Are you weird too?

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galatians 1:10

Please tell me that I’m not alone in this! Do you have a particular person in your life that always catches you at a weird time? For example when you have food on your face, toilet paper on your shoe or a stain on the back of your shorts from sitting in something at the ballpark --- all while your roots are weeks past a touch up!! This SAME person never seems to see you when you are in your best light. You know without a doubt they think you are the weirdest person in the world!

I have girls 10 & 8 who have some friends, another set of sisters ages 10 &8. When we moved into our subdivision a few years ago I just knew this was a match made in heaven. However, it seems that their mother is always hearing this sentence from my girls: “My parents don’t let us __________ (fill in the blank). Without a doubt she thinks we are the weirdest people in the world! I’m confident she feels that she never catches us in our best light ----- or does she?

Over the last year my girls have filled in the blank with the following: play with Bratz dolls, watch Bratz movies, have shorts that short, show our bellies, say that word (butt), say that other word (shut-up),watch Twilight, watch shows on Nickelodeon after supper, buy Teeny Bopper magazines, hang up posters of pop stars, have a TV in our room, wear fish net gloves because mom says it’s trashy, wear shirts that say I’m a princess or diva or boy crazy or I love vampires, buy clothes at Abercrombie, watch scary movies, play witch, dress like a dead bride, go to the movies with a boy, have a boyfriend, get kid drinks that look like that because they look like grown up drinks…… and trust me, the list goes on and on and on!

In a way, it’s become sort of a joke between Russ and me. When the girls come home from an afternoon of play time - the first thing we ask is, “Well, what could you not do this time?”

What’s funny is that I don’t think of myself as a strict parent (until they come home –ha). And, the girls don’t mind NOT doing any of the things that I’ve mentioned. I have been very proud of how they sincerely don’t want to ___________ (fill in the blank w/any of the above). Well, I take that back – out of everything so far the only thing that caused a fuss was the fish net gloves. Go figure???

When I say “We don’t _________” then explain it’s because: Abercrombie has inappropriate pictures in their store/ads, shorts this length are not modest, we need to keep our minds on things above so we don’t have TV’s in our bedrooms or purchase teen magazines, etc…. And, I follow it with – “Now, your friends might do/have X, Y & Z but that’s not what God wants for our family” the girls have been very cool with it all.

If God’s cool with that, my girls are cool with that --- why do I feel so weird? I’ve recently realized the reason. This family, from what I can see (and we are too look for fruit aren’t we?) are not believers in Christ. What better strategy for Satan than to say to this family: “Look how weird those people are! You don’t want to be like that do you? How silly is that to not let your kids ___________” (fill in the blank). And He says to me: “You really are weird. Don’t you know your silly “stands” are doing more harm than good. Seriously, what’s the big deal.”

It’s a struggle to authentically live Galatians 1:10. The root of my problem is I want to “please” this mother. I want her to like me, like my children, like our choices so that – in my mind – she will like God.

I’m reminded that God’s Word says this again in 1 Thes. 2:4 “…We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.” As well as the entire book of 1 John! Be a light, be set apart, don’t be exactly like the world and so on. As difficult as it is – I’m resolved to continue in making what the world feels are silly stands. Any one standing with me? Are people seeing you in your best light?