KNOWLEDGE BRINGS UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION By Charles R. Williams, Minister for Nashville Rd. Church of Christ, Gallatin TN Have you ever wondered why men’s clothes have buttons on the left? Today there are millions of buttons of all kinds that are inexpensively used in clothing, but when they were first invented they were very expensive and thus primarily worn by the rich. Wealthy women had maids who dressed them; therefore, the dressmakers put the buttons on the maid’s right. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. Buttons have remained that way ever since even though it has lost its original purpose. We Christians need to constantly examine what we believe and what we practice religiously in light of the scriptures. Sometimes we are guilty of doing things just because that is the way it has always been done when in reality there is no scriptural basis. Some assume it must be some kind of requirement begun by God long ago and that is why we still practice it. Many years ago, a friend of mine preached for a small rural congregation where there was no air conditioning. To keep cool during services, they raised the windows and provided hand fans. To keep the flies off the Lord’s Supper table, they covered it with a sheet. Years later the building was air conditioned, but they continued to use the sheet even though it had lost its purpose. After more years went by, someone suggested they didn’t need the sheet. They could not remember why it was there in the first place, but some refused to let it be removed because it had always been there. Paul said, “Do not dispute over doubtful things,” Romans 14:1. There are some practices in religion that some assume have always been around. The denominational world is surprised when they discover that instrumental music was not used in worship by the early Christians for over 600 years. They are also surprised to discover that most denominations today refused to use them in the early years of their beginning. Scripture is very clear about what God has authorized (Col. 3:15; Eph. 5:19). Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs? Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of dense orange clay called “pygg.” When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as “pygg banks.” When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig, and it caught on. Sometimes we make things more difficult than they need to be. When our children and grandchildren ask us simple questions, they deserve truthful and simple answers. For example, when a child asks, “Where is God,” we do not need to give a twenty minute presentation on the universe and the first, second, and third heavens described in the Bible. A simple answer like, “God is in heaven…a place we cannot see. He watches and cares for us all the time.” Keep it simple, keep it truthful. Through my years of teaching, I found this works for adults as well. Happy learning. In Christ, Steve Preston Subscribe to BibleTalk,short messages from God's word the Bible, by e-mail to: bibletalk-subscribe@... or on the web at http://freegroups.net/groups/bibletalk/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping