“Is it wrong to get back at someone who’s hurt you? A friend said some very hurtful things about me recently, and now I’ve found out something about her that would really embarrass her if I revealed it. My husband says to forget it, but I can’t. ”
“When our family got together over the holidays we began talking about what we wanted out of life, and one of my cousins answered with one word: money. I guess I’ve never thought about this much, except to be happy. Is my cousin on the right track? Should this be my goal, too?”
“I realize religion is a great comfort to some people, and I’m glad it is. However, I don’t feel any need for that kind of emotional support, so why should I bother getting involved in my girlfriend’s church (which she keeps wanting me to do)?”
“My wife and I spent our Christmas holiday on a church-sponsored mission trip, helping build a school in another country. It really shocked us, because we’d never seen how people in poorer countries live. Is there any hope for them? What we did seemed so insignificant.”
“Why is there so much violence in the world today? You’d think terrorists and people like that would realize violence only makes things worse, but they never do. What’s wrong with them? Don’t most people want to live in peace?”
“My sister-in-law spends a lot of time worrying about the future. She reads all sorts of doomsday blogs and worries constantly about all the disasters she thinks might happen to us. Is it good to worry so much about this?”
“I dream a lot about how great it would be to be famous someday, like a movie star or recording artist. I enjoy singing with some of my high school friends, and I think it would be cool to be a celebrity. Is it wrong to think like this?”
“Where did religion come from? I’m not sure I even believe in God, and even if I did, I don’t know which religion I’d choose.”
“Our two children are too young to come to church with us, but at what age should we begin taking them? They stay in our church’s nursery right now, but we want them to learn about God once they’re older.”
“We feel sorry for a family that’s just moved in near us, because one of their children has lots of health problems and they don’t seem to know anyone here. I’m sure it must be very hard on them. We don’t want to intrude, but should we offer to help?”
“All my life I’ve known my parents got divorced because of me. They were always arguing because I was a burden to them, and they wouldn’t have gotten divorced if I hadn’t been born. Why did God let this happen to me?”
“For Christmas, my aunt gave our 12-year-old son a game that’s supposed to be able to answer questions about the future. I asked her about it because I’ve never wanted anything to do with things like this, but she laughed and said it was just for fun. What would you say?”