Spring came early to most of the 50 states this year—and with it, at least in the political fields, the usual crop of mixed truths, untruths, and wildly growing falsehoods. Let’s yank up one of those weeds for a little inspection: the idea that a national “war on women” is afoot.

It’s an ideological whopper that demands more scrutiny than it has so far gotten, because underneath it are solid rocks of myth concerning what are called the “social issues.” Let’s turn over a few of these to see what facts they hide.

Myth No. 1: The “war on women” consists of tyrannical men arrayed against oppressed but pluckily united women.

In the first place, womankind, bless her fickle heart, is not exactly united on…anything.

Public opinion polls show women to be roughly evenly divided on the question of abortion. This same diversity of opinion was also manifest in the arguments over the proposed new federal mandate forcing employers to pay for birth control, including abortifacients.

It seems difficult to argue that the results of the revolution have been a slam-dunk for happiness.

Over 20,000 women, from all walks of life, signed an open letter to President Barack Obama and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius objecting to the federal mandate. Co-written by lawyers Helen Alvare and Kim Daniels, that letter alone answered the taunting question of supporters of the measure, “Where are the women?” The answer: in impressive numbers on the opposite side of the dispute.

Other leaders hailing from the XX side of the chromosome gap also took public stands against the mandate, including politicians, pundits, professors, editors and authors who don’t seem to have gotten the message that they are victims in all this. They considered the unexpected federal fiat a violation of religious liberty and individual conscience, but they didn’t think these wrongs had anything to do with themselves qua women. Many men shared their view.

You can read the rest of the articles by clicking on the links above. I for one, was fascinated by the discussion. However, one of the most incredible statements, and perhaps the most helpful, was her reference to Eric Kaufmann’s book Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, where Kaufmann argues (and Eberstadt summarizes) that “in every religion the religious have more children. And across the board of the modern West, secular people have fewer to none. And in the long run, he thinks, as the title suggests, that the religious will inherit the earth. I’m not a demographer so I tend not to go there, but I think there are other forces, too, that will propel people back toward more traditional arrangements.”

Mary Eberstadt is the author of Adam and Eve After The Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution.

Tim Sweetman -

For those who are interested, here is the short list of articles relating to the topic of “No Little People” that I’ve written over the past few years:

• No Little People: Faithfulness in Small Things
• Faithful to the End
• Running from the Edge
• Loser Christian
• In Security
• A Drive Across Kansas
• Five Lies About Faithfulness
• All Those Little Things
• First Things First
• Do Small Things
• Not Spectacular

Tim Sweetman -

Windows down. Stars in the sky. 

I find it incredible that those six words can affect my heart and soul so much. They fill my imagination with graduer. Something in me just wants to slip outside into the quiet, warm darkness. Pretend to be quiet as the car dings and my keys jingle.

Then crank it up. Turn down the radio. Windows down. Stars in the sky. 

Soft on the gas. Gentle on the turns. Hair blowing. Deep breathing. Amazing sights.

G.K. Chesterton once said:

“I do not think there is anyone who takes such a fierce pleasure in things being themselves as I do. The startling wetness of water excites and intoxicates me: the fieriness of fire, the steeliness of steel, the unutterable muddiness of mud.”

Do you see the glory in the created things around you that the Lord has made?

I do.

I drink deeply of the coolness of water. The juicy steak. The hickory smoked almonds. Smell deeply the scent of old books. Let the gentle breeze whisk along my legs and arms.

I think we flash by this amazing world in a bustle and hurry. We get so caught up staring at our bright screens or attached to our communication devices we have lost sight of the greatness of the simple, yet complex, things around us.

Open your eyes to the deep beauty that points to an even deeper Beauty.

Tim Sweetman -

I have been greatly helped by both his and Spencer Harmon’s writings on their blog, and this is no exception. We are to remain true and faithful in loving our wives who are beautiful because they have been made in the image of God, and because of that inner beauty we can see as she grows in true and lasting beauty as she becomes more like Christ.

#1. Remind her that she is beautiful because she is made in the image of God. 

Before brushing over this, we must let this reality sink in. God does not make trash. If you scoff at his art, you insult him. This truth is not just a nice saying to make unattractive people feel better about themselves. God says he created man in his image and this reality is not to become trite in our minds. There is a real, holy, stunning level in which your fiancee is unwaveringly beautiful because she reflects God. Even if she is marred by third degree burns or ransacked by acne, this reality does not move. Every day her image pours forth speech of the handiwork of God. Christ has made a personal claim regarding the incredible crafting of his creation.

