Defining Mediocrity

When we say something is mediocre, the message being communicated is that something is less than excellent. If we give it much thought, we ought to acknowledge that this sort of definition is built upon unspoken presuppositions. The things that people consider important will drive and underlie those things that they define as excellent or mediocre.

The thing that stimulated this thought path was considerations on children's education. If someone believes that a large salary and a padded retirement fund are extremely important, then much effort will go into education: high culture schooling, top notch university, and probably a doctorate.

Whereas if concern for the soul is ultimately important, then learning to pray, to repent, to confess sins, to forgive others and to love will be the focus of ones attention.

The next thing that I will hear will probably be something along the lines of, "these things are not mutually exclusive, someone can have both". But Scripture says otherwise. "Where ones heart is, there is his treasure." And, "you cannot serve both God and money." We must answer these statements, they do mean something.

So when we label something as mediocre, we had better be sure we truly understand the worldview that is behind that action.

But ultimately, we must ask ourselves what goal we are training our children to reach, big money or godliness?  Spiritual mediocrity or worldly mediocrity?

Modesty

This question has been plaguing me for a long time, possibly years, that is, how do we define modesty?  Not in the abstract, intellectual sense, but in the everyday, living it out sense. When we purchase clothing, when we get dressed in the morning, when we get dressed to "go out", what motivates our choices and what fences do we recognize that control our actions?

I am guessing that most people don't give this a whole lot of thought but instead merely go with the flow. It could be that the flow is okay (not likely) but shouldn't we at least have thought through the idea and be able to articulate why we do what we do?

So, what motivates/drives our fashion choices and who are we allowing to influence our ideas?  What does it even mean to be modest?  How is that word defined?  Where does the responsibility lie?  If the way we dress tempts someone else, should we do it that way?  Or is it simply "their problem".  If the way we dress tempts someone to sin, we should consider why we dress that particular way. What does the amount of time, money and energy we spend on our appearance and clothing say about our priorities?

I am going to make a few suggestions on possible ways to approach this. First, modesty is more than simply covering up certain portions of the body. Modesty has to do with excess as well. One can be perfectly covered up but immodest because of the extravagance of ones attire. 1st Peter 3 speaks of this. Second, modesty is in part defined by the culture in which we live. When we dress in a way that the culture around us has defined in a certain way (and it doesn't matter how accurate that definition is.  Perception has relevance), we are communicating a message. That message should be well thought out. Within the culture we live, our attire says something. We cannot argue that we are being modest according to first century standards, because we don't live in the first century. To dress in a way that WE say is okay when that manner of dress is offensive to some, is only selfishness. Again, this comes down to who gets to make the definitions. Do we listen to the world?  Do we listen to our own imagination? Do we listen to the church?

The way we dress should push no boundaries, should incite no passions in others and should draw no attention to ourselves. At the very least our attire out to communicate that our souls are more important than earthly concerns.

One closing thought. Ultimately, why does our appearance matter?  Other peoples thoughts about us are only important insofar as it appropriately reflects the image of Jesus Christ. Are we clean, well kempt, and discreet, not drawing attention to ourselves?  If we can answer "yes" to these, then we are probably safe. Much of this depends on the motivations behind our actions as shown in our appearance.

Interpreting History

There is an underlying idea that connects the thoughts behind defining ethics, interpreting history, and defining right doctrine and worship, which is ones knowledge of history. The wider ones view is of history and the knowledge and understanding one has of the events and motivations throughout history, the greater chance one has of getting these foundational ideas right.

One area in which we see this is that of eschatology. By far, the predominant eschatological view in America is dispensational premillenialism. This view has taken such a hold that most Christians don't even realize there are other views. This is really unfortunate because dispensational premillenialism is only about 100 years old.

This is my point, someone with a well informed knowledge of church history would realize that dispensational premillenialism is a recent innovation. Prior to approximately 1900, the church knew nothing of dispensational premillenialism. It had not been fabricated yet.  Of course, its proponents would not admit this.  Its proponents would argue the antiquity of dispensational premillenialism.

Granted, some people don’t see this as an issue. In fact, many Christians see corporate sanctification as a given. But there are inherent problems with the church developing new doctrines over time. What does this necessarily say about the church prior to the new doctrinal development?

One thing that is seriously exacerbating this problem is the now current American culture has developed in such a way that science and math are emphasized and history is all but ignored. The very short-term benefits of science are going to be far overshadowed by the damage of historical ignorance.  Two of these could be the repeating of mistakes and long-term cultural misdirection.

Freedom

I heard the phrase, "You’ve got your freedom, now who are you going serve?" and it stimulated a few thoughts. First, this is a standing question for everyone who exists. You see this dilemma in almost all situations and cultures. The more freedom one has, the more of a problem this question becomes. This is why we should keep tight reins on our children. Kids do not have the maturity to make decisions about life. There are too many temptations and too many dangers you give total freedom to a child. This would be why there is so much brokenness and grief in Hollywood. Here are a lot of people with large amounts of money, expansive freedom and very little accountability.

A child, and people in general, need to understand that regardless of ones station in life there is always some level of authority under which we live. But, as is the point of this post, the level of freedom we enjoy will reveal our true passions and true devotion.  And where our passion and heart lay, reveals whom we actually serve.  Hopefully that servitude is not centered on ourselves.