Circle

"The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are."
C.S. Lewis

I appreciate these words, and the more I converse and church with those around me, the more I am assured of this. The people and the places around us shape us and mold who we are and how we grow.

I had a conversation this last week with a friend about a lot of different Orthodoxy/Orthopraxy subject matter. In this discussion, we were able to (at least in my opinion) challenge each others thoughts and ideas, and hear what the other person said and see how they worked it into their own life. I have heard and try to practice the idea of putting what I believe "on a shelf" and hearing what someone else is saying, and I think this friend did as well.

The neat thing about it-there was no fighting, no name-calling, no childish behavior exhibited...we were sharing how we felt and what we thought and believed and how that looked in practice with an open, inviting discussion. I love that. I need that, and I think we all need that. We all need to be challenged and to challenge someone else, if it is the same person or with others in your life, you need those that fit both areas in your circle.

I appreciate the wisdom of friends, and I hope they appreciate mine. It is my hope that when we do this thing we call "church"--aka "body of believers", that it is done in a positive, engaging fashion that screams wisdom, love and Jesus to those around us.

Orthodoxy/Orthopraxy

There is a word that has continued to be an important, spoken word in the Christian world that is the subject of books, discussions and the like. That word in Orthodoxy. But there is another word that goes along with it, and it is not discussed, and not as popular. That word in Orthopraxy. Odds are, you have heard of one and not the other.

According to the website for Merrian-Webster's Dictionary, these are the definitions for the following words:

Orthodoxy-Conforming to established doctrine especially in religion, conventional.

Orthopraxy-Correctness of action or practice.

Most of our focus in the Western Churches is on the subject and training of Orthodoxy, and what we believe, should believe and know. The doctrine, the ideas and the proper way to process out what we think.

But what if, instead of Orthodoxy our focus was on Orthopraxy? What would it look like if the actions, the activity of my life was more important than what I studied and what I wanted to believe was the right thing to do? Instead of thinking and discussing, I acted and practiced the right way, the way I was intended to function.


For me, I an trying to be less focused on what i read and formulate in my head, and more on how I treat those around me, how I communicate God's love and His plan to the world. Today, what is your spiritual walk focused on? Are you more concerned with proper thought, or proper action?