Live By Faith, Not By Sight
Children get very excited when they go shopping with their parents to their favorite mall. “Mom, I need this and that!”“Dad, I need this and that too!” children shout with joy. But your eyes are filled with worries as you stare down at the price tags. And because it’s not just about price, parents’ concerns go deeper: is it educationally sound to buy ornot? ‘Why do children need this these days…? Is it right to buy this for my child? This is so confusing!’ But they’re so sure of it, and then they tell you that all their friends have them. And to top it all off, theytell you that they can’t hang out with their friends without them. ‘I can’t help it. This will have to do.’ And parents reluctantly pick it up and head to the checkout. Sound familiar? There’s a widespread culture of buying our kids more stuff than they actually need, and Irecently read an article about parents buying their elementary school kids backpacks that cost $900. My initial assumption that I could protect my family as long as I didn’t embrace secular cultures aroundus has proven to be too naive. As we can see from the worldwide usage of smartphones, a highlysymbolic product of the latest technological advancements, to the remotest corners of the world, no oneis immune to ever growing secular culture. Does this mean all hope is lost? No! We live by faith, not by sight. (1 Corinthians 5:7, NIV) This is it. This is why we have hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Eve and Adam were also excited by what they saw. The serpent came and tempted Eve. The fruit looked“good and pleasant to the eyes” to the excited Eve. After tasting the fruit, Eve went to Adam and toldhim the news. Adam felt what we would call “peer pressure,” and he too fell. (Genesis 3) It’s a viciouscycle that repeats itself in many forms today – not just with adults, but with our children, who are just asinnocent as Adam and Eve in Eden. I gathered my children and talked about our family’s values. In order to help them understand that ourfamily’ live by faith and not by sight’, I had to share with them my own past mistakes. I confessed therewas a time when I, too, had been deceived by the shiny things of the world and longed for fancy cellphones, cars, computers and so forth. I also appealed to the “fact” that you can still be happy andconfident without wearing the latest fashion, makeup, jewelry, etc. I also added that I actually meetpeople who are truly happy and confident because they ‘live by faith and not by sight’. The children seemed to be getting it, but they still needed more convincing. I could see that they weretorn between the excitement of being able to have the items they wanted and their love for the Lord.“It’s not a sin to want something, but it’s the state of your heart where it counts. If you think, ‘I’ll behappier if I get the thing I’ve been longing for, and I’ll be accepted by my friends if I have it,’ then you liveby sight; but if you think, ‘God, there’s something I’ve been longing for, and I wonder if you’ll give it tome,’ then you live by faith. Which life do you want to live? By faith? Or by sight?” “And it’s also about the state of your heart when you finally get what you really wanted. If you brag andsay, ‘I’m so happy because I finally got what I wanted,’ you live by sight. But if you can say, ‘Thank you,God, you are the one who gave this to me, and I am willing to give this to someone else anytime youwant me to,’ you live by faith.” Is it okay to not brag but still show what you have to others? Some children can have innovative ideas. But No! If you have no intention of giving it, but you’re still showing it off, that’s what we call bragging. Please ask your children to join you in prayer. It is okay to wait for your children if they are not ready yet. After the prayer, I could see that my children’s minds were somewhat cleared. After few days, my firstborn daughter ran into my arms with excitement, and said, “Dad, you know what? I think I lived by faith today!” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Do you remember I really wanted to have that pencil case we saw in the mall. I didn’t think about it thewhole day! Even when my friend asked me about it, I just said “Okay” and walked past. Isn’t thatamazing?” Even my daughter was surprised by what happened to her. She was obsessed about it. Thinking andtalking about it all day. And just like that, the storm of worldly temptations passed. It occurred to me that maybe it’s time to fillthe hearts of our children with the wind of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:21-30) https://youtu.be/dfNQhQITZsw