Your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading around the web.
Articles of the Week
If Not Self-Esteem, Then What? Brad Hambrick. As our society sees it, low self-esteem is the root of all kinds of evil. If only we can drum up enough self-esteem, 90% of our problems will dissipate. At least that’s how the story goes. How is a Christian supposed to think about self-esteem? And if “self-esteem” isn’t any good, what do we put in its place?
Parents: Require Obedience of Your Children, John Piper. “To watch parents act as if they are helpless in the presence of disobedient children is pitiful. God requires that children obey because it is possible for parents to require obedience. Little children, under a year old, can be shown effectively what they may not touch, bite, pull, poke, spit out, or shriek about. You are bigger than they are. Use your size to save them for joy, not sentence them to selfishness.”
The Strange Value of the Internet Bible, Paige Patterson. Even technological heel-draggers like me feel the allure of having the Bible accessible on a smart phone. Especially considering all of the ways that this technology makes it more likely for people to actually engage in Scripture, the benefits may outweigh the disadvantages.
Blame-Shifting Away Our Sin, Sharon Hodde Miller. “I don’t think the world expects Christians to be perfect. I don’t think we need to be faultless in order to have a credible voice. Why? Because a Christian’s credibility springs not from the absence of fault, but from how she responds to it.”
The “Why” and “How” of Basic Internet Safety at Home, Brian Vinson. A very helpful article, especially for parents. The ease and efficiency of the internet have their benefits, but they also have their pitfalls. This article gives some practical tools to keep unwanted material away from young and impressionable minds.
On The Lighter Side
The German language can be so awesome sometimes. Perhaps you already know “Doppelgänger” and “Wanderlust.” I think it’s time we pick up a few more loan words to describe incredibly specific (yet common!) human experiences. My favorite: Baggerspion, “the urge to peek into boarded-up construction sites.”
