Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
If there was one thing that you could teach,
if you could pass on to your kids that would
ensure their success in school, in their work,
in any future job they ever had in life, would
you want to know what it is? Well, that's today
on Living on the Edge. Stay with me. Today's
younger generation faces a paralyzing dilemma
to pursue their passion or chase a paycheck,
get that college degree or learn a trade. follow
their heart, or follow the money. Well, the pressure
to figure it all out has never been more intense
or more confusing. Today on Living on the Edge,
Chip Ingram cuts through the cultural noise with
a radically different approach. Forget the tired
advice about just being happy or climbing the
corporate ladder. God's design for work is far
more revolutionary and fulfilling than any alternative.
So how do we help our kids to embrace this plan?
After all, the majority of their waking hours
can become a source of genuine joy rather than
mere drudgery. And after Chip's message, we'll
explain how you can participate in the groundbreaking
Double Your Impact match that's active right
now. More details later. Right now, the message
from Chip Ingram is called, Teach Them to Work
Unto the Lord. called work. Now, that work can
be at home, but it's work. Now, think of that.
If you're not sleeping or eating, 60 to 80 percent
of your waking hours your entire life, you're
doing this thing called work. And so I want to
ask you to ponder three questions with me before
we talk about what we want to pass on to those
we love the most. And whether that's who we're
discipling or our men's group, our women's group,
our kids, our grandkids. Three questions to really
think about when we begin to talk about this
area of work. Question number one is how can
you help those you love the most live above the
daily grind? I mean, let's go back to our little
analogy where we say, if you knew from this moment
right now, 365 days, you're going to die, and
you had 365 days, and you knew people that you
love, one of your kids, I mean, one of your grandkids,
your best friend, someone you led to the Lord,
you know, some guys that you're in a Bible study
with, these gals that you love and care, and
you know that 60 to 80 % of their entire life
is they're going to keep working after you die.
How could you deliver them from the daily grind
of get up, go to work, grab a cup of coffee,
come in, go to eat some supper, do a drive -thru,
watch a couple hours of TV, go to bed, get up,
go to, I mean, and then wait for the weekend.
It's how most people are living their life. Can
you imagine the gift it would be if you could
pass something on where that would not be their
experience? Question number two is why are the
majority of Americans dissatisfied with their
jobs. And I would say probably maybe well beyond
America. But all the research is they're bored.
They're unfulfilled. It's basically almost a
paycheck or a necessary evil. Now there's great
exceptions. You meet people and they say, I'd
do this if they didn't pay me. I love what I
do. I was made to do this. But by and large,
the research tells us most people go to their
job. It's a paycheck. I need the money, but I'm
not waking up. There's not a lot of people going,
thank God it's Monday. It's Monday. I love it.
Monday. Right? Most people are saying, thank
God it's Friday. Question number three, how can
the place where we spend the majority of our
waking hours be transformed from drudgery to
delight? Can you imagine being able to pass that
on to people? Now, I'm not saying that every
moment of every day as people are working, you
know, it's just high -fiving each other in the
halls or on the job site. But I mean where they
would sense a genuine, I can't believe I get
to do this. I was made to do this. I love to
do this. Now, there's pressures with any job.
There's demands of any job. We feel overwhelmed
at times. But where you could pass on some truth
to those you love the most that they would. From
this point to the day they die, actually do what
God designed them to do. And it would produce
a joy in them that's not reserved for the weekends,
but would be what they do 24 -7, what they look
forward to. And it would produce a fruit and
an impact in the lives of other people that they
would go, well, I can't believe, you mean other
people are positively impacted by me like this?
And here's... sort of this second core value,
the transferable concept is teach them to work
unto the Lord. And so to do this, I'm going to
jump in and I'm going to go over a theology of
work because I don't think we think very clearly
or biblically about work. And it might surprise
you. It is not a necessary evil. It's not bad.
