A corollary to The Problem with Men & Women #1 relates to Plural Marriage & the reaction of our wives. So ...
For further discussion...
It occurred to me during the deep watches of the night, when I really should have been sleeping, that one of the major reasons why Christians don't witness too much is that, at some level, we LIKE our church just the way it is, thank you very much. Maybe we even feel like we've got all we can do to put up with the characters already IN it.
And so, we really don't truly WANT a bunch of new folks to come flooding in -- folks who look, talk, smell, dress, eat, earn, play, and work different than ourselves. We believe that it would just plain require more adjusting and accommodating than we really want to do. We crave COMFORT in our church relationship, not in-your-face challenge!
And if someone new DOES come to Christ, and alights in our midst all on fire for Him, and seeming to have an open and close relationship with God, we get all JEALOUS! "How does HE rate? I've been taking care of business all this time, and he just comes waltzing in here, and it seems like he's getting lots of two-way time with God... It isn't RIGHT!"
Now, if this observation is true, then is it any wonder that our wives seem to feel much the same way as regards the addition of a new wife? Or that while they may grudgingly put up with it, it's pretty rare that they are out there "evangelizing" on behalf of their husband and his/their family?
Finally, the big question then becomes, ...
For further discussion...
It occurred to me during the deep watches of the night, when I really should have been sleeping, that one of the major reasons why Christians don't witness too much is that, at some level, we LIKE our church just the way it is, thank you very much. Maybe we even feel like we've got all we can do to put up with the characters already IN it.
And so, we really don't truly WANT a bunch of new folks to come flooding in -- folks who look, talk, smell, dress, eat, earn, play, and work different than ourselves. We believe that it would just plain require more adjusting and accommodating than we really want to do. We crave COMFORT in our church relationship, not in-your-face challenge!
And if someone new DOES come to Christ, and alights in our midst all on fire for Him, and seeming to have an open and close relationship with God, we get all JEALOUS! "How does HE rate? I've been taking care of business all this time, and he just comes waltzing in here, and it seems like he's getting lots of two-way time with God... It isn't RIGHT!"
Now, if this observation is true, then is it any wonder that our wives seem to feel much the same way as regards the addition of a new wife? Or that while they may grudgingly put up with it, it's pretty rare that they are out there "evangelizing" on behalf of their husband and his/their family?
Finally, the big question then becomes, ...
How do we FIX it?
