2 Peter 2:1-2
But there were also lying prophets
among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers
among you. They’ll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against
each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have
their lives back! They’ve put themselves on a fast downhill slide to
destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers
who can’t tell right from wrong.
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.
Suppose
I told you that in order to belong to a certain church in your
community, you had to support a particular political candidate or social
issue. No one would openly discuss this, but it would be understood by
everyone that this person was the “Christian” choice - or this social
issue was “black and white” with a clear right and wrong side. And
these were GOD’s choices. To support anyone else – or the opposite side
of said issue – would be the equivalent of saying, “I’m not really a
Christian…and I am more than a little wrong!”
In small groups
and other church activities, there would be little to no open, direct
discussion of this candidate and/or social issue. But there would be
enough “What is the world coming to?” and “God is punishing us” talk
that everyone would get the message loudly and clearly. And there would
be an “us vs. them” undercurrent within the church. If anyone
questioned the general “stance” of this church body, the reply would be
that the majority was operating on God’s behalf…and the “tone” would be
that these tenets were not to be questioned.
You think this
doesn’t happen in our churches today? Think again! Do you feel that I
am exaggerating? Let’s get real for a moment. There are a lot of
churches that operate along party lines – with membership that is both
liberal and conservative and a clear and deep underlying divide along
these “sides”. Less common, but more troubling, are extreme pockets of
“church folk” who have gone so far as to create autonomous leaders who
can do as they please…even if that means “marrying” 14-year-old girls
and fathering children with them – or putting little boys in the fields
to do manual labor to support the church body at large. Just watch the
story at http://abc.go.com/shows/2020/listing/2015-05/08-2020-050815-flds-a-house-divided.
The
thing you and I have to be most concerned with is the little inroads
that the devil tries to make in our daily lives “in the name of God.”
We have to be very careful that we are not sucked into this deceit…that
we focus on Jesus’ commands to “Love one another” and to love others as
He loves us. This means we must love and serve unconditionally,
inclusively and without discrimination. We must learn to express our
opinions without an ounce of judgment or superiority…leaving room for
others to make up their own minds about things like politics and social
issues. It is one thing to say, “I support XYZ”…but quite another to
say, “If you love God, you will support XYZ.”
We must focus on
cultivating deep and abiding, intimate relationship with God, so that we
KNOW when we are hearing from Him…and when we are listening to outside
forces. We have to guard our hearts and minds against becoming so
caught up in being right (if only in our own minds) that
we pick a fight with anyone who challenges us, rather than recognizing
that Satan and his agents are having a heyday!
I know this may
seem like a threatening or even fearful message. But this is where we
need to truly get honest about faithful discipleship and what it means
to be a Christian. We need to be busy listening for God’s voice. We must
be steeped in His word and digging deeply to find out what HE is
telling us, rather than those who have an agenda. We should be going to
God in prayer for answers and opinions and considering how outside
opinions and influences “stack up” against them – or they don’t. We
need to learn to be comfortable in our own “skin” – the New Life in
Christ Jesus that He has so graciously given us. We need to weigh
everything against His standards and make sure that all thoughts, words
and actions line up accordingly. If we do these things, we have nothing
to fear.
False prophets live among us…but we don’t have to
fall into their camp – or even give them the time of day! Who are you
listening to these days? Are you able to tell right from wrong? Have
you opened the door even slightly for the devil? It’s time to close
that door, lock it…and throw away the key! Wouldn’t this be the perfect
day to get started?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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