The Wondering Sheep: Episode 7 – Living the Christian Life

’Tis a Puzzlement!

January 23, 2026

That is a very famous line. It’s from a musical called “The King and I,” based on a book called, “Anna and the King of Siam,” a true story. The ruler of Siam (Thailand) hires a British teacher to teach his children to know about the western world as well as English. In the process, cultures clash, love happens, and great fun is had by all (this is a musical after all!). Yul Brenner, a very good actor, played the King on Broadway and the Hollywood movie. Every time the west and it’s uncivilized customs confused him, he would say “tis a puzzlement.”   

At times, the world we live in seems just as confusing as if we are the King of Siam living in the mid to late 1800’s watching the decadent/colonial west infringe on our world. Over the last few years, we have been told (and demanded to agree with) some things that to this old man are indeed a "puzzlement." Here is a partial list: boys can be girls; boys who say they are girls should compete on girls sports teams; our nation's constitution simply is so outdated that a judge should change whatever he/she thinks doesn’t fit any more; and so on.   

“Tis a puzzlement”, indeed. Where is the truth in all this? I’m sure you could add more items to the list. In fact, even this short list I’ve create could lead some to say the world has gone “mad!” But remember that as Christians the question isn’t about this political movement or that one, but instead this one: what does the Bible say about all this? How about these few points, for starters:  

1. We are to obey those, like ones in government, who he has placed above us - unless we are asked to act/believe against God’s Word. This is the heart of the Fourth Commandment. Earlier today, I heard a discussion on a radio show about the involvement of Lutheran churches in the Twin Cities with the recent activity going on there. It’s hard to know what is true, but the folks doing the talking sure did not have a good view of all Lutherans because of what they had heard churches doing. As Confessional Lutherans (as we understand that not all Lutherans are) we believe that we have one, overriding goal as a church: preach the Gospel! Could we could easily lose sight of that goal when people take issue with authority? Of course. This is a puzzling situation that our world and churches find themselves in.   

2. As Christians who are always GROWING in our faith, it is our responsibility to “train up our children” to be strong in the faith. That means we need to know what they are being taught. As Christian parents, we don’t want to place our kids in a situation where they are taught things contrary to what is in God’s Word. We need to know our options for their education. We need to prioritize and encourage learning in Confirmation and Sunday School (remember that 2 hours is pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things). How can Bible time compete with 40 hours of school each week? Consider how you attempt to solve this puzzle as a parent. You can only do it with prayer and time in the Word yourself.  

“Tiz a puzzlement” is becoming one of my favorite comments. An article like this can be hard to write, to keep it short. We’re dealing with important stuff, of course. But we need to keep going back to that priority, that question: what is our purpose as Christians living in a broken world? To preach the Gospel. Secondarily, we need to make sure our family knows and shares our faith. Is any of this easy? Of course not. Do we have help? You bet! Here’s a partial list of resources to help you: God’s Word, our called workers, our faith family, WELS in its efforts to give us tools to strengthen our faith, and once again: Jesus is ALWAYS with us!