Ever notice that when your kids really don’t want to do something, they will find anything and everything else to do before getting to the undesirable job? Forget the kids, I do this myself. Sometimes the hard tasks get postponed for something else that might truly be a good thing to do. Even a great thing to do. Nevertheless, the good becomes an escape to avoid the better, and easier wins out over harder. When this happens in our Christian walk, the ivory tower of Christianity ends up trumping real life. Process trumps results.
So it can be if we become preoccupied with doctrinal issues (by that I mean “what is the correct opinion on XYZ issue?”) to the exclusion of the hard job of Christian living. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that correct opinions on who Jesus is, what he came for, and how to follow him are unimportant. But I will go out on a limb here and say that once a person is a believer, the most important struggle is not to accurately parrot the teachings of the church you attend, or grasp the finer points of theology or eschatology, or even the most interesting ones. The most important challenge for believers is to understand our own hearts and turn them to do the Lord’s work.
“What’s so hard about Christian living?” you say. How about being Christlike to the waiter who was really bad at customer service? How about choosing entertainment for ourselves and our families that isn’t in conflict with Christian morality and living? How about stepping up to lead our families, rather than letting them meander aimlessly through the spiritual minefields of the pop culture? How about resisting the urge to pass on that very interesting tidbit of gossip about a brother or sister in Christ (or anyone else, for that matter), and choosing to take James’ advice seriously:
James 4:11 – Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
If we’re truly honest about ourselves, these types of Christian living issues are where the rubber meets the road in Christianity, not the endless flow of opinions of men expounded and debated in the Stanton sect during May Week. All those meetings are good for is for teachers to oppress the consciences of the subjects with their own fallible opinions. We can’t use these doctrinal debates to escape the hard work of living a life sold out for Jesus Christ.
Just as the theologians of Jesus’ day were escaping the front lines of the battle that takes place in the heart by retreating to the desk job of interpreting the law for everyone else, we too can escape the heart and soul of Christianity if we become overly preoccupied with matters of opinon that matter little to God at all. (Does God really care what organizational means we use to help the fatherless and widows, or does he just care that we help the fatherless and widows?)
My kids can put off their hard chores for awhile by doing easier ones. Eventually, though, they’ll have to answer to me for why they didn’t do what I really wanted them to do.
Isaiah 29:13 – The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
Well said Kevin, thank you! When I first started with the Stanton group, my aim was to learn of and to serve God. I got sidetracked from that by the group, because of the hunting and pecking we had to do to figure out what the bible said we had to do!
In all of that hunting, I lost sight of what it was I had been looking for-a relationship with my God and my Savior! I forgot that I wanted to learn how to be a godly person, and how to live my life as a Christian.
I do know that while in the group I kept asking for and desiring classes that would teach me how to deal with my husband, step children, co-workers, etc. in a Christ like manner. And how to deal with my own issues too. But in the congregations I was in, it never happened.
Thanks so much for putting it all back into perspective!
The points you make are good!
From my perspective this is what i see. Rather than allowing the individual to make personal choices based on their walk in Christ, the teachers make the choices and bind them on the entire church. Occasionally there are exceptions to church teachings but those exceptions are a result of talking to a 'main teacher' and getting a 'waiver' of sorts.
Church judgements that Christians made stands for and occasionally suffered persecution for often change after a May Meeting. All along individuals should have had the freedom to decide for themselves the nuances of living Christlike. Regarding the subject of family recreation, the church keeps a firm hold on the judgements. Christian brother, ask yourself what would happen if you allowed your child to attend a G rated movie with her Grandma? What if you attended a movie with your spouse? What if you attended a musical event in an auditorium? Would you feel free to share your experience or would you have to keep it a secret? What if you chose to attend a soccer game or a tennis match? What if you choose to take tennis lessons? What if you choose to allow your children to participate in sports? Can you call out to a main teacher or have your local teacher call out for you and get a sports exception? Yes, but have you ever thought about that? Why is it okay for a very select few children to be allowed to participate in a sport? Maybe you're reading this and you don't know there are occasional sports exceptions. There are.
Instead of emphasis being on the Church teachings, let us put the empasis on the teachings of the real and true head of the church, Jesus. Jesus came to free us from bondage and impossible rule keeping. Live free in Christ brothers and sisters. The pharisees didn't believe individuals could live a Godly life without a set of rules and a one-size-fits-all type of law. Jesus brought liberty friends, liberty. Don't fall into the trap of believing the church has the right to take away your liberty in Christ Jesus. Let the teachers teach the words of the Savior and his apostles without binding their private interpretation on you. Let God be your judge, not men.
Very well said. Amen. It goes back to the idea of freedom of conscience. No fallible man has the right to bind his or her conscience on another human being. We all have the right to grow in our own understanding. Anything else is teaching doctrines which are nothing more than the commandments of men.
Romans 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
Aside from harboring and/or partaking in sin, there were a lot of things in my life I would not share with my brethren in fear of being judged and many of these things some brethren saw nothing wrong with it and others did.
Please correct me if I have the wrong application here –
1 Corinthians 10:29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
Many times our liberties were judged of other people's consciences and in a lot of cases were treated as sin.
These things can cause people to stay in their own shells, or as it has been said, people are islands unto themselves, because of fear of being judged unfairly and could lead to being ostracized for something that isn't even a sin, but somebody else's judgement of their conscience instead of scriptural law.
That's how I read that passage. Also, look at the rest of chapters 14 & 15. He writes a lot about being patient with those who have different opinions (i.e. eating meat offered to idols, etc.).
You mean even hardened heathens such as I should not fall under another's judgement?
I certainly have a different opinion and several different liberties. But none so harmful as the doctrines of this cult. They have destroyed, abused and caused so much grief to nearly all they have touched. And to think most all of their destructive force has been through their words alone. Mind control is what the followers are experiencing. I am very pleased to see that more and more people are escaping the SCOC cult's hold over them.
I lost plenty because of them, NOT EVER being a member. And Kevin the one thing I have is Patience. I patiently await the truth to be exposed about this cult and their eventual collapse from within.
There's hope even for hardened heathens like you, KF. 🙂
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.