God instituted work before sin ever entered the
world. And so what I want to do is talk about
a theology of work, and then I want to get real
practical again and say, how could you pass on
this truth in a way to those that you love the
most? First of all, then, work is a calling,
not a job. That word calling is kind of interesting.
You might hear someone say, well, what's your
vocation? The Latin word for vocation is... Calling.
Years ago, 100 years ago or more, when people
talked about your vocation, it wasn't what you
do to make money. It was what have you been called
by God to do? It was Martin Luther who said,
you know, a shoemaker making a shoe for the glory
of God using his skill is just as holy as a pastor
preaching a sermon. And he used that illustration
with many trade jobs. But his point was, we all
have a calling. God made us and gifted us differently.
And when you do that for the glory of God, it
is just as holy as, quote, spiritual activity.
In our culture today, there tends to be two motives
for a job or for work. And I'll play this out.
Let's say you have a nephew or a friend or someone
that you're discipling or one of your kids or
a grandchild that's ready to go to college and
they're trying to figure out what should they
major in, right? This is really big. What should
I major in? I feel like I'm, or they're out of
high school and they're, you know, what should
I do? Should I go to college or should I get
a trade job or should I go into business with
the family? What should I do? And here's sort
of a parental response that we have learned from
our culture. Well, honey. I don't know, but we
just want you to be happy. It doesn't really
matter to me. I just want you to be happy in
whatever you do. Because see, life is really
all about you. You see, we live in a narcissistic
society and we want you to know that you are
the center of the universe. And the only thing
that really matters, no matter how much money
or you change your major seven times or if you
figure out how to squeeze that four -year education
into six. We just want you to have fun in that
dorm room to make lots of friends and grow up
and be a wonderful, happy little, because that's
how life will be later. Everyone is just going
to be coming at the doorstep of your life trying
to make your life work out for you. I want to
tell you that the answer to the question, though
very sincere and in earlier days I've said it
myself, saying to our kids when they say, what
should I do with my life? The answer, I only
want you to be happy, is not biblical, is not
smart, is not wise, and will not get them in
a good direction. How much does an 18 or 17 year
old know or 19 year old know about what's really
quote going to make them happy or what's best?
The other extreme we have, And Christians are
more sophisticated in how we communicate this.
But so on the one extreme, it's we want them
to be happy. On the other extreme, it's like,
you know, in the real roll up your sleeves pagan
world, it's, well, what pays? Son, you got to
make a living. You want to get ahead? Get a good
education. Or forget that. I'll tell you, here's
where the job market is. Here's where you can
make money. The goal of a job is money. Make
lots of money. Why? Because you need lots of
money. Well, why do you need lots of money? So
you can be successful. Well, why do you need
to be successful? So you can have a big house.
Why do you need a big house? So people will know
you're successful. And then you can have another
house. And you can buy these kind of cars and
have a purse that has this design and wear a
watch that says certain things. And you've got
to have money. Well, why? So you can be fulfilled.
And you can be powerful. And you can have it
together. And then you can take vacations. Where?
Wherever you want. Because money is the key to
it. I mean. You got to make a lot of money. Well,
gosh, dad, I see a lot of people and they have
a lot of money. They don't seem like they're
very happy. Hey, just don't give me all that.
Quit talking back. You need to get a good job,
a good education, make a lot of money because
you're a reflection of me. Don't you understand?
I'm vicariously living my life in subtle ways
through you. And your SAT scores are a reflection
on me and what college you go to is a reflection
on me. And because it's not really all about
you, it's all about me, but I'm going to package
this in a different way so you think it's really
about you. And so we have communicated that work
is about either making a lot of money or really
being happy. And I want to suggest that God would
say it's about a calling. Those people that you
love the most, kids, disciples, best friends,
grandkids, Bible study partners, God has a call.
of what they should do. And when they do what
he made them to do, they will have incredible
internal joy and incredible external impact.
And with that, then we have to begin to teach
again that all work is sacred. All work is sacred.
