We Love Jesus . . . but not You

As a followup to yesterday's ranting and raving on churches, I've stumbled across a great article on Beliefnet called, "Why Christians Suck." Basically, we're all a bunch of arrogant, self-absorbed, uncaring dweebs.  Great stuff...and it follows right along with what I've been going on about. Christians suck...the non sucky Christians (apparently less than 5% of Church-goers, who I personally differentiate from "Christians") need to help the sucky Christians be less-sucky. If this fails...we should run them from our churches with pitchforks and torches...just like an old-fashioned lynching.
Or we could pray for them...either way.

Churches: Havens for Weary Souls or Spiritual Dr. Kevorkians?

I have a good friend, who, if you have read his blog, doesn't exactly hold modern churches in high regard. I've criticized him, perhaps wrongly, because he chooses to have a service with his family, instead of going to a real church. I've defended churches of all types, under the premise that it's better to go and be a part of a community of believers, to help others, and to occasionally be supported when you go through your own hard times. I, myself, belong to an amazing non-denominational church. While no church is perfect, I feel that mine gets it right on all the major points, and if they're wrong in an area, they try their hardest to be right. I've always made the assumption that most churches were similar...that in their own way, they all just wanted to be right. They may go about it in wrong, or different ways, but that mostly they were trying to help people. Boy, was I wrong.

Recently, a good friend of mine, a youth pastor, discovered his wife was in adultery. They had recently had their first child, and as you can imagine, he was devastated. They separated, and my friend was intent on working things out (a good deal more than I would've done, personally). When he told his senior pastor, he was FIRED! Can you imagine? He has a baby, has just lost his wife, now his job, and his church! Apparently his church was concerned that it would make them look bad.

First of all, my friend did nothing wrong... at least to my knowledge. This would've been a time for the church, and the ministers of the church, to surround him with support and prayer. Take some time off...sure. This could've even been an example to the members of how a Godly person works through horrible situations with help from God. But instead, in his time of greatest need, the people that he had worked for, given his life to, and prayed over brushed him to the side when he was no longer immediately useful for praying for headaches, warts, or meaningless relationship problems. When it came to to repay all that he had given, they threw him out and brought in someone new to use and abuse until there was nothing left in him also.

Is this biblical? I think not. But it happens everyday throughout the country...when self-righteous, arrogant, Pharisaical, self-glorifying, religious dingbats run churches like medieval extremist witch hunters, on the prowl for the weakest Christians to crucify in their times of need. I see it constantly in my wife's family (her grandmother pastors our church). The church has used up every bit of life in her until her health has failed...and is trying to do the same to her daughter while she fills in for her in the pulpit. I am sick and tired of willfully and woefully idiotic church-goers expecting their pastors to be nothing more than religious slaves, waiting on their beckon call, for whatever ridiculous thing they need that day... "Pastor...my son is running with a bad crowd...can you come witness to him?" How about living saved in front of your son, and not allowing him to participate in things you don't agree with...cracktard?

We are all called to be ministers. Making our churches the healing centers that God means them to be is a responsibility we share in equal parts with our pastors. It's our responsibility to go out and bring in sinners...it's our responsibility to see about other Christians who need help, or who are sick, as much, if not more, than our pastors. STOP USING PASTORS TO BE SPIRITUALLY LAZY! STOP KILLING OFF THE LIFE IN OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN NEED! TAKE CARE OF YOUR PASTORS, INSTEAD OF USING THEM!!!!

How long were my friends in need of someone to turn to, to talk about their problems in their relationship? But no...as youth pastors, they weren't able to say they needed help...they had to be Superman to their church's Metropolis. Pastors and Ministers are people too...they go through things, feel the same hurt and heartache we all do. Their families are just like our families...they miss their husbands and fathers when they come out to see about your broken arm at 2am, because you just had to have your pastor there. After he spends all day praying over and tending to the needs of his flock, he is seldom able to devote that same care and concern to his family, because members call all night long. Of course in a true emergency, a pastor would want to come. But I'm not talking about rare occasions, I'm talking about a habitual systemic abuse of clergy, that is not the exception, but the norm, through our country.

Christians...I encourage you to grow up. Take on your biblical responsibility of caring for your brothers and sisters, and set your pastors free to seek God and pray for you and your family, as well as your church and town. Organize hospitality groups in your church for members to visit the sick, elderly, and back-slidden. Build your pastor up with prayer and encouraging words...because he prays and encourages you. Even if you don't like or agree with your pastor...it is who God has given you today...and that makes them worthy of your respect, prayer, and help, in every way you can give it. Make your church a safe haven for weary souls...not a executioner's table for the down-trodden.

