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Theology, in Christianity, the systematic study of the nature of God and God's relationship with humanity and with the world. Although other religions may be said to have theologies, this is a matter of controversy within, for instance, Judaism, which holds that God is unknowable. This forum will therefore confine itself to Christian...more »

Discussions: Why Do So Many Christians Talk About Family Values But Don't Live Them?

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Why Do So Many Christians Talk About Family Values But Don't Live Them?
Started by dtbrents, Thursday, July 10 2008. Last post Saturday, July 19 2008.

A lot of Christians talk about family values but their lives don't look any different than none Christian families. What do you think we are doing wrong?
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msomaji - Thursday, July 10 2008
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We Christians talk about all kinds of things that we don't live by. That is because we don't have our priorities straight. The Lord should always come first, then our families, our fellow-believers and only then our activities (including church related activities) and all the others things that we worry about.
Our neighbours and non-christian relatives notice that we are different, but that doesn't always make them jealous unfortunately.
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Karen P - Friday, July 11 2008
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Talk is easier than the walk. Maybe it eases the conscience to sound spiritual even if there is evidence to the contrary. Or maybe it is that we speed through life with very little reflection time. If we cram enough things into our schedule we do not have time to think. That is why God commands times of stillness before Him. The clock stops, the radio is off, the TV is off so that the noise that drowns out the Holy Spirit's still small voice can be heard. All we have to do to get an idea of how our talk matches our walk is to look at our check book, our date book, our friends we hold closest.....
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Karen P - Friday, July 11 2008
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this post has been removed
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Willard P - Friday, July 11 2008
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"This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." — Jesus Christ.
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Karen P - Saturday, July 12 2008
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So true...our hearts are decietfully wicked. We can think we are spiritual and be so far from it.
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NeighborhoodExpert - Monday, July 14 2008
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Amen, and amen. Priorities for sure. I think the divorce rate is so high because we don't place our spouse in higher priority than ourselves (of which I am guilty myself!) And nothing else falls into place right if Jesus isn't truly placed first in our lives. It is so easy for self to take over. And activities. One of my favorite sayings is, "If the Devil can't make you bad, he will make you busy!"
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Karen P - Tuesday, July 15 2008
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Isn't that the truth. He makes us think that our endless activity makes us spiritual but it can be empty if we neglect the most important priorities...Relationship to Christ, our mate, our kids....
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Doris T - Tuesday, July 15 2008
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I think that people read the lives of others, rather than the Word. They are taught by what they see to say one thing but do another.

It is a shame because they are missing out on so much. But it takes someone to live a life of absolute worship before them for them to realize this.
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Karen P - Thursday, July 17 2008
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That is a big responsibility.
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uplandpoet - Friday, July 18 2008
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Christians and non Christians, and even non religious folks, tend to have very strong family values, in fact, i think a sense of protecting and caring for your family is a core value of almost all humans, but also, selfish desire is a trait common to all of us. It leads us down dark alleys of our souls and we all pretty much struggle to put the interests of those who need us with the desires of self gratification, be it sex, drugs, dishonesty or whatever. Faith can be a great tool to help keep one focused on what is important. But it can also be a fig leaf to hide behind when we fall to our baser nature. And it certainly does not make one any less human. Christians, and others of faith will fail to do what is right from time to time. One grows in this life, not by beingg perfect, but by how one deals with ones failings. That is not to say one continues to make wrong choices and then runs to church and prays for forogiveness and then turns around and falls back intot he same selfish behavior before the church door closes behind us:) Whether throuh the race of god or simply through a path of enlihtenment and self improvement, becoming a better person is not as simple as the "romans road to faith." Our faith should be a staff to lean on whe we are tempted to think only of ourselves, but a staff is of no use unless one takes it firmly in the hand and walks with it....
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dtbrents - Saturday, July 19 2008
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We all make mistakes, it is how we deal with our mistakes that should make the difference. Here in Russellville a young man was worried about his girlfriend. He decided to check her apartment.He found her dead. He panicked instead of calling the police he got his mother and a friend and his mother called the police. This cost him dearly. He was arrested, the lawyers were very expensive, his reputation and future are ruined. He was found not guilty but most people thinks he is guilty. If he had made the right choice he would not have been arrested.

As Christians we need to be making right choices. We need to pray about things and let the Holy Spirit guide us. We need to have a teachable spirit. Be willing to learn the things of God. We should each strive each day to be a better person. We may have failed yesterday but we don't have to fail today.
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