What you allow you invite

#6 What you allow you invite. This proverb may be the toughest for me. It is similar to “leaders/moderation, followers/excess.” I think it’s hard for me because I don’t want to communicate that tolerance of an idea or behavior means I’m a promoter of it but pragmatically, I think it’s true. Example: In my line of work, students always want to see where the boundaries are. While I don’t think cussing is in and of itself a sin, if what you allow you invite is true, then if I allow it, I’m inviting it. I don’t like that. While I don’t want a bunch of legalistic people thinking that there is never a time and place for strong language and I certainly don’t want a bunch of ill informed people thinking that certain words have a moral value assigned to them by God, neither do I want a bunch of teenagers running around acting like idiots, not possessing the discernment to know time and place, cussing up a storm because it is “allowed.” So, while I don’t have a no-cussing rule, I do have conversations (see proverb #3.)

Bobbyisms or Boberbs 1 of 6

Over the last two years, I’ve heard my mentor/boss say some things that are both catchy and helpful. While I don’t think these things are universally true all the time (I don’t think Bobby thinks that either), there is a lot of wisdom in them. I think of them as modern day proverbs... wise sayings that describe the way things normally work (not without exception) but true the majority of the time.

#1 What we celebrate, we invite. Bobby thinks this came from a book by Ravi Zacharias. The context was a HS graduation ceremony where a pregnant girl was awarded a grand applause. The point being that the glorification of a thing makes it attractive and therefore not just permissible but encouraged. While it does take a lot of courage and determination to continue in school and move forward in spite of poor decisions, should we give more applause for a student doing something that she should have done anyway? What about all the other students who made great decisions? Should they not have received at least as much celebration for making good decisions the whole time? I'm not saying we should condemn her or ostracize her or something stupid like that. Everyone needs love, support, and compassion, whether we make good decisions or poor ones. Nevertheless, we should be sure that we’re celebrating what is truly great!