What I fear most...

Today's Readings:
Leviticus 6-7
Matthew 25:1-30

What do I fear most you ask???

Austin Powers' quotes aside, what is the thing I fear most?? Spiders...yes, they creep me out. Being alone in the dark...no thank you. The movie "Daredevil".....not scary, just really bad.

There are many things that I fear, but the thing I fear most is the thought of my middle schoolers getting involved with the wrong people. I've seen it too many times. I saw it growing up. I saw it in high school. I saw it college. I have seen it in the lives of adults. Nearly 42 years of life and I have seen it happen all to often. Just now I think about the fact that I have taught elementary school for 18 years now. Taught at summer camps for 6 more years. Been a middle school pastor for almost 3 years...it goes without saying that thousands of students have passed through my classrooms (with countless more being seen on the playgrounds of recess and lunch.)

and how many times have I seen a life derailed by the choice to hang with the wrong crowd.

By no means am I saying we wall ourselves off. I don't believe there are bad people and good people. And besides, Jesus did call us to live in a walled city. What I am saying is that our kids need to be careful who they invite into their inner circle. They need to be thoughtful about who they allow to influence their lives.

Tonight I read Leviticus 6-7. Leviticus 7:19 says "Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up." There are many verses in the Bible that talk about things that are clean and unclean.

In Deuteronomy 7:3-4 it says "You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods."

There is a definite warning throughout scripture to be careful about putting ourselves in a position or among people that may lead us astray. I encourage my students to make friends with students who may not believe in all they believe. I don't believe Jesus wants us to shun others simply because of how they live. Jesus himself went to those that needed Him most...but he took 12 other guys with Him :-) We need be careful is all. I want my students to have friends around them, an inner circle, who help them grow closer to God and make good choices. That way they will have the support needed to keep them from following the "wrong" crowd (and in the process those friends may be helping to change a few lost lives as well :-)

In Epic Jv we are learning about friends. How to find friends and build lasting friendships that draw us closer to God. We learned a verse on Sunday. Ecclesiastes 4:12 "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."

What I fear most is that students, in their longing to find friends and someone who "loves" them will venture off alone into a world that does not love them and take them down a path of death and destruction. "Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble." (Proverbs 13:20)

Foolishness, like uncleanness, has a way of rubbing off and making us foolish as well. This is what I fear most, especially when it comes to my middle school friends.

Tomorrow's Reading:
Leviticus 8-10
Matthew 25:31-46