Shutting the door when we should leave that crack open!

Long time readers of this blog will know that I have struggled with the passage from Titus 2 in the New Testament. Everything about it I find challenging and a struggle.

Being a mom in general is full of challenges and struggles anyway and I think there is a special burden for Christian moms to carry out this vocation while remaining a true follower of Jesus Christ. Yet as we do so many times in our sisterhood of motherhood, we tend to pick each other apart over things like childbirth, breastfeeding, child spacing, birth control, homeschooling… the list is endless.

A trend I find disturbing in the Christian mom blogosphere are these posts that read something like:

Introduction: “I know (________________) (with or without bible verse support).” Followed by the big BUT clause: “However, (I’m doing (__________________)
the rationalization: “and here’s why.”
The warning: “Some of you are may disagree.”

Then a nicely worded paragraph about how basically the dissenters are being judgemental and then something about “this is what I think the Lord wants and if you don’t agree mind your own business. “

The comment section, in my recent experience is filled with “atta girl” responses. There may be possibly be one or two meek dissenters who will get promptly stampeded, but more often now I don’t even see that. I’ve sure seen enough get shouted down over the years (myself included) that most don’t even try (again, myself included! – see my side bar for some examples of why!)

Hey the blogosphere is a great big place and everyone is certainly free to put out their opinions however they see fit. But may I offer a suggestion? A post that follows the form I posted above is pretty much slamming the door on any opinion, word of wisdom, experience, guidance, differing viewpoint, or other opportunity that someone might be getting a nudge from the Holy Spirit to give!! Why? Because such a post gives the impression that there is not a teachable attitude/spirit there to receive it. It gives the feeling that to offer anything other than a “you go girl” type of response is going to be akin to purposely slamming your hand in the car door. And for most Christian mom’s it means having the big “J” word tattooed to your forehead. A fate worse than death in that part of the blogosphere.

And what an opportunity is missed! In life, it is sometimes hard to see how things will look five, ten or twenty years down the road. Someone who has actually been there might have a perspective or outlook that a younger person hasn’t even considered! Perhaps that’s what St. Paul had in mind when he wrote to Titus about the older women anyway. I don’t know. I do know that as more and more younger Christian women sing a chorus of, “I’ll Do it My Way” more and more Titus 2 women are willing to sit back and let them.

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