“I just don’t understand these parents.”
A pastor friend of mine was frustrated.
“Church Summer Camp is one of the most important spiritual experiences kids can have but some of our parents won’t send their kids because ‘It’s too expensive’. But I know these same parents never have a problem coming up with 3 times that amount for band camps and uniforms, little league expenses, dance recital costumes and any other expense for a school activity.”
Obviously the problem isn’t finances. It’s priorities.
I had a similar frustration when I was principal of a K-12 grade school. Often, when a child would get into junior high, some of the most vulnerable and volatile years of their entire lives, a parent would tell me they were putting their child in public school so they could play football. Really?
I realize I’m treading on hallowed ground discussing high school football from my base in Texas but I’ve been down the road a little ways so, to paraphrase one cable news network, I’ll report, you decide.
Many of the kids who left the Christian school “to play football” ended up also leaving their faith. But, guess what, I don’t think football had much to do with it. I believe that decision simply revealed a deeper problem – a misunderstanding of what the Christian life is all about.
For many Christians, their walk with the Lord is just one of the planets that orbits around their life. They view it this way: In my life I have many things I try to keep in balance – my family, my career, my recreation time, my walk with God, etc.
It’s like “God” is one of many balls I juggle in my life. He may be the #1 ball but He is still just one of many priorities. That’s nice but it’s certainly not a Biblical perspective.
For the Christian Jesus is at the core – the sun around which all the other priorities of life revolve. He is not one of the planets in the rotation, He is the center around which everything else rotates.
That is dramatically different than making Jesus #1 in your life. It is making Jesus your life, your reason for living.
It is not just a difference in symantics but a totally different viewpoint on life. When Christ is the center, not just one of the many balls we juggle, we have a better chance of passing on a genuine faith to our kids. He is not one of many priorities we balance. He is the central focus around which everything else revolves.
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Colossians 3:1-4
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on heaven. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed, you will share in all his glory.
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