We’re Destroying Ourselves
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to
receive God’s grace in vain.
– 2 Corinthians 6:1
When was the last time you denied yourself for your faith?
That was the question our pastor asked us yesterday. It certainly gave us all
something to ponder.
You might think his sermon was on stuff. We all like
our stuff. But it wasn’t about things. It was about pride. It was about
assuming that anyone who doesn’t agree with your opinions must be from the
devil. Ouch.
We Christians are destroying ourselves from within. He
didn’t say that. I did. What he did say is that the church in Corinth
eventually died because it couldn’t get over itself. Is that what will happen
to us if we don’t learn to get along with one another?
It’s not about God. You can tell yourself that it is repeatedly
but the arguments you have with other Christians have nothing to do with Him. Those
arguments are about pride and power and the politics of religion. It’s why we
have a society that believes only Republicans are Christians and that Democrats
must be from the devil. It’s why we believe that citizenship on this earth is
more important than citizenship in heaven.
We get caught up in our opinions and label them from
Jesus. Our pride tells us we’ve got it right and everyone else must surely be
wrong. We gather a group who agrees with us and suddenly we’re fighting for our
own political agenda in the name of Jesus. Unfortunately, others are doing the
same thing.
We are all the body of Christ. As our pastor noted, we
should have great confidence in our ability to handle anything we face as the body
of Christ. But we can’t get past ourselves to even invite Jesus into the
discussion.
Society tells us that pride is a good thing. The Bible
tells us something else entirely. Which do you believe? Pride is not the same
thing as confidence. Pride isn’t the same thing as self-esteem. Don’t be fooled
by the unchecked agendas of groups who claim to be from Jesus.
The Gospel isn’t always pretty. Sometimes it’s hard
and it hurts and we suffer for its truth. We want to pick and choose the parts
we’ll follow. We aren’t willing to surrender everything to the One who died for
us. We aren’t willing to offer grace and mercy to those who disagree with us.
And we aren’t willing to back away from our opinions so that we can be unified with
fellow Christians.
Change happens all around us. Do we build walls or do
we adapt? This isn’t an argument over basic theology. It’s instead an
opportunity to see what matters. Jesus came to save us, died on a cross and
rose three days later, defeating death and assuring eternal life for all who
believe in Him. Do we even see that anymore?
Some of the biggest haters I know are people
masquerading as devout Christians. They seem to forget that God is love. They’re
so caught up in their own agendas that they’re missing the point. They don’t
want reconciliation. They don’t want to get along with people with differing
viewpoints.
We are not withholding our affection
from you, but you are withholding yours from us. – 2 Corinthians 6:12
Love people. It doesn’t matter if they agree with you or
you agree with them. Show kindness and mercy. Extend grace. Political agendas
have no place in the body of Christ. Kick your pride out the door and open your
ears to the voices of those around you. Extend the hand of Jesus out into the
world. That’s what really matters.
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