Jot down 1 Corinthians 10 31. He says, whatever
you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the
glory of God. All work is sacred. early when
I was, I came to Christ just right after high
school. I went to a college campus and there
was a bricklayer with a high school education
who was trained by the navigators and he had
his own business and he would lay brick by day
and he opened his home and had a discipleship
ministry on this campus by night. And after two
or three years, he began to help me and I was
sort of slow spiritually and took me a while
to get going. And once I started to grow, then
I spent a summer there once and I needed a job.
He said, why don't you work with me? And then
later he, Started another campus. His work was
a tent making ministry. And so this campus grew
from three of us in the living room to 250 students
on that campus. Then he went to another campus
and said, Chip, why don't you come with me and
we'll see if God will do this again. I said,
okay, so I want to learn. So I didn't have a
job, so I'm a hod carrier. And that means you
mix the mud and he liked to do it by hand for
reasons I never did experience. Because I'm the
guy doing it by hand. And then you had 14 bricks
or 12 bricks. And then we did a lot of foundations.
And so it was really, really hard work. And he
was asked, he had a line of people because he
was so good. People wanted him to do their work.
And I remember we worked on a foundation and
we'd worked for about a day and a half. And one
day he said, Chip, grab that line. I grabbed
the line and he took the line down and snapped
it. And he looked this way and took the line
down this way. And we had it up about this high,
three quarters of the way around on three walls.
And he looked and he just, with his foot, he
just started kicking the walls down. I go, Dave,
what are you doing, man? He said, It's out, and
I can't remember the exact. It was like out a
half inch. I said, Dave, I mean, you're the expert,
but like a half inch is like, I mean, that is
not making, he said, that's not good enough for
my work. I said, Chip, you need to understand,
I'm not building this house for these people.
I build houses for an audience of one. And when
I do my work, it's not about what other people
think. I do my work because this is my offering
today to Jesus Christ. And I will not give him
less than my best. I'm not sure how I did it.
I've done a lot of foundations. I blew it on
this one. And he kicked him over. He says, clean
this stuff away. We're starting over. That was
worth 10 ,000 sermons. I learned all work is
sacred. And for some of us, especially in that
sort of... Middle to upper class, we have bought
a lie that if our kids don't go to college somehow,
you know, they're not successful. Some of the
best, wealthiest, and most successful people
that are in my world right now, none of them
went to college. They got bored with college.
They didn't like school. And so they just figured
out how to start their own businesses and do
what God made them to do and have a lot of fun
and be very successful at it. We have sort of
this white collar, blue collar, mundane. Tell
you what, everyone is made to do something different.
And the issue is not this little pecking order
of status and money. The issue is helping those
you love the most discover what did God make
them to do? What we understand as we get older,
we really care about what our kids do when we're
like in our 30s and 40s. You get into your 60s
and 70s, you don't care what vocation your kids
or grandkids have. You care that they love God,
they have marriages they stay in, they really
care for one another, and they still want to
talk to you. Right? It's all about character.
But you know how character grows is we need to
make sure they do, and we help them and coach
them not to fulfill our vicarious... make me
look good, but we want to help them fulfill what
God made them to do. The third theology of work
is that our work is to flow from God's unique
design and purpose for our lives. Purpose is
the key word there. The work I am called to do,
that you're called to do, that those that you
want to pass things on to are called to do. God
has a unique design. Jot in your notes, Ephesians
2 .10. God has a unique design. Your job, we're
going to learn a little bit later, and we'll
talk about how, is to help them discover the
unique design or purpose God has for their life.