Is Sickness the Result of Sin?

We've all run into our fair share of loony-tune type wackos out there, when it comes to the prosperity / health / happy-go-lucky doctrines. One thing I've been working through here is finding the truth in their teachings, without the obvious erroneous extremes to which they've flown. I met a man one time who told me that if Christians were sick, it was because of 2 reasons: 1. They were in sin, and therefore out of God's protection; or 2. They didn't have enough faith to be well.
This sent my head reeling, as I'm sure yours is after having read that. (Coincidentally, if your head is not reeling, you may, in fact, be a loony-tune wacko) My retort was instant, "What about Paul? He suffered from a physical problem throughout his ministry, despite praying God take it away, and even had to travel with a physician to care for him."
"Paul obviously didn't have enough faith to be well." (He also informed me that Peter, and others who were martyred didn't have enough faith to live)
I watched his face silently to see if he was having a laugh at my expense, but I saw no such indication. I excused myself shortly thereafter, and saw this same man walking home the next day because he had run out of gas, while driving to town on an empty tank, believing that God would keep it full, like the widow's jar of oil. It was difficult not to mock him, but instead I just pretended like I didn't see him and kept driving
Obviously we bring sickness on ourselves many, if not most, of the time. Our lifestyles, even years earlier in life, lead to health problems. Lack of exercise, junk food, etc wreak havoc on our bodies, and this doesn't even take into account worse things. So...does sin cause sickness? Of course it does, many times. Who can look at an alcoholic and not realize that his sin caused his liver disease? We reap what we sow...even after being saved, however I believe God often alleviates much of this burden for his children. If you lead a wild and promiscuous life as a young person, it's not unthinkable to believe that you may have physical problems as a result of that later on in life. We also live in a world under the curse of sin, and that is why we have sickness to begin with. So, in some way, we can say all sickness did originate because of sin.
This is, however, a far cry from saying that personal sin makes people sick, as a rule. We are a part of this world, and subject to its curse. I believe in healing, I've seen many people healed of all manner of diseases. But why isn't everyone healed? I don't know. God has a plan in all things. Perhaps it is because of lack of faith, although I typically don't believe that is the main reason. Job suffered from sickness and tragedy like no other that I know of. Yet he was a righteous man in every way, and still put all his trust in God. From his (and his friends) Point of View, there was no reason at all for him to go through all of that. He easily could've gotten mad at God, saying, "Haven't I served you? Haven't I lived righteously for you? And what has it gotten me?!" But while he did ultimately trust God for restoration, and to work his will, he didn't have the haughtiness of my acquaintance with the empty gas tank. He quietly accepted what God had for him, and stayed true to his faith in God through it all.
Ultimately, this life is a journey...a trying ground. How we respond and react to adversity of any sort shows God who we are, and how devoted to him we are...it also shows Satan and the lost around us the same thing. So...why do the righteous suffer? Why do Christians get sick? Lack of faith? I think not. To prove faith, is what I think.

Extreme Measures

I was reading Jesus' sermon on the Mount recently, in Matthew 5, and noticed something I had never seen before. We use his words on adultery and lust as an example of why you can't live by the letter of the law, but by the spirit of it. It also shows us what the Law was originally intended to do: show us our sinful hearts. We can see that if we keep the commandments of God, and live a seemingly holy life, that's all the matters, but our heart must be changed.
I found it very interesting, then, that as Jesus makes this point, he segues into this:

"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
-- Matthew 5:29-30

I don't think it is a coincidence he says this directly after telling us that lust in your heart is the same as committing adultery through God's eyes. I actually think the allusion here is as purposeful as it is blunt. Before you get all hot and bothered, I don't think we're being instructed by Jesus to actually borrow our neighbor's hatchet and start whacking away at body parts. I think what we're being instructed to do here, is to take whatever measures are necessary, no matter how extreme, to prevent ourselves from falling into sin.

This is a bit of a foreign concept, I think, in today's age. We tend to be told by our friends and churches that many sins are okay, or are understandable, God understands, and as long as you're giving it your best shot, he'll save you a spot in heaven. Clearly, Jesus sees sin differently. Not only is it not good enough for you not to sin outwardly, but evil, carnal thoughts in your heart are also enough to condemn you.

Jesus is telling us here that sin is so foul, so destructive, that you must do whatever you can to make sure you don't sin. I know someone who found it incredibly difficult to keep themselves from looking at pornography on the internet. It was their last resort to maintain their relationship with God, to sign up for XXXChurch.com's accountability software that emails an accountability partner of your choosing if you go to sexually themed websites. That way he knew he couldn't sin in secret anymore. As far as I know, this has worked for him.

