Quote:
Originally Posted by originalsecretplace
This strikes a nerve with me.
We had a Bible school in the church basement. I wanted to go and had talked to my daughter and asked her to go with me. My daughter was in her late teens and decided she didn't want to wear skirts all the time. My take on it was that it wasn't and heaven or hell issue and that my relationship with my daughter was more important so I did not make a big deal of it. I carefully pick my battles and weigh issues.
I was really happy that my daughter was going to go to Bible school with me for many reasons not the least of which was that she was going to have the Word of God taught to her more in depth. There's nothing more powerful than the Spirit and the Word working together to make deep spiritual changes in a person's life. We went to Bible School and the pastor said that all women had to abide by the dress standard of no pants. My daughter wouldn't go back because of it. I was crushed.
I thought instilling the Word in a person's life was more important because that is a heaven or hell issue and a way to come to maturity in Christ. Dress standards are just not a way to mature someone in the Lord.
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I like you think there is more to consider in a teens life. I agree with you..pick your battles… I have two girls who find it difficult to wear skirts all the time. I am not living w/same peer pressure they are in today's schools… I don’t think it is salvational issue… so when I found several years ago that my youngest changed her clothes when she got to school anyway (Thanks to most of her classmates being larger and handing down all their jeans) .. I sat down and explained it was worse for her to rebel against me.. I don’t want her hiding stuff from me… like you, my relationship with her is far more important… and I would never shun her from church..or allow a church to shut her out over pants. I would go somewhere else first.
I explained to her that God would never turn her away over a pair of pants…why should a church… and especially her mom. I explained until she sang in the adult choir, she could wear pants as long as they were modest. She sings in the youth choir from time to time… you don’t have to sign agreement for youth choir. I just keep her in church, in his presence and cultivate a walk with God.
One of my daughters has a lot of issues… emotional and otherwise… there are far too many things to be concerned with than a pair of pants.. I am more concerned about getting the basics of the Word of God in her… Then there is my oldest loves to stand out and loves to tell everyone about her God… she uses the attire to get others attention.. seriously.. and she gave a speech for her speech class where her first part of the speech was informing that nothing we can do can earn salvation… so her dress wasn’t part of her salvation…but then went on to talk about standards of life… including religion, career…. Right down to cops and uniforms on military… My hats off to her, but she is a totally different personality. She doesn't mind being different.
God made us all different and I wish that pastors and churches would figure out we all can’t be cookie cutter Christians.. and let people work out their own salvation on some things.
I think that we should be very careful who we shun or turn away because of a tradition of standards… the loss of souls is not worth it.
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