Life can be a labyrinth sometimes, booby-trapped and foggy, with dark and lonely dead-end places waiting behind corners, where false turns lead to trouble, wasted time, and regret. We have the directions, of course, in God’s word. We even have a guide, the Holy Spirit. But all around us people are calling over their shoulders in the thick mist, “Hey, I’ve read the directions, and we need to go this way! Run straight ahead for ten steps and then turn sharply to your left.” The strong, confident voices, shouting out directions with eloquence and aplomb, can gather droves of stampeding followers. And a movement is born. Patriarchy. Homeschooling. Home/natural birthing. Courtship. House church. Sheltering. Modesty. Quiver-full. “I’ve read the directions, and we need to go this way.” I’ve said it myself. You can read it in my archives. And while there is absolutely a place for sharing our beliefs and convictions, we must never forget that a movement is not a messiah, and stampedes can lead you right over a cliff.
The danger comes when people place all their hope in movements, as if following them will necessarily result in the Lord’s blessing. We think we’re in a bargain with God. “OK, God, I’ll do the modesty thing, give my daughters purity rings, and buy homemaking units from Christian Light. I expect you’ll have flawless husbands lined up by my girls’ twenty-first birthdays. (Definitely not those real guys who sin and make mistakes and call weddings off or don’t even propose.)” And we get really excited about our bargains with God, smug even. “I’ve found the secret. No more trouble for me and my family. We’re in the inner circle now. Yessirree.” We don’t notice that an idol has slipped in, that we’ve put our faith in something else, that now that we have the formula, we don’t really need God, except at the end of each little project, when He’s supposed to reward us with the blessings we so richly deserve. Peace. Security. Health. Happiness. Well-behaved, godly children who love to pass out tracts, start home businesses, and marry young.
Sometimes the movement becomes a litmus test. “The So-and-so’s say they’re Christians, but” (and here the eyebrows rise knowingly) “they send their kids to public school.” We love them just a little less. We’re disappointed. We label them with the ultimate movement junkie insult, not likeminded, and go on to better friends, friends who are “godly” enough to do all the same things we’re doing.
But then one day, something dreadful happens. Someone’s life gets messed up (maybe it’s even your life that didn’t turn out as advertised). The movement failed to protect us from sin and human frailty. People who practice courtship can wind up getting their hearts broken. I’ve seen it. People who give control of their wombs to the Lord can wind up facing serious health problems. I’ve seen it. People who grow up in large, “perfect” homeshool families can wind up not even saved. I’ve seen that one, too. And these “failures” can be devastating. They can lead to crises of faith, anger at God, and ditching the movement that let us down. We may even become outspoken antimovement evangelists, warning others away from such pernicious programs and dissociating ourselves from everything that reminds us of the movement we left. You may give up patriarchy after your patriarchal father destroyed your family with an affair, and in the process toss out modesty and homeschooling just because they remind you of the people who wrecked your life.
We would be spared a lot of pain if we remembered that a movement is exactly that, a movement, motion in a direction. A movement is not a destination. The destination needs to be God, knowing Him, serving Him, becoming like Him. The destination is the point, not the directional motion. When the directional motion becomes the point, we can take things to extremes. We may need to drive west to get to Chicago, but once we become enamored with westward motion, we run the risk of blowing right on by and ending up in the Pacific ocean. We need to constantly reevaluate where we stand relative to God’s perfection. And the appropriate direction to move is always towards godliness, which may or may not be deeper in to the movement du jour, just as someone in Detroit needs to go west to Chicago, but someone in Seattle has to go a long way east. Take the Quiver-full movement for example. Someone who thinks that children are little life-disrupting leaches to be avoided at all costs probably needs to move in a Quiver-full direction in order to understand the heart of God towards little ones. But someone who has made the Quiver-full movement the point, who views family size as a measuring stick of relative godliness and looks down on people with lower fertility, probably needs to move away from the movement as an idol and refocus on the Lord.
We may do all the same things that people in movements are doing (and in fact, all the examples of movements that I used in the first paragraph were things that my family is actually living out right now because we genuinely believe they are beneficial directions for us to go in), but we need to do everything, not simply for its own sake, but because when we look at the Lord and where we fall short, we see that moving in these directions brings us closer to walking in His ways. It is drawing close to Him that brings peace, security, and happiness. When He is our delight, we are able to weather the storms of sin and human frailty. The point is His glory. He is our Messiah. No movement can ever take His place.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Well said. I’m with you 100%.
I think (continuing our previous discussion) that I’m with you on the unnecessary baggage of labels like “feminism” or “patriarchy” in many contexts, but even once those terms are taken out of the mix, I find that my fundamental beliefs about the shameful treatment of women in society and the (historically, for sure) church remain about the same.
I still can’t find any good reason why the church turns such a blind eye to the mistreatment of women. And, I find it pretty scary that the answer I usually get from the far right is that if women are being treated badly, it’s because they deserve it. Because they are selfish, because they are trying to usurp man’s place, because they are immodest, because they are unsubmissive.
That worries me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
A slap in the face never felt so right! Thanks for this
Many Blessings
Ace
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Amen and amen! So many need to hear this. I need to hear this. May knowing, loving, serving, and obeying HIM be our passion. Nothing should ever come before! What an encourager you are!
In Him,
Kim
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Yes, yes, yes.
Loved this:
“a movement is exactly that, a movement, motion in a direction. A movement is not a destination. The destination needs to be God, knowing Him, serving Him, becoming like Him.”
