Actually the signet ring was more like giving his Son full authority and privileges to the family business. A signet ring was like a stamp, used to confirm the person making the transaction had the full authority to do so.

In other words -- in giving him the signet ring it was a sign that the son was restored as a full and authoritative member of his estate.



And yes, man looks on the outward appearance while God looks at the heart.
So what should a child of God do as they are to be witnesses to men and women?
Their outward appearance should be such that it brings glory to God and not to self and worldliness. (or to shabbiness and disrespect)

When I see how people now a days decorate their bodies I can only feel sorry for them. It must be painful and awkward to have all those holes bored into their ears, tongues, noses, eyebrows, belly buttons, and other sites, with some metal thing dangling from them.

I remember the mission stories from when I was a child, they would show pictures of the "heathen" in foreign lands with all those piercings and stuff dangling from them and we thought -- oh those poor people, they need to hear about Christ. And what a difference in the pictures of those who were converted!


Christianity took people away from those things and encouraged the beauty that comes from an inward love for God and mankind, but as Christianity wanes the desperate need to be noticed escalates and people do strange things to try and fill that need.

Jewelry is not the greatest sin in the church -- there are other sins far more serious and often given far less attention, but I really don't think we should be promoting or by our example encouraging it.

A Christian's beauty should radiate from within
not by artificial (and often cheapening) trinkets.

So with the wedding ring. A sign of marriage until death do us part.

Ellen made it clear that in her day this did not apply to America and so the wedding ring had no clear significance in the United States. Later, when she lived in Australia and her son was getting married there to the daughter of a minister of another denomination, Ellen had no objection to her daughter-in-law using a wedding ring, because this was the custom in Australia.

Is using it as a front for peddling different than embracing and wearing it?

But then again, selling it to the yet to be converted is proper?

But then again, selling what people were going to buy anyway and using it as an opening for deeper lines of thought?

Wow! Is a signet ring jewelry? A tie or tie tack? A tag heuer or Rolex? What indeed is the taboo? If you are gifted a family heirloom are you living in sin because you wear a family ring?
Alchemy do you truly believe that those that wear jewelry are not Christians?

I was trying to convince the wife of an African pastor she should not wear her ear rings. She told me she would take them off when the male pastors stopped wearing ties.

I don't personally know any man who likes to wear a tie. Most men feel obligated to do so by the women in their lives.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Was this supposed to be a response to something? What?

Who are we to convince others to remove their earrings?
In my local church a prominent member approached a lady who would tell children story, that she could not be part of the church program while she wore her earrings. Small earrings that were a gift to her from her husband. Surprise! She is not part of this church today! Interesting that the man that confronted her he himself has a Rolex and has many world toy. But he is considered a good member! Ironic?

I wonder how many of us would accept Jesus Christ into our company?

Yes, I see your point. People are cruel. But is there a limit? Should smokers be allowed to give the children story while smoking? What about two known lesbians giving the story together, arm in arm? If you say, well that's different, why? Does it matter if someone has very small hardly noticeable earrings versus someone who has multiple shoulder level dangling earrings, with a bunch of brassy clanging bracelets, and the low cut of the dress coming close to meeting its hem?

That is, are there limits?

And if so, who sets them?

But at the same time, one shouldn't say, you make the angels cry because you ....