#2. Remind yourself of the hidden image of God made possible in Christ. 
It is good to tell your fiancee that she is pretty, but do not miss out on the thrill of praising her hidden person. Physical appearance is fleeting but there is an imperishable beauty that only gets better. If she is growing in faith, fearlessness, gentleness, holy submission, and compassion, make it a point to praise these ornaments. The fruit of the Spirit has a sweetness that will never sour. Dwell on her godly character and attach your heart to it!  Ask the Lord to give you eyes to behold true beauty. Beg him to give you grace to truly appreciate the grace he has given her. Make it top priority to value, treasure, and be drawn to her godly character. Her inner heart is a gorgeous glimpse of God.

You can read the rest over at the Unspoken Blog. 

Tim Sweetman -

So often we buy into the lies of not only the world around us, but of our own “Christian” culture about faithfulness. Normal ministry is no longer acceptable. Small churches, although the norm, are not considered something to pursue. For those of us who are young, we want to really change the culture around us any way that we can. The common belief is that those at the top are the game changers, the trendsetters, and the culture shifters. I don’t believe it for a second. And so I present to you four lies that we often buy about faithfulness.

Lie #1: My present actions hold no consequences
This is completely false. If you spent time with any senior citizen, they would all tell you that their teen and early formative years proved to be extremely influential on who they are and who they became. What you do right now, the seeds you plant, will one day come forth and produce some kind of fruit. You will receive the consequences, whether good or bad, from the way you live right now. Don’t waste your time right now. Prepare yourself for the future by being faithful with what you have right now.

Lie #2: Big always equals great
Faithfulness and true greatness usually happen in private. Being “big” does not mean that you are “great.” True greatness is often found, and usually found, in the small and humble who are faithfully serving day in and day out. I could probably argue that the President of the United States is great – but what about his mother, or his teachers, or any number of people who have influences and affected him and helped him be the man he is today? Never forget that humble, quiet faithfulness is truly great.

Lie #3: Fame always means effectiveness
Faithfulness doesn’t need praise or immediate results. It realizes that although it may seem that those who are famous seem effective, those who are faithfully plodding with have fruit that lasts for eternity. That’s not to say that fame doesn’t mean effectiveness. That’s not it at all. God uses people and places them in special places to have influence. But it does not negate the fact that those who are faithfully with where they are and with what they have can have just as much effectiveness for the Kingdom of God.

Lie #4: Small people don’t make a difference in the world
There are hundreds of stories that could prove the falsity of this lie. I’ve told the story of my great-grandmother time and time again. She was a “nobody” in the general sense, yet I know hundreds of people have been changed through the ministry that she and my great-grandfather had with them. I am certain there are untold stories of faithful saints who have served in relative obscurity – yet they will be given the greatest seat when we enter heaven. Do not despair if you find yourself in a small place. Be faithful to the end.

Tim Sweetman -

Tim Sweetman -

My latest article from Boundless is now online:

Sitting across the table from my 96-year-old great-grandmother is always a joy. It doesn’t take long to realize she was once a fiery redhead, even beneath the faded beauty.

She smiles wide when I tell her that I’ve decided to be a pastor. I smile back.

See, my great-grandma grew up in a small town in Illinois, went to Bible school and married a pastor. She and my great-grandfather served in churches from Mississippi to Maryland. Her stories range from the hilarious to the somber and depressing.

I took a sip of my tea as she told me another funny story with that twinkle in her eye.

When she finished her story, I couldn’t help but ask her about the hard times. Her face darkened as the months and years of difficulty and sorrow flashed through her mind. Their house had burned after a church service. I could imagine my great-grandmother being dragged away from the wreckage as she watched through tears all that she owned burn to the ground.

“But you know what, Tim? It couldn’t have been better for us,” she told me. “We kept serving, and that tragedy brought us closer to the community. We ended up in an even better house.”

Hardly anyone knows my great-grandmother. She does not command attention when she enters a room. She is frail and forgetful. But I wouldn’t dare for a moment say that this woman was not used by the Lord in incredible ways.

She stands as a spiritual giant in my mind, despite her lacking résumé and speaking schedule.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him.”

Read the rest here.

Tim Sweetman -

I would never claim to be an expert on parenting, but this blog post struck me as not only telling of many Christian parents, but us as human beings. C.S. Lewis, in his famous sermon “The Weight of Glory,” said ““There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations–these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.” It is to easy to lose sight of the fact that we are parenting, befriending, and speaking to souls, not just mortal flesh.

Here are the words from Gloria Furman (via Justin Taylor):

Parental amnesia is not just where you walk into a room and forget why you’re carrying the laundry basket with four dirty coffee mugs in it. That’s called normal. Parental amnesia is where we forget about two things: tomorrow and eternity.

