Tuesday, April 22, 2008

My Dad's Bigger Than Your Dad



Children are often full of themselves and like to taunt other children by pointing out something that they think makes them *better* than the other. That's for children and they should be taught otherwise, right???

This is called humility.

Humility keeps my foot out of my mouth, makes me generally approachable, and willing to help others. Humility is putting *SELF ON THE SHELF* and putting others first.

Among Anabaptist circles, most are raised to be humble and this is their trademark. For those who convert, learning genuine humility is a long, drawn out, sometimes painfully embarrassing process where the newby learns their opinions aren't required, and if your a woman, if it needs to be expressed in church, it will most likely come through your husband or privately to the Pastor or an Elder. Depending on your previous background, this can be difficult to process, and even harder to apply to real life. But don't dispair- it's worth the pain.
Even if your just a fan of Beverly Lewis, and find the Anabaptists charming...
http://www.beverlylewis.com/ME2/Sites/Default.asp
You too can learn something valuable here, and I'd hate for you to miss out on the opportunity.

I rarely hear those born-Mennonite boast about anything. They don't obscess about their clothing, or how they decorate thier homes.... they don't have *pop-culture* to associate trends with or compare and contrast every last detail of their life with.

I frequently hear *converts* obscess over *just how plain* they should be... and the tend to do a lot of chastising of anyone who thinks differently. (That's usually how I know they are a convert *wink*) I think that is sort of a carry-over from their life before.

Instead of walking confidently (Never pridefully..lol) and leading by example, they obcess. They become critical, and like children who compare what they have to what someone else doesn't, they began to loose their joy. Children who have to belittle others to feel good about themselves have what is referred to in my family as: *False Pride*. It's probably an old hillbilly term, but it means being proud of something you have no right to be proud of. You did something to make yourself look good at someone elses expence. Some people are constantly reminding others what the bible says about something..usually trying to make it fit the situation and straining it at that. They are trying to justify their choices. WHY???

Now, I love my convert friends. Many are becoming like family to me. And MOST are quite happy serving God either within their church, home-church, or mainstream church where they are somewhat of an oddity, but usually tolerated well. they don't spend time justifying, and they are very accepting of anyone who is make a general effort towards modesty.

But a few have decided that there are certain restraints that, although not clearly instructed in the Bible, should be adhered to in order to steer very clear of sin. Most of the issues revolve around womens fashion, (prints verses solids, veils verses snoods or caps, dress style, length etc..)

My question to the reader: Do you think that being PLAINER than someone else makes you holier and somehow more endeared to God? Or is being modest enough? What defines modest??
When are you modest enough?

No matter where you serve God, there will always be some other person or group who thinks they are holier than you and your church. Just ask the Amish. To them The Mennonites are walking a pretty thin line with all that electricity, and automobiles.

So where's your line?

4 comments:

Dawn said...

It is a lot harder for converts I think to get to that point of humility because they are coming from a selfish, chaotic background and like you said, they bring a little of that with them.
But they learn...even if it takes them away.
Serving the Lord is always a growing process.

I myself struggle with humility, but I notice I have gotten a lot better. I pray that God continues to help me be that meek and quiet soul like the Word says.
When I mess up which I do frequently, the Holy Spirit convicts me and I repent and get back up and try all over.
I think that's the fun part about serving God...lol.
He allows us to trip all over ourselves, yet He is always there to get us back on the narrow path.

I was just thinking about the prints vs. solids...the car to the buggy thing yesterday.
I understand that Anabaptist's want a form if unity, hence the reason they have some of the rules they do.
But on the other hand, one isn't going to crash the gates of hell wide open for having a silver car or a navy veil or a printed cape dress, know what I mean?

I wear black, white, navy and cream colored headcoverings and usually try to match the color with whatever dress I am wearing that day.
Someone told me that my various coverings may confuse people when they see me one day with a white covering and the next with a navy.
In other words, I should just stick to one color.
I can see that point, but also, I am not part of a church that practices headcovering, so I am free to cover with whatever I want.
I don't want to mold myself into someone I am not...just yet at least...lol.

All Christians, whether in skirts or pants needs to practice the art of humility.
We need to realize we are no better than anyone else.

