fiddling around

The spring musical for one of our local high schools was "Fiddler on the Roof". The daughter of the doctor that I work for was one of the main characters. She played the role of Tzeitel, the oldest daughter of Tevye, the central character in the story. My daughter and I went to the final performance Sat. night. The students did an amazing job! The singing was professional and the acting was very believable...I actually teared up a couple of times!
If you aren't familiar with the story, it is about the traditions of a Jewish family and the village in Russia where they live. Well, actually, it is about the breaking of those traditions! In a short period of time, three of Tevye's daughters choose their own husbands.....unheard of in a 1905 Jewish home where arranged marriages were the norm. Because the first two chose Jewish men (and because he could see their love for each other), he gave his permission and blessing. But when the third daughter chose a gentile, he would not accept it.....he could not. A marriage outside of the faith....that he could not bless. That tradition was too deeply embedded in his heart and mind and soul. In one song he said something like this...."When I compromised with Tzeitel, I pulled one thread from the tapestry of this family, now it is unraveling....coming apart."

It reminded me of what can happen if we let a"little bit" of untruth into our hearts and minds. It clouds our judgment and then, we can be more easily deceived. We start to make excuses for our choices and defend our sin. The "tapestry" of our lives starts to unravel and come apart. There are those who attempt to draw us in with their false teaching. We need always to be on guard...to have our "armor" on and to judge any teaching by God's Word. It is the truth and our plumb line....if a teaching does not line up with the Word of God, it is not true and we should reject it.

Col 3: 16 says,
" Let the word of God dwell (be at home)
in you richly (abundantly, extravagantly)
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom...."

If our minds and hearts are saturated with the truth of God's Word, we will recognize a lie when we hear it. And as a result, the beautiful threads that God has chosen for the "tapestry" of our lives will remain strong and tightly woven!