April 13, 2018

Welcome Diverse Opinions

Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! – James 5:9

The two women are active in church. They serve on committees and participate in events. They certainly don’t mind working – most of the time anyway.

Most people are content to let them do it. You’re probably thinking it’s because people don’t want to give the time to show up and volunteer. In some cases, you’d be right. But in this case there’s another factor that rears its ugly head. These two ladies are in charge. They know exactly how it should be done and you’d better do it their way. Failure to go along with them will result in you being repeatedly criticized and bumped from whatever committee or activity you participated in.

Was this a one-time thing? No. I’ve watched them do it again and again. They lament that there aren’t enough volunteers but the truth is no one wants to work with them. Who wants to show up and give of themselves when they know their participation will be criticized? No one.

Here’s another example. Two women (No. I’m not picking on women.) have decorated tables at church for years. And years. They didn’t want any help. They didn’t want any suggestions. It was their job and it’s what they did.

Last year they began to grumble. No one would help. They were just getting too old to keep doing it. Wasn’t it time for someone younger to step up? I had to hold back my laugh. People have tried to help for years but they were turned away. The women were so intent on doing it their way, that they missed an opportunity to include others and gather for fellowship in serving the Lord.

It’s no different with men. The men’s fellowship at church is almost nonexistent. Why? Because they aren’t willing to do anything differently than they did years ago. They don’t want younger men involved for anything but physical work. And the young men don’t want to get involved in a group that’s only going to do what it has always done and support the causes it has always supported. What’s the point in that?

It is just so easy to grumble about what other people are or aren’t doing. It’s not so easy to look in the mirror and see what we might be contributing to the situation. The hard truth is that no one will ever do things exactly like we do – and that’s okay. No one will ever agree with everything we want – and that’s okay too. God created us to be different so that we could compliment each other and not war with each other over control and glory.

If you’re heading up a committee or activity, listen to those who are helping. Encourage their voices. Loosen your control and welcome newcomers, right along with their ideas and their help. We all have the same goal to glorify God in whatever we do. And, if that’s not our goal, well, we’ve got a whole other issue in our hearts.