Seeking the more excellent way

I once happened to observe a short exchange in a church, many years ago, where one woman thought that another should be helping with a weekday kids program.

The first woman was overloaded with duties and also had young kids at home and a disability. The other had grown kids and yet wasn't helping. From all outside appearances, there was nothing to prevent her from helping. She didn't work. She had few demands on her time. What few knew was that she had an unbelieving husband at home resentful of her time at church.

I watched as the conflict escalated, in polite church fashion. Before long, each was whisking out her Christian credentials to win her point. One tithed and insinuated that the other didn't, the other prayed with the missionary prayer group, one helped in the nursery, the other taught for years, and so on.

It was an uncomfortable exchange and nothing good came of it. But it was an eye-opening experience because it showed what I might be tempted into when on the defensive.

How do we show our Christian credentials? Should we point to our works in the church, our prayer life, the number of Bible chapters we read each week? The prisoners we have visited or the grieving families we have comforted? Should we tally these up and be ready to produce the card at a moment's notice? We know that Christ confronted those who blew trumpets to announce, in public, their piety. No, no, no!

As a group, how do people know we are followers of Christ? By the big building we gather in? By the great kids programs? By the coolest services? By the best preaching? By the sheer numbers who attend? By the quality of our "product"? By the trendiest music? By our devotion to "excellence"? No, no, no. There is excellence, and then there is the "more excellent way."

By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another-John 13:35. Yes, yes, yes!

Nothing else comes close, and if we lean on anything else and neglect love, everything else we lean on will come crashing down. Peter says Above all things, have fervent love for each other (I Peter 4:8). Above all things! We might think that running the most efficient ministry beats that, or being the most humble, or holding onto the best traditions, or being the most contemporary in presentation, or showing supreme devotion in our walk, or drawing the most unbelievers in, or sacrificing the most, or any of dozens of other almost-above-all things. But no. That’s not it. Those pursuits, good as they are, are less than loving one another.

So how do we do it? Galatians 5 gives a clue: By love, serve each other. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Just ask, and answer honestly: Would we want it done to us this way? If the answer is no, don't do it, don't say it, don't write it, don't spread it and certainly don't repeat it in defense.

We all know this stuff.

There is no steamrolling over others for the glory of God. There is no place for grasping for authority or using manipulation in the name of Christ. There is no using people. It doesn't glorify Him when you trample others, even for a good cause.

Directly after telling us to love our neighbors as ourselves, Paul warns: For if you bite and devour one another, be careful you don't consume each other. It's easy to do, even in defense, even when we think we're justified. Even when we think it will improve God's kingdom.

To be safe, I am going to read I Corinthians a few times over. Maybe more than a few times.

Shortcuts

One point in this morning's sermon was about the temptation to take shortcuts. The devil tempted Christ to enjoy all the kingdoms of the earth without the bother of going to the cross and redeeming mankind.

I was reminded of shortcuts today when I happened to look at a Christian Book Distributors catalog that came in the mail this week. The slogan for the company -- something I'd never noticed before -- is "Everything Christian ... for Less." I think the reason I hadn't noticed this slogan is that it is new. Not long ago the slogan was, Serving the Christian Community for 30 years.

Everything Christian .. for less?

Well, let's see. Salvation for less. Holiness for less. Faith for less. Love for less.

Salvation. I can see that one. Let's just cut out the troublesome Jesus part or the repentence part or the believe part and let me just say a few comfortable words here and there or ease right into a church or two. I don't want to bother with all that backwards and unpopular talk about sin or figure out who that Jesus guy was. Let's just fast forward to the eternal life part.

Holiness. Be ye a little bit better than you used to be for I am Holy? Set your eyes on things a little farther down the road than you are now, for your life is hid somewhere? Seek first a little more comfortable station in life and all these things will be added to you?

Faith. Forget subduing kingdoms. We'll just blog against government policy a little. Forget working righteousness. We'll just not make too many waves. Forget obtaining promises. We'll get by with the ones we already have. Forget stopping the mouths of lions. We'll just back away slowly, thanks. Quenching the violence of fire? You know, fire is a pretty decent heat source sometimes. Escaping the edge of the sword? I don't like to think about weapons; we won't go there. Out of strength, we'll be made weak. We'll wax valiant in flight, not fight.

Love. For less. I'll suffer a little while, if it isn't too much trouble. I'll try not to envy too very much. I'll try not to be provoked unless you really, really bother me. I'll seek my own way, but I'll do it with a smile.

Somehow, everything Christian for less doesn't sound all that Christian at all.