Sterling Griggs

Is it okay for a Christian to drink alcohol? What about tobacco? R-rated movies? The list goes on and on regarding what Christians can - or should - do in their personal lives. In fact, the arguments can get so intense that friendships get wounded and fellowship gets fractured before any useful resolution is reached. Often the debate rages over outward appearances rather than the true condition of the heart. So instead of trying to argue a point, I'm going to agree with the apostle Paul in Romans 14:1 when he writes, "Don't argue about doubtful issues." After this statement, Paul spends the rest of the chapter outlining for believers how we are to handle ourselves when it comes to the issue of these doubtful - sometimes called grey - areas ( 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 also covers this topic). Basically, when it comes to areas where there is not a consensus as to whether it is right or wrong to participate, Paul gives us some guidelines to ask ourselves (not to pre...

There is a trend that has been disturbing me for some time now and it's probably not really a trend at all. In fact, I know it's not. But it disturbs me now because I see it becoming more and more of a trend amongst those who claim to be followers of Christ. It's fatalism, the belief in the inevitability of actions or circumstances. Let me explain with an example. The debate about the extent to which our children should be instructed in sex education is an argument rooted in fatalism: Kids are going to have sex so we must equip them with knowledge and protection. Do you see the angle there? Kids are going to have sex, period. We know it, it's unavoidable. Therefore, we must avoid archaic abstinence education and focus on prevention of unwanted pregnancies and STD's. It doesn't matter the percentages of how many teenagers do or don't have sex in such an argument. If you dissent and say that not all kids will or that same actually want to wait until ...

If there was ever a procedure that I want done to me it's laser eye surgery. Right now I am a contact wearer but it gets tougher and tougher every day because they seem to irritate my eyes more than they used to. My glasses work fine, I just don't enjoy wearing them, especially if I'm wrestling with my kids (they always play dirty and go for the glasses). But of course if I don't wear them, I can't see clearly. There is that period of time between taking out my contacts and putting my glasses on the is a blur. If I don't put my glasses on, eventually my vision will clear up a little bit but not enough for me to read or see very far. It's not until I put my glasses on that everything comes into perfect focus. I don't know what it takes for me as a follower of Christ to be fully in focus. The periods in my life when my walk with Christ are hazy at best seem to glare at me with tremendous ferocity. Why do I sometimes get lazy and undisciplined? Why ...

My son Deacon has had infection in both ears since November 2008. We've tried every medicine that they have given to us and have even subjected him to Rocephin shots but nothing has been able to cure them. Just this past Sunday, his left eardrum ruptured from the infection and once again he is a sick little kid. Thankfully he is scheduled to have tubes place in his ears in March. Why is it that some infections and diseases are resistant to medications? We've all heard of MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and how it can do serious damage to the body, yet there are other types of bacteria and viruses that resist treatment as well (consider the flu virus and how it changes every year). Have you ever noticed that people sometimes are resistant to things that are intended to make them better? Why does that girl keep dating the loser when everyone is trying to warn her that he's bad news? Why does a toddler touch a hot stove even when his parents warn him o...

No, not me, but my family sure is. When we went to bed last night, my wife was complaining about her stomach hurting pretty badly. Then, shortly before midnight my 6 year old woke me up to tell me that she had thrown up in her bed. Can I tell you how much I LOVE vomit? Just as got everything cleaned up and her back to bed, the baby woke up and just wouldn't stop crying. Then my wife got up to get sick and while she was in the bathroom my 7 year old went to the other bathroom and got REALLY sick. Have I mentioned how much I hate vomit. Not to be outdone, my 6 year old got sick again in the kitchen and by then the baby had a huge blowout in her diaper (I'm still trying to clean up the bathroom from my 7 year old's episode). Well, it just wouldn't be a party without my 2 1/2 year old son and yes, you guessed it, he vomited too (he also vomited twice in the car this morning as I pulled into Target). After much cleaning - and gagging - I have everyone back in bed by...

This past weekend a group of college students who grew up in our church went on a ski retreat together. I couldn't join them but that was okay since this was something they had put together themselves and we had some other adults go up there with them. They skied, of course, but that wasn't the most memorable part of their weekend. During their time of Bible study together it was obvious that God was moving amongst the group and there was a long period of soul-searching and vision casting that came out of it. They are now more than motivated to move forward as a ministry and as believers than ever before. Now let me flash forward and backward to the other times I have been involved with students in ministry. There have been moments where I honestly believed I was teaching God's Word in a cemetery. The looks of boredom, the disinterest, and the apathy at times have been overwhelming. Sure there are a lot of kids who don't enjoy sitting around in a Bible study, but...

Why do I want your kids when I have 4 of my own and I'll still be purchasing diapers for possibly two more years? The answer is simple: If you don't want your kids then I will take them. Let me explain. I turned the TV on last night and it was on PBS because that's where the kids had it last when they were watching some of their afternoon educational cartoons. There was a news show on and it was about the issue of education in New Orleans. The scene that caught my eye was of 2 officers knocking on an apartment door to serve a summons for court to a woman who was just off camera. Her kids had been absent (truant) 15 times already that school year and they were urging her to go to court so they wouldn't have to come back and arrest her. Several times during the conversation the mother mentioned something about the state coming to get her kids. Finally, the female officer told the woman: "When you keep asking about the state taking your kids, you almost sound li...

This past Sunday at my church, a pastor from a neighboring county stood up to share some information about a summer mission project that we are going to help him with this summer. He has just gotten off a plane from Haiti at 5:00 a.m. that very morning so to say he was tired would be a humorous understatement. This man wasn't there to share about his trip to Haiti, but the one story he did share was one that I'm sure he could not keep to himself. On the first Sunday in Haiti, he was with another pastor who had the chance to preach in a local Haitian church. Through an interpreter he extended an invitation to anyone who wanted to respond to the gospel and, as the two of them stood off to the side, they noticed an older crippled woman who had moved in beside them. The interpreter told these two American pastors that this woman had "scooted" on her bottom, pushing herself along with her hands, for one mile to be here at this service, even traversing a shallow creek t...