Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
One of my former pastors asked in a Facebook post for interpretations of the phrase, “The LORD helps those who help themselves.” Man, did he get an earful…on all sides of the spectrum! The first time I heard this phrase was nearly 40 years ago from a fellow teacher. The comment was made in reference to someone who we both felt was not acting appropriately. Based on the evidence we had before us, we decided that this person was asking God to help them…then sitting back and waiting for it to happen!
There are several things to consider here: 1) this phrase is not found in the Bible – at least not literally, word-for-word; 2) God does call us to do our part – where and when we can – and this is presented in several scripture passages; and 3) it is not necessarily our job to decide who is doing said part! Here’s an example of how I believe this works…or how the Bible demonstrates that it should work:
Someone you know and love has an addiction to alcohol or drugs. You pray for him…you pray with him. You ask God to help this person overcome his addiction…and you encourage him to stop drinking, using or abusing drugs, or whatever the addiction may be. The person does NOT stop this activity. He believes that God will miraculously “cure” him…even if he doesn’t say this out loud or do his “part” to make it happen.
As a member of the body of Christ, you have options…you can browbeat this person and tell him how “bad” he is for continuing to drink/smoke/use drugs/whatever. You can talk about this person to others and declare him to be an aggravation and frustration. You might even speak of this person to someone else and say, “You know, the LORD helps those who help themselves!” You can claim, “I am so glad that this is not ME…that I do not suffer from this same plight!”
Or…you can continue to pray for this person, and support them with love and encouragement. (I am not suggesting that you continue to support them in a way that enables the addiction…i.e. money or any other means of funding.) You can act as a living example of God’s love and care in action…and demonstrate what happens for us when we do our part to follow Him and live according to His will. You can lift this person in thought and prayer…and shower them with love, compassion, grace and mercy. To use another cliché, you can “Love the sinner, not the sin.”
Which of these tactics do you think are the more peaceful example of discipleship? Which approaches have the best chance of making a difference? More importantly, which methods represent true Christian discipleship – an endeavor to “let go and let God” work?
Sometimes we are so busy deciding how the other guy ought to be living that we fail to take stock of our own lives…much less be grateful for the work that God is doing in and through us. And let’s be honest…more than a few of us thrive on chaos. Living together in peace is simply too neat and clean for more than a few of us. We crave a little messy drama!
This is a good day to examine our hearts and determine our “camp”. We need to frequently ask ourselves, “Am I truly grateful for what Jesus has done for me – and what He continues to do each and every day? Do I really make every effort to serve Him and glorify His name by emulating His compassion and ministry to others? Have I really sought to operate in peace and harmony…or am I quick to judge and reprimand – or throw up my hands and walk away? Who do others see when they look at me…a judgmental, pious Christian…or someone who truly reflects the light and compassion of Christ?”
How you answer these questions matters…in fact, it’s HUGE! Are you ready to get real about your discipleship? Isn’t it time you did?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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