Tip of the Week: Consider Laying Your Badges Down

I’ve been thinking about what it was like when we were home schooling our children back in the 90’s.   Back then, distinctions beyond simply being part of a group that had decided to teach their children at home began to emerge.  In other words, sub-groups began forming. Members or advocates of these groups would say things like,

“We don’t have a TV.”

“We don’t have a youth group in our church.”

“ We only do homebirths.”

“We grow our own food.”

“We let God choose the number of children we have.”

“Our kids don’t date, they ‘court.’”

Part of me, when I heard these things (even though I tried some of them), felt like moving in the opposite direction and responding with,

“Really, I binge watch TV (or in today’s world that would be Netflix or Amazon).”

“The adults are so busy in our church that the youth started their own youth group and they like it that way.”

“I love the way the hospital helps with the birth process and uses the latest technology.”

You get the picture.  And, maybe you’re a little bit like me.

The issues, while likely different, that many of us wrestle with is the tendency to make things like the above, whichever side you find yourself on (if there is such a thing as only two sides), badges of distinction. Distinctions which if carried to extremes, breed attitudes of superiority. And attitudes of superiority often lead to separation.

So what do I suggest? Lay your badges down. Resist the draw to be defined by them. This might need to be a daily activity- it is for me. But once it’s done, you won’t have to live up to the badge’s lofty demands. With the pressure off, you’ll have more time to truly notice who God has put into your life, and be able to look to their interests and needs.  Just a thought.

But first, you’ll need to lay your badges down. That’s the tip of the week!

Curt Bumcrot, MRE