Friday December 23, 2022

It is really, really cold out today! The wind is blowing pretty hard, with make it seem even colder than it already is. I guess we can all be thankful that we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, and a God that loves us.
Today, we will continue the conversation I stared with my last post.  For this entry I would like to point out some of the glaring inconsistencies that we see in many of our leaders today:
1. You can be a gifted speaker for God in public and be a detached spouse or angry parent at home.
2. You can function as a leader and yet be unteachable, insecure, and defensive.
3. You can quote the Bible with ease and still be unaware of your reactivity to others.
4. You can fast and pray regularly and yet remain critical of others, justifying it as discernment.
5. You can lead people "for God," when in reality, your primary motive is an unhealthy need to be admired by others.
6. You can be hurt by others and justify saying nothing because you avoid conflict at all costs.
7. You can serve tirelessly in multiple ministries, and yet carry resentments because there is little personal time for healthy self-care.
8. You can lead a large ministry with little transparency, rarely sharing struggles or weakness. 
The author of this book points out that these are signs of spiritual and emotional  immaturity, yet they are accepted on a regular basis by the people following them.
Matthew 22: 34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Perhaps you didn't notice, but most of the things I listed above have something in common: how we treat and react to the people around us; whether it's our own family, other believers or unbelievers. The author mentioned that for the first 17 years of his life with Christ, he was discipled in such a way that prioritized "doing" for God, rather than being with God. Doing for God involves all manner of spiritual activity: praying, fasting, volunteering, etc. It wasn't until he saw (in himself) the very thing that Christ spoke out against. He was very quick to judge, yet slow to see his own faults. 
Christians normally break into two camps and neither have a proper understanding of the type  of love that Christ was referring to. The first group focus only on "love," thinking that love is simply another word for tolerance (which it isn't). The second group all but neglect the notion of "love," preferring instead to become hyper focused on who is right and who is wrong. The first group cringe when a sermon is taught on sin and unrighteousness-because they consider that judging. Meanwhile, the second group will become uncomfortable if a pastor focuses on love "too much." To these people, love takes a back seat to doctrine and theology. Both are off balance. What do we do about this? How do we avoid both extremes and live a spiritually mature, balanced life for Christ? That is what I'm praying about in my own life. 
Have a great Christmas!