Now, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, many of you have memorized,
right? For by grace we're saved through faith,
and that's not of yourselves. It's the gift of
God, not a result of works, lest any man should
boast. Can I highly suggest that you go to the
next step and memorize verse 10? For we are his
workmanship. created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God ordained beforehand, like from
the foundations of the earth, that we should
walk in them. We are not saved from our sin by
our good works. We are saved by grace as we put
our faith in the work of Christ on the cross,
but we're saved for good works. And we are his
workmanship, that word workmanship, we get our
English word poem. It's the picture of craftsmanship,
of a tapestry coming together. It's a picture
of a cabinet maker doing his finest work or a
sculptor. You are, if you will, and those you
love, they're on this sort of little platform
of God creating a beautiful work. You are his
workmanship, but now you're created in Christ
Jesus unto a good work. There's a good work that
you're made for. You're gifted for. You're prepared
for. You came out of this family for. You have
the right height for. You have the right personality
for. You have the right spiritual gift deposit
in you for. You have some baggage and hurts and
pains that you've had to overcome that will fit
you for this good work. God is going to use all
things working together to fulfill you doing
this good work he has prepared for you. Well,
guess what? That's what he has for those we love.
That's what he has for that young guy coming
over, that group on Monday nights where we did
a Bible study of that 20 -something people. God
has that for my sons. God has that for my grandchildren.
God has that for a group of women that you're
meeting with and maybe going through a Kay Arthur
or a Beth Moore study. God has that for the people
that you care about at work that you find out
they're a Christian and they're starting to ask
you questions. How do you pass on the things
that matter most? We'll hear more from Chip Ingram's
message in just a moment. First, we're inviting
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gift at livingontheedge .org. From a series called
Leaving a Legacy That Lasts Forever. Again, our
Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. Work is a calling.
All work is sacred. And our work is to flow from
our unique purpose. are to co -labor with God
in this vocation. And you know what? Jot down
if you would under this. I love Paul's testimony.
It's 1 Corinthians 15 .10. He really had this
one down. He says, I am what I am by the grace
of God. He wasn't trying to be anybody else.
I am what I am by the grace of God. And his grace
did not prove vain toward me, but I labored more
than all of them. There's responsibility. Yet
not I, but the grace of God in me. In other words,
Paul understood that all my training under Gamal,
all my baggage even as a Pharisee, all my legalism,
all the blindness I had, even my persecuting
of the church, you know what? God is... lovingly
redeeming, taking the worst of all my past, realigning
it. And he had many, many secular scholars think
he was the brightest, really the brightest brain
of his century. I am what I am by the grace of
God. That's my dream for those I care about most.
I want my kids to look in the mirror and say,
you know what? Now I've got a lot of struggles
and, but I am what I am by the grace of God.
And his grace did not prove vain toward me. The
Old Testament roots are Genesis 2 .15. You have
that in your notes where you see this picture
of God placing Adam in the garden and there's
no sin. And he says, look, I want you to cultivate.
I want you to rule. I want you to work. I want
you to be a co -regent. I want you to be a co
-creator. I want you to partner with me. I am
a creator. You know what? Didn't God do some
work for six days and he got a lot done? So work's
not a dirty word. He says, I want you to get
to experience because you're made in my image.
Look, here's this perfect environment. Now you
work. I want you to name things. I want you to
build things. I want you to create things. I
want you to dream things. That's how we need
to see work. It's to express our creativity,
to subdue, to rule, to develop, to make beautiful.
And the two pictures, biblical profiles, are
Adam that we've talked about. And again, Paul.
Don't mind, I love to read. I love the way Paul
says this. It's Acts 20, verse 24, and this is
one of those modern translations, but I just
love the way he says this. He says, but my life
is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the
work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus. Isn't
that great? And then he understood his, the work
of telling others the good news about God's wonderful
kindness and love. Now, ultimately that, if you're
called to be a plumber or a builder or a software
engineer or a stay -at -home mom, if you're called
to be a professional athlete or an artist or
musician or a businessman or businesswoman, then
you will tell others about the love of God by
actually how you do your work and by what you
say. But that calling is different. His was into
full -time, vocational. He was an apostle. The
New Testament command is Colossians 3, 23. Whatever
you do. Now, let's see. What do you think that
would cover? Let me ponder this. Whatever. Gosh,
would that have to do with my hobbies? Yeah.
Okay, would that have to do when I eat? Yeah.
