Mission of Motherhood, Chapter Two - Jul. 15, 2005
Questions 3
Col 2:8 See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men's ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).
What are some of the philosophies of man concerning family that have taken people captive today?
What are the results of these deceptions?
In what ways have you been influenced by cultural expectations that conflict with God's design?
What impact has this had on your family?
Ok, have gotten totally bogged down in these final questions. I am not going to try to answer them one by one but just try a ten minute free write to answer them as a whole. I had an answer for this but then I realize that I wasn't answering honestly for myself. I was giving a picture of culture but I am not wrapped up in those philosophies but I do have my own philosophies that are holding my captive. What are the philosophies concerning families that are effecting me . . . deceptions ... what are the deceptions of family that I have been holding too .. . I know that there are some. I believed the I could create a godly family. I believed that our family had to look a certain way, do certain things, don't do other things, don't fail, etc. That is the family that I tried to create . . . sort of the Christian Stepford family. It was an idol for me. My identity was wrapped up in the performance of my family . . . was I good enough? Were my children good enough? Was my marriage good enough? When it would shake and quake, I would tremble in terror . . .fearful of the looming disaster. There was no solid rock. There was no foundation. I was building it all on the foundation of my own pride, my own perceived needs, my own fears. Instead of letting us be real, dependent on God, committed to Jesus, wondering in His grace, follows of Christ ... What was the impact? We were all insecure. Insecure of our status with God, with each other. None of us felt accepted or loved. We all fought to hold onto our own position ... selfishness being our motivation. We were fearful .. . fear motivated the parents. Fear motivated the children.
We are coming out of the twisted phase, the warped philosophy. We are being healed and restored to God and to each other.
-- Cynthia
