I love my mother. She is the godliest woman I have ever known. I am a blessed man to have her still in my life. I have NEVER heard her say certain words (vulgarity or curses) and she WILL NOT lie. She says a lot of things that I think are funny. I remember as a child hearing her talk about certain products that she didn’t like. She would say “That stuff ain’t worth packing home!” or “That stuff ain’t worth two cents!”
When she hears of someone doing something really crazy, she will say “Now, why would someone do something so silly/crazy”? “Don’t they have any common sense?”
In fact, she and I have had this very conversation. We are amazed sometimes about how many absent minded people there are in the world.
We think there are certain things that everyone should know, or what we ALL call; “Common Sense.”
The sad thing is that these days, you have to tell people what “Common Sense” is.
That’s why on many of today’s household products, the manufacturers place warning labels on them. It’s even funnier when the warning’s are pretty obvious.
I read this on the back of a shampoo bottle; “Wet hair, lather, rinse.” It’s because somebody applied shampoo on their dry hair, didn’t rinse it out and walked out the door with clumped up shampoo on their hair!
How about on a blow dryer tag; “Do not use in water.” It’s because some one said to themselves, “I’ll blow dry my hair while I shower!”
On “Preparation H”- “Use only as directed”. I bet somebody put it on a cracker and maybe their mouth shrunk. Haha.
We have all heard that “crime doesn’t pay.” Well, did you hear about the bank robber who donned a mask and went into a bank and handed the “This Is A Stick-Up” note written on the back of HIS deposit slip with HIS name, address and phone number on it? He was caught, by the way.
Common Sense?! It is the lack of!
See, you have to tell people what “Common Sense” is!
Often times we believe that in our Christian walk there are things that are “common sense.”
My granny; Audrey was talking about her wearing pants to a concert where my brother was singing. See, I was raised that women NOT wear pants to church under NO circumstances. I remember when a lady would come to our church wearing pants, some church members would get upset. Did she “rebel” against our “Rules”, or did she just not KNOW what our church’s stance on it was? Maybe she didn’t know. We thought it was “common sense”!
How about when an un-saved person comes to our church. They are hearing words like “saved”, “communion”, “baptized”, “redemption” or seeing us raise our hands or pray at the altar. To them it may be foreign.
I am not saying that we should “water down” the gospel. NOT AT ALL! TOO many churches are not preaching Hell, or that the blood of Christ is the only thing that can cleanse us of our sins. We should NOT keep our services on a elementary level, but I do feel we all need to be more “seeker sensitive” and not treat everyone like these words should be”common sense”.
Our job is to gently lead them to a true knowledge of God’s love and His word.
2 Timothy 2
15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap.For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
Be gentle with those who are un-churched or those who recently have come to know Christ.
My Dad used to work in a saw mill and when he trained new people, he didn’t turn them loose on the band-saw the day after they were hired. But sometimes when a person comes to Christ, we send them out to “fend for themselves”. I applaud churches who have an ongoing program for new coverts. Showing, advising and mentoring them in their infant stage of walking with Christ.
If your church doesn’t have a mentoring program or small groups, YOU can allow yourself to become a same sex mentor to a young Christian. Chose a bible translation that is accurate but will allow them to understand what they are reading. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”, to a question that is asked. Together you can find the answer and you both can grow in your walk.
I know what “Common Sense” is, Now, if I can just figure out why my orange juice jug says “concentrate” on it. (I stared at it for an 2 hours last night and nothing happened.)
Be blessed.
Bryan
vbryanhutson
