are finished and it is going to be yummy.”
Or: There are friends over and the other children would like to go outside, but junior doesn’t like going outside so he gets a little whiney and demands his way. “Nooo, I don’t like going outside, I want to play a game in here!” Mom steps in and backs junior’s feelings to the other children, “Is there any chance you would want to stay in this time, junior is really not an outdoors kind of boy?”
Or more blatantly: Mom tells her little sweetheart to pick up her room and sweetie pie freaks out and cries and yells, “You think I am your slave, I like my room this way, you have no right to make me keep it how you like it.” Mom responds, “I can see this makes you feel angry, if we do this together, we can both feel good about what was done.”
Lastly: A child doesn’t feel like doing what Mom has asked, so she sneaks out when mom isn’t looking. Another adult that heard the request reminds child, “Your Mom wants you to stay in your room while she finishes something up.” “My mom doesn’t care if I come out of my room” the child snaps. Later, when the mom sees the child out of where they were told to stay, the mom again wraps her arm around the child and consoles, “Honey, I can see you didn’t like being in your room; it can be lonely in there can’t it? Let’s have you sit here instead, while I put together a snack for us.”
Who’s the boss here? The child. What is dictating obedience? Feelings. What’s the parent’s role? Acknowledging feelings and redirecting child to a happy place.
Where’s: “Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” Col. 3:20 And “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.” I Tim. 3:4
Where’s: “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”
Where’s: The verses about living by feelings in the Bible? There are none!
Where’s: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
This trying to keep children happy, while they express their feelings philosophy is a lie wrapped in a warm fuzzy wrapper.
Just because Momma is using a sweet voice and not becoming frustrated, doesn’t mean she is training her child in the way he should go. There is no training going on here, other than the child training the mother to bend to his every beck and call. Be aware of where your teaching is coming from and if it lines up with God’s Truth. Good sounding doesn’t make it good or sound.
II Corinthians 11:13 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
Start 2012 with a burning desire to walk in the Truth. Pray for discernment; measure every teaching against God’s Word, our guide against deception.