Julie
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:45 pm
EXCELLENT post…thank you so much for writing this, it was a good reminder! I too loved the part about how the “destination needs to be God, knowing Him, serving Him, becoming like Him.” So true…
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Dear Mrs P,I think a lot of the movements have come about because they needed to. Yes we need homeschooling and christian schools because public school is not the best place to have your kids right now(IMO).The quiverfull reminded us that children are a blessing and motherhood is an admirable job.Yes christian kids fall away but is that a mistake of misguided parenting(over zealous etc), the environment or just those kids, who knows.I tend to be a pragmatist- what actually works?We can never be too sure because fruits take a long time to produce sometimes.Our main call is the great commission, I belive that we are to help and save the lost and the best things we can do as christians is look at our lives and try and reflect Christ in it.Of course we can’t be perfect but we can do the best we can- is that too work based?And we can also try to do things that won’t offend or lead our non-christian brothers/sisters into their old ways- is that too much to ask?What you wrote has really got me thinking because so many christians seem to be going towards a ‘Grace’ only personal conviction slant to their christianity but I still believe we have to do our bit, not because I’m a reconstrictionist but because I’m a christian- however what is a reasonable line in the sand and because people are trying to be perfect christians there is now a huge backlash occuring, people are throwing the baby out with the bath water yet again.Fom Linda.
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 am
This is great! Thank you! I’m posting this link from my blog, if you don’t mind…
~K~
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 am
I agree. However, if what we may term a ‘movement’ is actually a biblical mandate – than it is truth and not to be compromised. ie – 1. when early Anabaptists rose up against infant baptism in favor of believer’s baptism. 2. there seems to be a move among today’s Christian women to return to the practice of head veiling. May we have clear discernment from the Spirit in the direction we take our lives – always striving for holiness and Christ-likeness. Love your blog!
December 4th, 2009 at 12:52 am
You know….while I realize the entire premise of this argument is based on religious principles, it holds water from a completely secular viewpoint, too.
“The danger comes when people place all their hope in movements, as if following them will necessarily result in [the desired result].”
And as Kathy above says, feminism (with its many definitions) is one great example.
It can also be applied to education goals. My own family is committed to raising our kids as bilingually as possible. We have largely succeeded with our oldest, but lately, I am realizing that pushing my daughter in a direction in which she is not inclined to go might not be in her best long-term interests. And I have to ask myself, what is really best for our child? Why are we going in this particular direction?
It’s a great question to stop and ask, about everything.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:01 am
I’ve fallen into this trap myself. I thought courting would protect me. That I would not be getting one of those “real guys who sin and make mistakes and call weddings off or don’t even propose.” But after three years the wedding was called off, and I was left with a broken heart, wondering why I wasn’t protected after doing it “the right way.” Thanks for this post. I only hope I can stay away from this error in the future.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Yeah.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
It boils down to trust. WHAT are we placing our TRUST in? If it truly is a movement, even a Biblically based idea that somehow became popular and now has become a “Nehustan” (as the Isrealites made the bronze serpent into) then, we have lost the Lord Jesus Christ AND his Word. We, as humans, want to cling to something tangible. We want to feel safe and secure. There’s nothing wrong with those things, but God has given us those needs so that HE can fill them. I am speaking about a very fine line that only the heart knows when it has crossed. Outwardly, it all looks the same. It’s all too easy to find comfort in a group of people who claim to have it all together. I personally respect the parents who (in faith) send their children to public schools and have smallish families. I know this may sound crazy coming from a mom of a big family who homeschools, but why should I question the workings of God in their lives? (And yes, there WAS a time when I would have judged) But I am so thankful GOD has released me from this (bizarre internal obligation) to make a judgement call on something so external. Now I simply ask: What’s going on in their hearts? What is their relationship with Christ like? Can I encourage them in the things that are explicitly mentioned as Christian “fruits of the spirit” such as: goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, love, joy, peace,? Do they LOVE The WORD of God more than anything else? Because if they do, all insights in every area of life, big and small, will be under the LORDship of Christ. And that will be a beautiful thing. Amen?
December 4th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
That was the best essay I have ever read on this subject. Excellent.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Thank you so much. Another good reminder for us all. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all like rules. The Pharisees did, Christians do, everyone does. Even if we say we don’t like rules, all that usually means is that the rules we are following, are rules that are not widely accepted by the general population. Since we are “wired that way”, so to speak, it’s easy to become more bound up with the rules than anything else. I tell my girls all the time that the action is secondary to the “heart-attitude” behind it.
December 5th, 2009 at 7:50 am
thank you for this post. It’s exactly what the Lord has been showing me lately.
December 5th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Thank you, very well said. What I enjoy so much about your posts is that you are able to put into words what is in so many of our hearts…now WE can verbalize our thoughts better because of what YOU write. What a blessing you are.
December 5th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Wonderfully put! And such a valuable reminder for all of us.
December 6th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Yes! Just what God has been dealing with me as of late…you just verbalized it beautifully. Thank you friend!
December 7th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Well stated! It was just yesterday that my pastor was talking about the parable of the sower and the seeds. I realize it is talking about salvation, however, your post reminds me of the seed that is sown on the rocks.
When we jump on a bandwagon (movement) just because it “sounds good” we haven’t sought to establish a root – we haven’t sought out God’s will. Eventually, when the movement gets too hard or disappointing we run for the exit.
This post is a great way to express the need to examine ourselves and our choices closely.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Thank you for this. It is a much needed encouragement for many in the church today.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:43 am
Wonderful post! I’m adding a link to this on my Large Family Living section!
Amy