Would that have to do with just when I go to
church? No. Is this just spiritual stuff, quote?
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart
as working for the Lord, not for men. This is
revolutionary. Can you imagine what would happen
if you were the president of a company and everyone
who showed up said, hey, I really appreciate
you. I know God put you in this place. I don't
work for you. I work for God. Tell you what,
I don't leave early because I work for God. I
do my best because I work for God. I submit to
authority that I don't agree with because I work
for God. I wanna keep improving. I go home and
read books about my job because I work for God.
I wanna develop my gifts because I work for God.
Can you imagine the difference that would make?
Do you see the impact that has? You know, we're
all, we wanna change the culture and we've tried
it in lots of different ways. You wanna change
the culture? Show up for work and work for God
and be an awesome boss, an awesome supervisor,
an awesome employee who loves people and does
excellent, excellent work. And I will tell you
what. You'll change your world and change your
culture. I have a good friend who, we lived in
Santa Cruz for many years, and it's right on,
you know that song, down by the boardwalk. Come
on with me. Down by the sea. Anyway, the boardwalk,
that song comes from there. There's this huge
boardwalk, and then the big roller coaster and
all this. Well, I have a friend who, his family
owns all the concessions. So they've got a zillion
jobs. And every summer, Campus Crusade would
come to do ministry. I mean, you know, like.
150 students from all over America. And what
he learned is, and what a testimony to Campus
Crusade, these young college students were very
committed Christians. Their work ethic and commitment
was of such. Every summer, after about three
summers, he said, send all of them to my place.
Okay, what do you like to do? Good. And he would
hire them all, all summer. And he said, our profits
went up. The attitudes went up. They did ministry
while we were there. He said it was the greatest
win -win in the world. Why? Because they understood
they were called by God to be there. Whatever
you do, do it with all your heart as unto the
Lord. A little application here, and I want to
ask you. It says I, and then in my notes I have
your name. So, you know, do not write I, Chip
Ingram, commit to discover God's calling for
my life so I can impact my world and beyond.
That will not work for your notes. You would
probably go with like your name. Because, right?
You track with me? Because if this isn't happening,
again, if it's not happening in you, you won't
pass it on. You can take these notes and these
concepts and you can get in a Bible study or
you can go out for a Coke or a coffee with a
son or a disciple, a grandchild, and tell them
this. And if it's not in you, you won't pass
it on. And I don't care. You know what? Your
work never ends. Don't say, well, I'm retired.
Okay, from some vocation for a season. But if
you're breathing, you're working. You're doing
things that are making, creating, modifying,
developing, bringing beauty to life. And so you
do that unto the Lord. Now let me give you four
kind of specific ways that are real practical
in general to develop this and those that you
love to pass it on. And then what I want to do
is I want to... take this very specifically in
the second half of our time about how do you
help those you love discover God's calling for
their life. But before we do, let me give you
four quick things that especially for those of
you that might have kids that are still at home
or, you know, you're in those earlier years.
Number one, give them a lot of jobs growing up.
We have too many parents working too hard, too
long, that are very tired with children in front
of television sets and video games going, Mom,
when's supper ready? Your kids need to learn
to cook. And help out at 11 and 12. Everyone
needs to be able to make their own bed by age
5 or 6. Everyone needs to be able to handle and
do their own laundry, you know, by the early
teen or preteen years. I was, oh, that's my job.
Look, your job is to impart and impact and develop
your child to be responsible and learn to do
work with a good. And the only way you do that
is you've got to give them jobs. And guess what?
It's a fallen world and they have flesh. They
don't like to do it. Right? They don't want to
feed the dog. They don't want to take out the
garbage. They don't want to clean up the room.
You start from young. You give them jobs. And,
by the way, it takes more time and it is a hassle.
