Notes from Norman

Your Mentor's Beliefs and Yours

YOU MENTORS BELIEFS AND YOURS

The people God placed in our lives have influenced our behavior, our opinions, and our theology. As we move forward in life, we sometimes develop viewpoints that differ from those were taught by earlier mentors. That makes some of us uncomfortable.

If we adopt positions that conflict with what our parents believed, our Sunday School teachers believed, the pioneer preachers believed, or even something we ourselves believed as long as we can remember, we’re afraid it will discredit the contribution those people made to our lives. It’s difficult to believe that were traveled down the wrong path ourselves. We’re afraid that it demonstrates a lack of respect, or as it’s often stated, “an unwillingness to walk in the old paths.”

Many people have blessed me. If I were to make a list of all the people who’ve influenced my life it would be a long one. Trouble is. I’ve outlived most of my mentors. So now I’m in a position of not wanting to dishonor their memory. A couple of things help me in that regard. In every case I admire those people because they had a strong faith in God, because they were dedicated followers of the Lord, and because they were active participants in the fellowship of the church. They also took an interest in my life and my spiritual development. They were willing to invest their energy in my spiritual growth. All that’s good, and I wouldn’t discredit that for anything in the world. What if they were wrong about some things? Those who influence me the most were those who told me that I needed to study the Bible for myself and draw my own conclusion. I’ve tried to honor that advice. If they were wrong, I would imagine they’ve figured that out by now, and they would be happy rather than sad if I embrace a truth they I didn’t understand during their lifetimes.

posted by Norman @ 6:45 PM