TLP 201: Parenting a Zombie, Part 2 | the zombie’s problem

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Fictional zombies are presented as biological organisms whose brains are infected, but God doesn't call the fool brain -dead, he uses a very different image.

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Welcome to Truth, Love, Parent, where we use God's word to become intentional premeditated parents.

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Here's your host, AM Brewster. Welcome back to our Parenting a Zombie series. Today, we're going to talk about the zombie's problem.

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God is going to lay it out very clearly, and we should be able to use this information as a diagnostic tool to help determine if our children are engaging in zombie behavior.

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But before we do that, I want to share with you another five -star review we recently received from someone I met in Dallas.

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JTZSP wrote, This podcast is a blessing. Truth, Love, Parent is solid biblical counsel for every parent who strives to better raise their children to know and love

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God. I've listened to most episodes, some even a few times over. Thank you for your ministry.

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You help fill a gap for those of us who need the extra godly exhortation and encouragement to intentionally parent to God's glory.

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Well, that's exactly what we want to do. We want to be a help and encourage parents as we all learn to be the parents

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God called and created us to be. It was so nice spending time with you in Dallas, and I pray our paths will one day cross again.

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If TLP has been a blessing to you and you'd like to leave us a rating, review, or recommendation, you can go to iTunes,

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Facebook, or our website, truthloveparent .com to learn more. Also, if you believe that God would be honored by you being a blessing to TLP, you can click on the five ways to support

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TLP in the description below to learn more. We are a listener -supported podcast, and anything you can do to help would be such a blessing.

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Okay, if you didn't listen to our last episode, which dealt with what the Bible says about zombies, you should really check it out first so we're going into this with the right foundation.

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Hopefully, you'll find that the resemblance between the biblical fool and the mythical zombie is startling enough to change our perspective of what it means to be foolish.

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Zombie behavior is literally bound up in our children's hearts. We need to see it for what it is, understand it, and learn to address it.

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So if you're returning, let's dive into understanding what the zombie's problem is. First, let's remember from last time that fools and zombies have a lot in common because 1.

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Their minds don't work 2. They focus on only one thing, satisfying their desires 3.

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Intelligent people who meet them try to kill them, lock them up, or run from them 4.

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They suffer great destruction to get what they want 5. Neither the zombie nor the fool ever seem to learn

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Today I want to focus primarily on the first of those. What do I mean by saying the fool's mind doesn't work?

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Let's start by considering what I mean by the mind. First, it's important to acknowledge that humans are made up of two parts that come together and create a third.

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In Genesis 2 .8 we read, "...the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."

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Here we see God forming Adam's body and then breathing into that body, quote, the breath of life.

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The word translated breath is very similar to the Greek concept in that it can refer to breath and wind, but it can also refer to a spirit.

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And at the end we read that these two ingredients, body and spirit, created a living creature. The KJV renders that last part as a living soul.

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I don't want to take too much time with this, but here we learn that you and your kids have two parts, you have a body and a spirit, and when those two combine they create a soul.

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The body that is bereft of its spirit is not a soul, it's just a body, and the spirit is not the same as a soul.

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The spirit requires being connected to a body to be part of a soul. So if there are only two basic parts of humanity, the body and the spirit, then we need to identify where our mind is.

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Is the mind a biological organ or a spiritual reality? It's true we have brains, but is the brain the same as the mind?

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I believe the short and sweet answer is, not really. Neither psychologists nor psychiatrists truly understand the mind, and the honest ones will admit that.

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To that point, many scientists admit that we don't understand the biological brain as it is.

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Our minds are a complex, symbiotic relationship between our physical brains and our ethereal spirits.

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This is important to understand because fictional zombies are presented as biological organisms whose brains are infected, but God doesn't call the fool brain -dead,

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He uses a very different image. So with this foundation, let's consider the fact that, number one,

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God says the fool functions as if he had no mind. Here are four biblical illustrations of this point.

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A. The zombie enjoys the things which destroy him. That's not smart at all.

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In Proverbs 15, 21, we read, Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense. Let's pick this verse apart because I have a feeling that most of us don't appreciate the original language when it talks about folly and sense.

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Folly can refer to a lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight. It can refer to criminally or tragically foolish actions or conduct, evil, wickedness, especially lewd behavior, a foolish act or idea, and an excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking.

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There is nothing redeeming or valuable about folly. Folly isn't an accident, a simple problem, or an oops.

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Folly is evil, unprofitable, and tragic. And God says that folly is a joy to this individual because they lack sense.

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The word lacks means being completely destitute. It's not having just a little, it's possessing absolutely nothing.

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God says the fool has zero sense. But sense here is not referring to our understanding of common sense.

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This word can refer to the feelings, will, and even the intellect. Most of the time, it's translated heart, mind, or sense.

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This is the same concept with which we open. It's not that fools don't have a brain. God says that the fools act like they don't have a mind, a heart.

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Now why does God say that? Well, in addition to enjoying folly, B, the zombie doesn't understand what is truly valuable.

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Proverbs 17, 16 asks the question, why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?

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Like Jack who would sell his cow for a couple of beans, the fool will waste his money because he doesn't understand what's valuable.

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Proverbs 21, 20 says, Precious treasure and oil in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.

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For those of you with older children, can you think of some examples of things on which your kids have wasted their money?

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So, the fool lacks sense because he enjoys those things that will destroy him and doesn't understand what's truly valuable, but C, the zombie also hates that which is good for him.

