Romans 14:17-18
God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
My mom posted on Facebook about a guest speaker at her church who admonished members not to glare at those who sat on “their” pew. She went on to recall a man who did exactly this to our family one Sunday when we lived in Gore, Oklahoma. Apparently everyone in the church congregation knew this was the man’s regular “spot” each Sunday… but we were clueless. I double-checked with my mom… she says we moved - RIGHT AWAY! She also says that the church members were not friendly… that for the six months or so that we lived in this town and attended church there, most did not ever introduce themselves, so we didn’t know their names. She also recalls that she thought my Sunday school teacher was really nice… until she learned that the woman had gotten into a fight with another woman at the beauty shop…and hit her on the head and flattened her hair curlers!
Now you may be asking yourself what this all has to do with today’s scripture passage. In the example of the man claiming a pew, I believe this is much like Biblical references to those who claimed that certain foods were “unclean” and should not be eaten. It’s another case of imposing rules that take on a religious importance or significance… but God didn’t put any there! They really have nothing to do with authentic service to Christ. In fact, such “rules” can be quite disruptive and destructive.
As for the Sunday school teacher who fought at the beauty parlor and the unfriendly church members… neither of these behaviors were pleasing to God. And by acting in this manner, these folks were discounting their faith to those around them. Nobody wants what you are offering if you serve it up unkindly. And those who focus on rituals and routines… or fail to exhibit the qualities and characteristics of Jesus and His love, grace and mercy… often negate their supposed “faith” and do far more harm than good!
Because we are human… and imperfect… we often find it easy to lose sight of what is important. Our attention span is generally that of a gnat… and we fail to stay focused on Jesus – and to single-mindedly serve Him. When this happens, things go haywire… God is not glorified… and peace is nowhere to be found. Remember… people are watching. They notice when you put things, traditions and personal agendas ahead of God. They see how you play fast and loose with your faith and take the “it’s nobody else’s business” approach to your relationship with our Heavenly Father. They take a long, hard look at your attitude that “I’m not hurting anyone… this is between God and me” and they wonder just how much you desire to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. You may even cause them to question the motives and sincerity of Jesus himself! Did He really mean it when He said He loves us? Was His gentle care, grace and mercy for real? Or would Jesus be first in line to glare at us from the end of a pew or smash our hair curlers when He didn’t like something we said or did?
At the end of the day, what matters is pretty simple… our relationship with Jesus Christ and how we serve Him. If we let anything get in the way or take our focus off of Jesus, we are setting ourselves up to operate in chaos… and we are opening the door to offer a poor example of Christian faith to others. Neither sounds peaceful… or desirable to me. What about you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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