That's why you're the mature one and they're
the non -mature one. Of course it's easier to
tuck them in bed and clean up the whole thing
yourself. You want them to learn to work at an
early age. Second, feed them responsibility,
responsibility, responsibility. Maturity. Has
very little to do with age and everything to
do with responsibility. I can show you 35 -year
-old guys living in the back bedroom paying $33
a month rent asking mommy what's for supper.
And I can show you 17, 18 -year -olds or a couple
guys at 23, 24 that were Stanford said, you want
to try starting this little company? I don't
know. You think this Google thing will work?
I don't know. So they're 29 and billionaires.
Maturity is not about. How old you are. Maturity
is the ability to handle more and more responsibility.
And so you give your kids or your disciples.
That's why even when you do small groups and
when you do Bible studies, don't fix everything.
Don't take care of everything. Ask people to
bring stuff. Ask people to start leading. Ask
people to share some things. All the time, feed
those people you love the most. Responsibility,
responsibility, responsibility. By the way, they
won't do it as well as you. So, perfectionistic
fellow saints in the kingdom, lighten up. Be
able to live with some messes because, can I
go back to, like, how did you learn to do stuff?
That bricklayer, you know the greatest gift he
gave to me? You know, I came to Christ, and then,
you know, I went mostly to school to play basketball
and baseball, but I did get education. And I
think God put me with that bricklayer, and we
saw this ministry grow. And then I graduated
from school, and before I could find a coaching
job, I worked with him. And then I was there
like three months, we're going to launch this
new ministry. And he started working with some
couples. He went a year earlier than me. And
I'll never forget the day I came up to his house
because we'd have a little Bible study Saturday
morning. And he goes, Chip, you know something?
I'm getting too old for this student stuff. And
I'm going to just focus on couples. The whole
campus ministry, I mean, we had like five people.
The whole campus ministry is yours. So what do
you mean? He said, it's yours. Well, what's that
mean? It's yours. Lead it. Direct it. come up
with a strategy, make it happen. I said, Dave,
I moved here to learn all this stuff. I mean,
I had a good teaching job and I came to learn
from you and do all this stuff and I'm living
in this tiny little apartment with the box and
the campus is up there and we do it in your living
room. What do you mean? He said, look, just lead
it. And I said, well, I don't know enough. He
goes, well, there's my file cabinet. Everything
I've learned, all the messages I've learned from
other people, they're topical. You can just open
them up and get whatever you need. And I remember
because his house was up on this hill and mine
was down at the bottom. And I remember trudging
down. I said, man, I can't believe this. I can't
believe this. I can't believe this. I can't believe
this. I mean, he just dumped this whole thing
on me. And by the time I got to the door, it
was like, all right. Hey. I'm going to lead it.
I'm going to do it my way then. So I started
these Gospel of John Bible studies in dorm rooms
and guys are smoking dope and there's all these
pictures on the wall and it's crazy and I'm getting
in the Bible and all of a sudden they start coming
to Christ and here's what he understood. He could
have me help him for yet another season and I
would be a little helper. Or he could dump the
truck of responsibility on me and I'd have to
figure it out. You know how I learned how to
lead? Leading. And you know how you learn how
to lead when you don't know how to lead? It's
called overwhelm us. And then guess what? I prayed
a lot because I didn't know what I was doing.
Now, I'm sure he kind of was watching and he
was not going to let me go over a cliff. But
he let me get right to the edge. That's what
you want to do. Feed him responsibility. Give
him jobs. Feed him responsibility. Number three.
require, I almost said demand because I really
mean demand, demand excellence and develop a
work ethic. We have just got into this, our little
kid's psyche. We don't want him to feel bad.
My kids will tell you, and maybe I was a little
over the top. I had one son that had a struggle
in school and he had the gift of sloppiness.
And so he would do his homework and he would,
I mean, I couldn't even read it and it was half
baked. And so every night, I mean, for like almost
two years, every night. I'm not exaggerating,
so maybe I missed a night, you know, sort of.
