Although these times can be quite annoying, I find that with proper reflection, these can be some of the most highly educational times in our personal growth.
Like so many people out there in the Church today, I am constantly having to "un-learn" things that I was told or taught in my early formative years in the Church. It's not that the people in my life when I was younger had bad intentions, and even further, I am sure that they even believed the things that they said/taught me. It's just the fact that throughout my adult life, I have come to these places where I find that things that I believe and was introduced to in my youth, just plain aren't true.
Today, I had to sit down with a couple from my Church, and voice some issues that I had during an earlier interaction. The issue in question here, was with my friend's wife. Now, aside from just respecting my friend's authority in his marriage, and wanting him there to be witness to what I said, I also from a young age was told that this was also the "biblical" way to handle an issue with someones wife.
Throughout the course of the conversation, I said something along the lines of: "I wanted to wait until I could get you both together, so I could address this". To which she replied, "why did he have to be here"? So of course, me being the all knowing all powerful idiot that I am, reply with "because this is the biblical way".
So she asked me to show her where the Bible says that, and after my brain scan came up empty-I started to realize, once again, that this is yet another one of those seemingly harmless tidbits from the past that just plain isn't true.
Now, I am not saying that I disagree with my actions to have a husband present when I speak with his wife. As stated earlier, I believe just out of respect for the husband this is the better scenario, however, THIS IS NOT A BIBLICAL TRUTH.
We have to be careful about these little tidbits. I'm sure right now if you thought hard enough, you may come across something from your past that you've never actually opened the Bible and researched. It is such an easy pitfall for us as Christians, to take someone else's word for something. Even if it is someone that you trust.
We MUST test everything we are told and believe.
At the end of I Thessalonians, we have a list of things to do here in the end times:
[21] but test everything; hold fast what is good.
(1 Thessalonians 5:21 ESV)
