A friend made the observation yesterday that we all want the same thing: To live as we wish, and to be secure in our homes and to rear our children as we see fit. The only disagreement is “how do we get there?”

There was a time (not that long ago) that I would have agreed with him. Now, I’m not so sure.

I’m constantly hearing that someone else knows what’s best. “Trust the science.”

“It takes a village.” “Think globally, act locally.” “We’re all in this together.”

Heck, I’ve said all of that (and more) at one time or another. But now I’m starting  to see these catchphrases as…feel-good fluff.

I don’t think that we “all want” to be able to live our lives, worship God, and rear our children in peace, according to our values. Sure, many of us do, and I would hope that it’s the majority. But if you can see what’s going on in the world, consider this: There are those who want to destroy this vision entirely, and they hide behind nice-sounding phrases.

These phrases include “gender affirming care at all ages.” (Nice speak for irreversible, destructive hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery – i. e. mutilation.)

How about “minor attracted person?”  (That one’s simple: Pedophile.)

Then, there’s “body autonomy.” (Note: refers only to abortion, but not to making other health decisions.)

“We want to do the right thing.”

Yes, we do. The question is: Who’s your authority for the right thing?

Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he wrote these words from God about you: These people honor me with their words, but I am not really important to them.Their worship of me is worthless. The things they teach are only human rules.’ You have stopped following God’s commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others.”  Mark 7:6-8

Watch out for those nice sounding phrases, and give them some deep thought before using them.