Not many. And I would look at it, and I said,
well, Eric, I can't read this. He said, well,
Dad, it's the best I can do. I said, well, the
best you can do, I guess, is not quite good enough,
because that's, and I would give him, you know,
the little dad sermon, and I really love you,
son. And I'd do it again. Hey, Eric, got news.
You can cry as long as you want, but when you
start writing it again, it'll get quicker, okay?
So I'll be out here when you get it done, bring
it out to me. And that's how you learn to clean
out the garage. That's not bad. Now try it again.
You know, the reason the vacuum cleaner, you
pick up the rug and you actually vacuum under
the rug, okay? Now, I'm not talking about being
perfectionistic, over -the -top, wacko. Although
my kids at times would say I had small moments
of that. It was, if they don't learn to work
well and work with excellence and work to an
audience of one, where do you think they're going
to pick that up? One of the greatest gifts I
think I saw my wife and I give our children is
they know how to think and they know how to work.
And they've all been very successful in jobs
because right now, how many of you are like either
a business owner, supervisor, employer, manager
in any way? What's your number one problem? You
can't find people who can work, right? You can't
find people that can come on time, do what they're
told, fulfill a job, and do it well. You give
that to those you love, and they'll be successful
in whatever they do. And so you have to demand
that. By the way, the reason for those of you
that still have some small kids, or by the way,
it gets harder when they're older. Well, I'm
18 years old. I can do anything I want. That's
right. And you can also pay your own rent. You
can buy your own food. Give them responsibility.
Your goal is not to make them dependent and like
you and have warm, fuzzy feelings all the time.
You want to launch them. They are an arrow of
God out of your quiver, and you want to launch
them into the world with a trajectory of impact.
So they need to understand, I'm called to do
this. God made me to do this. I do it for an
audience of one. You know what? I can lay brick
or be a nuclear physicist. And you know what?
They're equal in God's eyes. I just need to figure
out what that is. And the final thing I would
say is teach them, and I allude to this, to work
for an audience of one. And when they're young,
I mean, I just, like I told them, I said, I understand
no one can see behind here that's really dirty
and all the cobwebs and, you know, the spiders
that are coming out of the corner and stuff that's
upsetting your mother. But the reason you clean
here is because we're not doing this for me or
for your mom. You do your best because this is
your, work is an offering to God. Did you see
it? This was really one of the core Reformation
principles. The priesthood of the believer was
one. This other was living life before the face
of God, all that we do, all that we are, as an
offering. These are the biblical principles to
instill in our offspring. It's a legacy that
will last forever. You're listening to Living
on the Edge with Bible teacher Chip Ingram. Chip,
although we've been on radio for 30 years, we're
finding that young listeners don't tune in this
way. Instead, they're using new platforms, and
they're asking honest, vulnerable questions.
It's our role as parents and grandparents to
bolster their confidence in the credibility of
the Bible. Young adults today are asking questions
their parents never ask. How do I know Christianity
is true with so many other religions? You know,
why does the Bible seem to contradict science?
Or how can I trust a God who allows such suffering?
These aren't rebellious questions. They're honest
questions. And they deserve an honest answer,
a thoughtful answer. Living on the edge doesn't
shy away from the hard stuff. You might remember
our series, Caring Enough to Confront, where
we taught on abortion. Politics, the environment,
LGBTQ, porn, heterosexual sin. I mean, if they
don't hear God's perspective that is winsome
and loving and clear and truthful, how do we
expect them to follow him? We have to give answers.
with a spirit of kindness and love, but we have
to shoot it straight. And by and large, that
has not happened across America. This is where
God is called living on the edge to step in and
both be kind and winsome, but at the same time,
tackle controversial issues in a way that's clear,
that's biblical, that's relevant, and speaks
to the heart of young people. When you give to
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It's a critical time in this generation. Will
you stand with us? We've made it simple to respond
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Here's our phone number again, 888 -333 -6003,
or give online at livingontheedge .org. Well,
I'm Dave Drewy. Join us when Chip Ingram continues
to describe how to leave a legacy that lasts
forever, Friday on Living on the Edge.