There has been a lot happening in our home recently. Much of it has pushed me and my darling husband into a time of seeking the Lord in a way we have never done as a couple. November was a month that has changed us both deeply, and for the better. Perhaps our biggest lesson has been about how we, as a couple, guard our home.
Through a spiritual trial that effected our 6 month old son we realised just how easy it is to let our guard slip, and let the world (and the enemy) slowly take over our home. Through a long series of events during our first two years living in the same home we had let our guard down. The cable TV had been connected, our DVD collection, while mostly classics, contained many films that we should not be watching (just the use of blasphemy alone, even once, whittled down our collection by over 70%), books, music CD's and even vacation souvenirs all had brought the world into our home.
With a lot of prayer and humility we went through our home and cleansed it of all the items we knew we should not have. Some required some research to find out if they had pagan origins, and therefore wrong spiritual influence. The enemy is a legalist, and anything we freely bring into our home with ungodly associations give him ground to enter too. So we tossed the souvenir lei from our vacation to Hawaii last year. That was all the easy part.
Now comes the more difficult task of keeping our home guarded. As the festive season approaches there is a lot of temptation to bring back in many items that have pagan origins and ungodly influences. The most obvious for us was the Christmas tree. We will now be a tree free home in December. I've kept some of the tree decorations and arranged them in bowls to decorate our table instead. Yet there are so many parts of the Christmas celebrations that have pagan origins it is difficult to know what to keep and what to eliminate. Yet it is worth the effort to figure this out for our family.
I know many will think we are being extreme in some of the choices we make as we walk this path. I freely acknowledge that this is extreme compared to most, and certainly compared to everyone around us. It may not be the path the Lord leads others down, but it is the path to which He has led us. Rob and I are still processing what it means for us as a couple, and us as a family. Yet always we keep in mind why we are doing this. Our wonderful, precious 6 month old son is totally dependent on us for everything, including his spiritual well-being (for now.) He is a gift from the Lord, for us to take care of. It will be years before he is old enough to understand he is a sinner, and that he needs saved from the punishment of his sins. Until he reaches that point we have to guard him from ungodly influences and keep his heart tender to respond to the Holy Spirit.
It won't be easy. There are no guarantees either. Yet with prayer and vigilance we will be doing everything we possibly can to make sure our precious baby never has to go through a month like last month ever again.
That's brave of you to be so honest knowing how other people may view what you've said but at the end of the day - you answer to God alone and I know He'll bless you for striving to keep your lives pure. God bless.
ReplyDeleteEvery post I read of yours, I'm even gladder I came across your blog! :) We have eliminated most of the "standard" Christmas celebration due to the pagan origins -- after all the Bible says nothing about celebrating Christmas, and it's our opinion that if Christians were meant to celebrate the birth, God would have told us to through His scripture. In fact, the early church emphasized Christ's death and resurrection, not his birth. So, we've decided to eliminate much of the Christmas tradition in our house (although we don't disallow the grandparents/aunts/uncles to give presents to Victoria). We still make cookies, look at pretty lights, sing hymns, and make lots of great food so that it's a wonderful family get-together. Which is more important than any package anyway right? :)
ReplyDeleteKeep on praying and seeking God's wisdom.