Here’s the Church…Here’s the People
“Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
Psalm
133:1
In Charles Schultz
famous cartoon strip, Peanuts, Lucy
stands with her arms folded and a resolute expression on her face, while
Charlie Brown pleads, “Lucy, you MUST be more loving. This world really
needs love. You have to let yourself love to make this world a better place in
which to live!” Lucy whirls around angrily causing Charlie Brown to do a
backwards flip and screams at him: “Look, block-head, the WORLD I love. It’s
PEOPLE I can’t stand.” There are
moments or days when all of us would agree.
Those frailties occur in families, jobs, neighborhoods, groups, and yes,
even the church.
While the Bible says, “He who findeth a wife, findeth a
good thing,” the same could be said of a church. There are usually
certain qualities that denote one that it is a “keeper” including 1) It
is scripturally sound, 2) It
is reasonably stable and loving, 3)
It has godly, moral leadership, 4) It
is doing their best to exalt Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and 5) It
is making a reasonable effort to minister to you and your family. If these qualities are exhibited, then hang
in there and remain faithful! You don’t know how blessed you are to have a
healthy church like that.
In a consumer-minded world, many people are spending more
time finding faults than becoming part of the solution. Early departures bring to mind what might
have been had they grown through it together.
After all, there is no perfect church because there are no perfect
people. As Zig Zigler said, “If
you find the perfect church, don’t attend because you’ll mess it up!” However, God loves taking the minuses and
turns them into pluses. But there are seven anonymous thoughts to keep
in mind that express an ability to
remain strong:
1. Don’t leave a
church out of your personal discontent: If discontent is
rooted within you, it will follow you wherever you go, regardless of what
church you attend.
2. Don’t leave a
church because you transferred your own personal frustrations there:
Avoid pushing off your feelings of disappointment from other areas of your life
onto the church. Sometimes unhappiness toward the church is a derivative from
other personal problems such as: Generally speaking, the church is not your
problem. Remember that it and its ministers are there because they love you and
want to help you -- not hurt you.
3. Don’t leave a
church because your feelings got hurt: Hurt feelings are a
“violation of self interests” and are usually a result of being too
self-sensitive. In any church or gathering of people there may be many
offensive things said or done, mostly unintended, but you don’t have to let
yourself become offended. Hurt feelings are probably the greatest reason why
people leave churches, but deepening your roots in Christ and His word can
immunize you against such tenderness. “Great peace have they which love thy
law: and nothing shall offend them.” Psalm 119:165 KJV
4. Don’t leave a
church over trivial criticisms: People sometimes
have a remarkable ability of making a mountain out of a molehill. Of the many
excuses that persons use to leave a church, this is among the most shallow. If
all you seem to do is criticize and find fault with the church, you have an
attitude problem. Regardless of where you go to church, you’ll find similar
faults again, because the problem isn’t with the church -- the problem is with
you.
5. Avoid leaving a
church over its style or individuality: One of the most
common explanations people give for switching churches is their “disagreement
with certain beliefs.” In reality, it was a dislike of the personality of the
church -- its teaching methods, the style of worship, the structure of the
services, or the pastor’s preaching style, etc. Many churches actually believe
and teach the same things, but each might have a slightly different method,
structure, or style which makes up its unique personality.
6. Don’t leave a
church when faced with self conflict: Many people do not
understand that spiritual growth requires confronting and overcoming conflict
with our self-willed nature. James 1:3-4
7. Don’t leave a
church until you have contributed in some way to try help make it better: I
have always noticed that the most critical people in the church are usually the
ones who do the least. Have you prayed for the leaders? Have you made yourself
available to serve or help in areas of ministry?
Just as marriages and families are called to
unity, so is a church. Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” God is most
glorified. It’s
one of the greatest places for God to shape character and form us into His
image. Problems will come, mistakes will
be made, wrong things will be said…but He will take us as we grow
together. As a living stone, let Him
build us together.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Can you
mention one of the 5 areas that you appreciate about your church?
2) Pray
that God uses you to be a builder of life and encouragement in your church.
Consider reading the word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry
Risser
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