An old French proverb says, Il faut qu’une porte soit ouverte ou fermée.

Literally, A door must be open or closed. What does that mean?

Interestingly, it refers to the fact that we must choose where we stand—there is no middle ground—but why?

Even in Scripture we are told in Revelation 3:16,

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

It seems that God would prefer for us to admit to ourselves and to everyone else that we are on one side or the other. Part of the reason could be that being in the middle leads us to believe we’re on solid ground when we are not.

In the blog, Choosing Your Battles Wisely, I asked upon what do we declare war. Perhaps a better question is—do we declare war on anything?

I often talk about what our kids see us doing, especially the things with which we are passionately involved. But this is important even when there is no one looking.

The question then, is do we declare war on:

• Poverty?
  • If we do, are we putting our money to work?
    • We need to be investing the money God has entrusted to us to make a difference in the lives of the poor and needy around the world. To give them food, water and the Gospel.
  • Where does that money come from?
    • There are many different philosophies about investing in Godly causes. Some feel that we should be taking the 10% tithe and dividing it up “However the Lords leads.” The problem with that is that He has already told us to use the tithe fully in the local church. You don’t direct where it is spent—no earmarks, just give it—all 10%.
• Additional monies (however the Lord leads) should be given above and beyond the tithe. And by all means, we should give above and beyond whenever possible.
• Pornography?
  • We should be committed to all-out war against Pornography. The young men we influence should know without a doubt that we stand against it in all circumstances. Be outspoken and obnoxious if need be, but make certain the young men under your influence know you stand boldly and unwaveringly against it.
• Divorce?
  • Do your kids know how much you are against divorce? Do they care? They not only care, they may even worry about it as a result of today’s society. But they won’t if you are open about why you see it as being against God’s will.
• Lust?
  • Men—our sons and our daughters notice what we look at, and who we look at. We already know it isn’t good for us to look with lust at a woman, we have clear instruction about this in Scripture. We can set the example for our sons—what we look at; and our daughters—how they should be looked at.
• Road rage?
  • Never mind this one.

It’s actually our duty to declare war on the things that threaten our families and marriages.

A door must be open or closed—firmly stand for what is right. Everything is founded upon it.