God Bless!
Dawn

Unknown said...

Dawn,

I appreciate your thoughts so much Sister.

They DO strive for unity within the specific district. But if you disagree, then all one needs to do is move 5 miles (if your Amish) or just go to another church or worse; SPLIT and start your own church with your own criteria.

What started this thought for me (again) was a comment from a Catholic friend. She said the constant conflict and the church splits among the Protestants and Anabaptists are quite alarming to them. They may baptize babies, and do things we disagree with, but they don't micro-manage their congregants to the point of dissention. I had never thought of it from a Catholic perspective.

So to me, it's splitting hairs. But if you were raised to do as your told and not question authority, your not the problem. Lol.

I also see churched implimenting rules that aren't biblical. They are assumed and it breaks my heart that people can't be personally accountable.

Your colored coverings are not leading anyone astray. What they should notice is that your always covered. :-)

I am not PLAIN, I am just conservative and modest. So I mix it up and wear what I want. I don't think my dress is so distinctive that people wonder what denomination I am. They just don't think I am dressing to impress or attract the wrong kind of attention. Actually, I doubt anyone really thinks twice about what I wear. lol

When I see all the bickering about non-essensial stuff, I become disheartened, and not for me so much, because I am convinced how I dress is FINE with God. But I see people getting turned off not so much by modesty, but the obcession over miniscule details that stress them out. I have heard ARGUEMENTS over sandals, make-up in moderation, hair trimming on long hair, bangs, toenail polish, and most anything related to beauty on any level.

This is probably the biggest obstacle for me and the reason I have decided against going any plainer until we do join a church that says so. If the church has criteria, and I sign up- I would be so convinced that God want's me there that I wouldn't take issue with the small stuff. But if I am NOT a member, why are the members of various churches commenting on everyone else??? It makes my head spin.

Blessings,
Kel

Carla Raley said...

I love your observation that it's the converts that make such a big fuss - I had never thought of it that way! And I know I used to ALWAYS fall into that catagory, and still do at times.
What's my line? I've thought about that a lot lately since I read what you wrote. One thing I've learned is the busier I get, the less time I have to worry about who's wearing a cape dress, and who is going to what church!

Unknown said...

Carla,

I fell into that catagory too at one time. It's a part of myself that I write about...not so much finger-pointing...
But there ARE a lot of converts who just get hyper-zealous.

They say: THE PATH IS NARROW!!!
I know the the path is narrow... but it's not a miniscule creavice.

I also try to remember Gods burden is easy and His yoke is light to those who love Him.

I don't blog to make accusations against the Mennonites. I blog to make sense of what I can genuinely apply to MY life, and what other people can identify with. This is how I share Christ with others. I don't expect my family and friends to all become Mennonite... let alone plain.
But if I can provide scripture to them and let God take it from there... it is amazing how The Holy Spirit can quickly convert someones heart, where words from me can possibly inspire but more likely prick and bruise.

I used to think I wanted to be PLAIN to be a witness. Now I know I need to be a different person than I was before I knew Christ, and alter my appearance accordingly. Is that plain? Sometimes. Definately compared to modern America... but probably not plain by Mennonite standards.

It's so strange to me to think that the Pentecostals I grew up around would not be considered plain by most of the people we know.... when they were considered near fanatical by my parents and anyone who wasn't Pentecostal.
For the most part that hasn't changed. Our society sees anyone who has long hair, doesn't conform to societies standards of fashion, and dresses modestly as borderline fanatical if it's connected with a religious denomination.
But when you compare the Pentecostals to the Mennonites, you have issues like: Uniform dress, and the covering, distictions from society (beards, hats, suspenders etc..) double coverings and it just goes on and on! SUDDENLY, they ain't so modest and plain comparitively.
Then if you compare the Amish to the Mennonites,... you still will always have someone implying that their level of holiness isn't up to par.

Of course this has turned into a sub-blog. lol!

I am all for holiness... all for modesty... all for covering... and ALL FOR the Holy Spirit convicting each of us to serve God in unity, but also as individuals who most likely will minister to different types of people in thier lives based on their own testimony.:-)

I love you Carla for your own sense of honesty. Thank you for sharing your story with us all as it unfolds.

Love ya,
Kelly