Sex, Money, and the Bible

In one paragraph

Brian used the image of a hat rack to walk through what it means to hold beliefs that can actually bear the weight of your life. He applied that image to three subjects: the Bible, money, and sex, asking in each case which hook people are hanging their beliefs on and whether that hook will hold. The central image was a hat rack. Each hat represents the sum total of what you believe about a given...

Read together

1. Psalm 119:1-8 read aloud to illustrate hanging beliefs on God's truth rather than popular narratives
2. Romans 12:1-2 cited as God's invitation to be transformed by renewing the mind rather than conforming to the world
3. Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus warns against storing earthly treasure and says the heart pursues what it esteems as treasure
4. Matthew 6:31 Jesus tells his followers not to worry about food and clothing as unbelievers do but to seek God's kingdom first
5. 1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul commands fleeing sexual sin because it is a sin against the body
6. 1 Timothy 2:22 instruction to run from youthful lust and pursue righteous living with those who call on the Lord
7. Genesis 1:27 God created human beings male and female in his image, cited in the discussion on gender
8. James 5:16 paraphrased loosely as the prayer of a righteous person being powerful and effective

Talk about it

1. Brian described the principle of the biggest hook, saying the most compelling narrative is the most likely to get your belief, and that compelling does not necessarily mean true. Where in your own life have you hung a belief on a hook simply because the narrative was compelling or convenient rather than because it was true?
2. One person in the room shared that they spent about fifty years hanging their hat wherever the wind blew, and Brian affirmed that honesty as beautiful. What has it cost you, or someone close to you, to rest beliefs on hooks that eventually broke?
3. Brian talked about people being talked out of faith before it ever had a chance to bear any weight, and he also said sometimes we move our hat ourselves because what we believe is inconvenient or incompatible with following Jesus. Which of those two things do you think is more common, and why?
4. Psalm 119 verse 8 ends with the words please do not give up on me, and Brian pointed out that almost every hand in the room went up when he asked who could relate to that line. What does it mean to you personally that this cry is sitting right there in the middle of scripture?
5. Brian touched on sex, money and gender and said the words from his mouth were not intended as condemnation, but rather as an invitation to hang beliefs on hooks that can bear the weight. How do you hold that tension between speaking truth and not coming across as finger wagging, especially with someone close to you whose hat is hanging somewhere else?