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Proverbs 23, 9 warns, Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

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The word despise can mean to utterly hate. The word despise can also mean to consider something to be insignificant.

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But what does the fool despise? He hates good thinking. Can you imagine that? He not only loves what will harm him, he hates what will help him.

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Also, D, the zombie can't even glorify God when doing the most benign things.

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Ecclesiastes 10, 3 says, Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

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First, the fool functions as if he had no mind by enjoying those things which destroy him, not understanding what is truly valuable, hating what's good for her, and being completely incapable of glorifying

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God while doing the simplest things. But even if the fool acted like he had a mind, number two, the zombie's mind doesn't have knowledge.

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Proverbs 15, 7 tells us, The lips of the wise spread knowledge, not so the hearts of fools.

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The word heart here is the same as the word sense before. This is saying that the wise man possesses knowledge, but the mind of the fool doesn't have it.

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Proverbs 1, 22 asks, How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?

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The simple and the scoffers are two additional, more specific words to describe fools. And Proverbs 16, 22 says,

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The instruction of fools is folly. But the fool's mind doesn't simply not work because he lacks sense.

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Number three, the zombie hates understanding. Now, we're not going to take the time today to explain the difference between knowledge and understanding.

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We're going to have a whole series in the near future all about that. For now, we have to simply acknowledge that the fool hates understanding.

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Proverbs 18, 2 says, A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

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But the fool doesn't just lack knowledge and hate understanding. Number four, the zombie hates wisdom.

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Proverbs 1, 7 reads, Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 12, 15 says,

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The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. Proverbs 23, 9 tells us, Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

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Proverbs 24, 7 reads, Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the gate he does not open his mouth.

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And Proverbs 28, 26 says, Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.

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But believe it or not, things are still going to get worse. Number five, the zombie hates the things of God.

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Proverbs 14, 9 tells us that Fools mock at the guilt offering. One of the most important acts of worship in the

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Jewish sacrificial system is a joke to the fool. Number six, the zombie loves doing stupid, wicked things.

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Proverbs 10, 23, Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool. 13, 6,

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A fool flaunts his folly. 13, 19, To turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

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14, 16, A fool is reckless and careless. Verse 17, A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

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Proverbs 15, 5, A fool despises his father's instruction. Proverbs 17, 24,

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The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. And Proverbs 26, 11,

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Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. The fool's mind doesn't work.

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He doesn't have knowledge. He hates understanding, wisdom, and the things of God. The fool loves doing stupid, wicked things.

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But number seven, the zombie also has messed up communication. Proverbs 19, 1,

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Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

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10, 18, Whoever utters slander is a fool. 12, 16,

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The vexation of a fool is known at once. 12, 23, The heart of fools proclaim folly.

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15, 2, The mouths of fools pour out folly. 17, 7,

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Fine speech is not becoming to a fool. 18, 7, A fool's mouth is his ruin and his lips are a snare to his soul.

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Proverbs 23, Every fool will be quarreling. 26, 7,

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Like a lame man's legs which hang useless is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

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Proverbs 26, 9, Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

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And Proverbs 29, 11, A fool gives full vent to his spirit. My friends, today's goal was to discuss the zombie's problem.

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And perhaps you noticed many similarities between the biblical fool and your children. Next time, we're going to talk about the zombie's diet.

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This will give us even more specific insight into our children's minds. But before we end, what should we do with the mass of information we read today?

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I believe the first step is to go back and to read it some more. Go get the notes from truthloveparent .com

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and our blog, Taking Back the Family, and read over them and seriously consider whether or not these verses are describing your children.

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We need to live with our children according to knowledge. It doesn't matter how good an athlete or student or worker your child is.

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If they're exercising zombie behavior, if they're mindlessly staggering through life with the sole intent to satiate their own pleasure, then we need to acknowledge the zombie behavior.

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Some kids are slow to turn into spiritual zombies over a period of months or years. We need to see the sprigs of foolishness that we already know are there and work to weed them out of our children's hearts lest they grow up and choke out our kids' sense.

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I was a fool most of my life. Well, to be honest, I often still am when I sin against God. But when

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I was young, I was a high -functioning zombie. I could converse with and impress most people.

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I was a good student, a hard worker, and a fun person to be around. But most of those traits were simply

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I mindlessly trying to satisfy myself, by myself, for myself. Though I enjoyed education,

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I didn't value the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God. And for me, like with most of your kids, my communication was one of the key ways my parents could tell

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I was a zombie. When I wasn't being a consummate communicator and jovial all -around intelligent and good guy,

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I was critical, harsh, unkind, impatient, angry, unloving, and arrogant.

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Praise God that my parents could spot my zombie behavior and often tried to lead me to the cure. And that's what

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I want for you and your kids. So please, share this episode with your friends. Lord willing, we'll all learn together how to help our zombies.

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As always, our episode notes are linked below, and I want to encourage you to go over to truthloveparent .com and get connected with our various social media outlets.

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We are all about pointing you to plenty of resources for your parenting. I know that we didn't offer a ton of practical help to address the problem with your children, but we are seeing vital biblical data that should help us to know and understand our children much better, and I hope to do more of the same next time.

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So I'll see you then. Truth Love Parents is part of the

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Evermind Ministries family and is dedicated to helping you become an intentional premeditated parent.

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Join us next time as we search God's Word for the truth your family needs today.