But each of us have an area in life where we are most easily tempted, and our instructions are equally as clear as Jesus' teachings on lust: get away from sin in any way possible. Perhaps friends, acquaintances, people we have lunch at work with, TV shows, movies, etc are problems drawing us back into sins we want desperately to be out of. Maybe you can't stop yourself from drinking when you're with a certain crowd of people. Maybe you have uncontrollable habits or thoughts because of what you fill your mind with on the internet or TV. No matter the cause, the solution is the same. It may take extreme measures to ensure you stay away from sin. People may think you're silly, and that it doesn't take all that to be Christian. I've even known Pastors who got on to church members for being too extreme in trying to avoid a sin. I know of a man who came out of gangs, drugs, and prostitution, who, when he found himself tempted to look at a woman lustfully, would actually make himself leave wherever he was at to get away. He was in a mall with some friends, and actually excused himself and left the mall! I know that some of you are chuckling self-righteously right now, and saying things like, "Well, obviously he has a problem he needs help with if he can't even be in public without lusting." Obviously he does, Pharisee. Obviously we all do, we just don't take our sin seriously enough to do something equally as extreme about it. Or maybe we enjoy it too much?

Either way, our calling is clear. Just not murdering someone, or hopping into bed and committing adultery, is not enough. Our hearts must be pure. And if we can't find a way to keep them pure, and still go to the same places, be with the same friends, or watch the same things, we must take extreme measures.

Losing God

I've lived and been a Christian long enough to notice a disturbing pattern. And while I see it in my own life, I can see that it's a pattern that is widespread, and not confined to my own...idiosyncrasies. I've noticed that every time I have a significant experience with God, overcoming some area that I've struggled with, a breakthrough, some would call it, I get extremely lazy in my prayer and bible study. This, after I've devoted prayer and time to seeking God for some period of time, and I practically run back to a self-centered lifestyle, and lose what God has done in and for me.

It's a curious occurrence. Jesus said that when a spirit leaves a man, it wanders about, then returns, finding the house clean, and bring seven other spirits with it to reoccupy the house. I'm paraphrasing of course, but it seems to me this is a very strong warning against just such activity, and maybe an explanation of why it is so difficult to keep ourselves deeply committed shortly after God has done a work in our life.

My question, really, is why? I should be (and generally am) ecstatic about having an experience with THE God. It's an honor above all others. So why do I want to just "rest" from prayer, and indulge my flesh afterwards? Should my flesh not be much more subjected to the Spirit after such an experience than before? Thankfully, recently, as God helped me see his will in a very trying situation, I noticed myself the very next day being drawn into this temptation, and was able to observe my reactions to the seduction of lethargy, and to seek God to contain its effects in my life. I believe I also realized how, and why this is an issue for us who are earnestly seeking God in our...most of the time, at least.

Jesus said, in the parable of the sower, (Mark 4, I suggest you read the whole thing, as I will only quote two verses) that some seed falls on thorny ground, some on stony, and some on the road. I think that this probably falls under the "thorny" category.

"And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." Mark 4:19

It would seem that, if we receive our word, whether it be the initial revelation of saving knowledge of Jesus, or perhaps any word, deliverance, or instruction we receive from God for our lives, if we allow thorns to stay in the same ground, it will choke out God's work, and make it unfruitful. This certainly differentiates from the seed on stony ground, or on the road, which died, leaving the person in the original desolate sinful state they began in. This is a condition of receiving what you want or need from God, and then keeping the other cares of the world, fleshly appetites, worries, the scheming for money, etc, which take up so much room in our lives that it makes that work of God unfruitful. Seeing this makes me truly understand the words of Paul: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24) But the death in this body, that renders the miraculous delivering power of God unfruitful, is present because of my obstinacy in wholly surrendering my life to God. The fact is, I enjoy many things in life that offer zero spiritual benefits. There are shows on TV that I enjoy so much, that I overlook sometimes overtly anti-christian, even occultic themes to watch them. On top of that, who can totally ignore the deceitfulness of riches? Money makes this world go round, so the world says, and without it, we can't survive. It's very difficult to not seek it as the deer seeks after water. However, it's with that fervency that we're instructed to seek God. The desires of decadence, entertainment, and fleshly pleasure are contrary to God.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that many times when God blesses us, it is temporally as well as spiritually . . . but if that is what we are seeking after, even that blessing will end up unfruitful. Let us then all take the warning to seek after God's holiness, to seek to purify our lives of all that is worldly and unGodly, and therefore not allow our experiences, blessings, and gifts from God to be made unfruitful and useless.