Buttons Part 2

My first Buttons post was about the sins of vanity and pride and how what we say and do on Blogger can negatively impact our readers, intentionally or unintentionally.

In the first post I focused on the pride we take in our possessions, achievements etc. But upon further review, I realize people often take pride in the lack of possessions and/or lack of income. Taking pride in NOT having buttons.

Living in poverty as a sign of piousness. Vows of poverty because any effort to make money is greedy, but then announcing to the world how non-greedy, non-materialistic one is, is somehow acceptable.

Buttons. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Buttons

Did you know the Old Order Amish don't use buttons, or use them very sparingly? They forsake buttons because of the military connections and also, more importantly, because buttons are a source of adornment. And adornment is a source of vanity. Yes, we can take pride in a pretty button. Or pride in how many buttons we use. Or pride in how fancifully we placed the buttons on our shirt. Our neighbors see what nice buttons we have and grow jealous (envy). Petty contests arise to see who has the most buttons (gluttony) or the best buttons (greed).

Yet I don't even think about my buttons at all until I lose one! No, my "buttons" are much, much bigger. Home and car. Job and spouse. Clothes. Appearance. Children and family. Education. Intelligence. Hobbies. Skills. Accomplishments. The list is soooo long...

Notice how one little button can trigger a whole slew of sins in ourselves and our neighbors? How much more do BIG "buttons" cause me and others to sin? How often do we share information about ourselves in the guise of being helpful when in fact we are being hurtful? How often do we show-off our buttons unintentionally?

I wonder what motivates some Christian women bloggers to write about the things they write about and to post so many pictures of themselves and their homes. Humility? Modesty? Altruism?... I have doubts.... Vanity? More likely. And just like with the small buttons, a little bit of vanity has a snowball effect on sinfulness. Envy, gluttony and greed are quickly joined by anger, gossip and laziness (wasting time).

It is a sin to cause others to sin. And to knowingly continue a sinful action is deliberate, unrepentant behavior - mocking God.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. - Galatians 6:7

In fact, buttons are making me re-think this whole blogging business.

Vanity, thy name is Blogger.

and had it not three corners...

Candy blogged this week about 1 Corinthians 11 and Christian women wearing headcovering. I'm generally in agreement with her and with the comments made by KH. It's audiaphora.

When I was a little kid the oldest old ladies wore hats to church every Sunday. I liked that. I wanted to grow up and wear pretty hats too. A hat to match every outfit. I definitely did not associate their "headcovering" with submission. It was fashion.

And there lies my problem with headcovering. I think Amish/Mennonite prayer caps are adorable. I'd love LOVE to wear one of those black bonnets. I'd look so darn cute! And no bad hair days. And no my-roots-need-touching-up days! Woo-hoo! If I wore a scarf, veil or hijab I'd have dozens of colors, styles and patterns to coordinate with my blouses and sweaters. Accessories!! Yes, my heart races at the thought of it!!

Obviously my heart nor head is in the "right place" on this headcovering issue. I can't get passed the aesthetic feelings. And besides that, my husband would think I'm loony.

My headcovering is this: a knit stocking cap. It is 7 degrees below zero on my thermometer. At my age practicality trumps fashion.

Last thought -- we should not be looking in the mirror for holiness. It isn't in long hair, dresses or headcoverings.

We should look to the cross on Golgatha.

...There is only one who is good....

Have a blessed day.

Salute to Legalism

An easy, obvious example...more on this topic later when I have time.

From The Global Anabaptist and Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

Old Order Amish:
"In theology the Amish have retained the basic doctrines of their forefathers, but have certain characteristic emphases. One of these is the denial of assurance of salvation; they commonly hold that one can only hope to be saved, that it is pride to claim certainty of salvation. There is also little teaching or preaching of conversion, and no pietistic type of piety. There is a strong emphasis on living a righteous life, being and doing good, and obeying the rules of the church."

Rules of the Amish church:
"The Ordnungen comprise the rules and regulations of the church community. The word is used in Mennonite, Amish, and Hutterite tradition to cover both the written and oral compendia of modes of behavior and organizational structure which give form and meaning to daily life. The Ordnung may contain broad principles of faith, e.g., nonresistance and common ownership of goods (in the case of Hutterites), as well as very specific applications of principles, e.g., permissible styles of clothing, (dress) or home furnishings.

The purpose of the Ordnung is not only to provide a list of individually acceptable or proscribed ethical behaviors but to structure a whole way of life, lived according to God's will, as expressed in the gospels. The Ordnung reflects God's order as opposed to the order of the world."

More from Religious Tolerance:

"Knowledge of one's salvation: For Evangelicals and other conservative Protestants, salvation is an unmistakable experience which happens when one trusts Jesus. Amish are different. They don't believe that anyone is guaranteed salvation as a result of a conversion experience, baptism, joining the church, etc. "...they would consider it arrogant or prideful to claim certainty of salvation." The Amish believe that God carefully weighs the individual's total lifetime record of obedience to the church and then decides whether the person's eternal destiny will be the reward of Heaven or the punishment in Hell. If a person is baptized into the Amish church and later leaves the church or is excommunicated, they have no hope of attaining Heaven. As a result, an Amish believer lives their life and dies not knowing if they are saved and will attain Heaven. This lack of certainty has made the Amish church susceptible to raiding from other Christian evangelists at various times in its history."

"Authority: They believe that their church has received the authority from God to interpret his will. "Submission to church is submission to God."