First, we forget that Lord-willing our children will grow up to be adults. I have a hard time imagining my 5-year-old as a 35-year-old or a 65-year-old. Her big goals right now are waiting patiently for her first loose tooth and learning to tell what time it is. Sometimes I think she’ll be five forever and do five-year-old things forever.

Second, we forget that our children are more than just potential adults. They are people made in God’s image and they have eternal souls. When the mundane looms larger than eternal life we forget who God is, who we are, and who our children are.

We tend to forget about tomorrow and eternity when our day is filled with the tyranny of the urgent. Do you ever feel like that ball in the arcade game that ricochets off the walls? Supervise homework while diverting toddlers from swishing their arms in the toilet! Hand down verdicts in Mother’s Court about whose toy it really is! No wonder it’s hard to keep an eternal perspective.

For me, parental amnesia settles like a fog in the morning hours. If I don’t renew my mind through the truths in God’s word then the fog doesn’t burn off and let light of the gospel shine in. By the end of the day I am lost in a cloud of discouragement that doesn’t lift.

It’s easy to let our perspective get buried in an avalanche of cotton blends at Mount Laundry. Even so, we must make an effort to remember that our job is more than feeding, bathing, clothing, and educating our children.

You can read the rest here at Desiring God.

Tim Sweetman -

I was on break, sitting in the corner of the restaurant I work at eating my dinner. The dining room was pretty empty – quiet, calm. I looked up to see a family walking in. Dad, Mom, and three boys. I chuckled to myself because they reminded me of ducks, all in height order. Dad, the tallest. Mom next, then the three others. All in a straight line.

They ordered their food, and sat down a few booths away from me, across the aisle. Two boys on one side, mom and another son on the other. Dad at the head of the table.

I saw another family glance at them, chuckling among themselves. I wasn’t. I was carefully watching what they did next. All of them reverently took off their hats, closed their eyes, and thanked God for their food. The other family starting whispering again. I was simply convicted.

I totally forgot to thank God for my food! I thought to myself. Okay, well…I guess I just flat out didn’t do it because I just didn’t feel like it.

The family concluded their prayer, returned their hats to their heads, and began eating. I really wanted to walk over and thank them right then and there for their example to me and to others in the restaurant. People may think it’s old and cliche to talk about being a witness by praying in public. I don’t think it is at all. Something was working in my heart right there. The Holy Spirit was working through this family.

Fast forward to the night after. I’m driving home. The sun is setting, a faint moon can be made out in the blue sky. Music plays quietly the background with the faint sound of tires on the road. I was thinking about that family again. What exactly was God trying to tell me? It couldn’t simply be “Tim, you didn’t ask a blessing over your food.” I knew it was much, much deeper than that.

It became pretty obvious to me as I saw that sunset in front of me and I drove towards home — there was a heart issue. I was ungrateful for what God had given me – I wasn’t thankful to God that I was driving a car I own, I wasn’t thankful for my job, my family, a home to return to, a church family, life, salvation, or the cross. I had been moping around worrying about finishing school, whining about having to work, and complaining about the situations I found myself in. The praying family stopped me dead in my tracks.

Thank goodness God is “kind to ungrateful and evil men.” I was acting just like those evil men described in 2 Timothy 3:2, the men who are “lovers of self…arrogant…ungrateful, unholy…[and] holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.” Paul tells us to “avoid such men as these.”

I should not act like these sinful men, but instead should give thanks to God for his infinite mercy to me first of all through the gospel. The truth of the cross does not allow for ungratefulness. I must also thank God for his grace through the Holy Spirit, which is shown to me daily. In addition, I must thank God for common grace – life, sun, rain, oxygen, etc. With these things in mind I should never stop giving thanks to God.

So, it’s not that I broke some rule about praying before my meal. The issue is much deeper than that – things like that can quickly show us a much deeper problem in our lives. My prayer is that none of us will allow ourselves to overlook that truth. Let’s check our hearts.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.

Tim Sweetman -

Dear Jason…

March 26, 2012— I was walking by the bridge the other night. Actually, I got engaged there just a few months ago. My fiancée sat on the same bench and looked out over the dark river and the city beyond – and I couldn’t help but think about you Jason and that terrible night.

For me, it was dark and a perfect night for a walk. I guess you and your fiancée and friend though the same. It’s what 20 year olds do. That train bridge would have given you a spectacular and stunning view of the city, for sure. Little did you know that this evening stroll would change my life.

I’ll be honest Jason, I haven’t quite been the same person since that night. When I saw Ginny running on the bridge, I didn’t know what I was seeing. I’d never seen a human being on a massive train bridge. The dam below was empty that night, so it was quieter than usual – but when I heard her weeping, I knew something was wrong.

Read the rest here.

Tim Sweetman -