“…speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” Eph 4:15-16 (NLT)
Talking. We all do it. As leaders it is part of our ministry, as people it is how we relate and fellowship. We usually have no problem accomplishing the first part of this verse, “speak[ing] the truth.” We all love to speak truth, to dispense our wisdom and knowledge on each other. But its amazing how easy it is to lose sight of what truly matters when the carrot of wisdom and knowledge is dangled out in front of us on the stick of pride instead of the stick of love. Don’t mistake what I am saying. Wisdom and knowledge are not bad. As the writer of proverbs reminds us, wisdom enters our hearts and saves us from a multitude of things that Satan would desire us to be ensnared by and knowledge, which comes from God, fills us with joy. (Proverbs 2) But we often forget the qualifier that Paul mentions, “speak the truth in love.” Wanting to boost our image of ourselves, our pride takes control of our tongue and instead of being a community of people who are focused on loving each other, growing each other, being healthy and full of love, we simply stop at speaking the truth, dispensing knowledge and wisdom on each other. While the Truth is an indispensably foundation in what we do, it must be done in love or it will be done in hate, jealousy, greed, envy… pride. In your conversations with people, in your conversations with your friends and family, in your conversations with other believers are you speaking the truth in love with the goal and intent of all of us (the body) becoming more and more like Christ? Or do you speak the truth to make yourself look smart and righteous? The church should be a place where the truth is spoken in love. The question is, ‘how does this happen?”
The first part of speaking the truth in love is a commitment to Christ-centeredness. A pastor by the name of John Piper put it this way: Is our goal and aim to see the glory of God through Christ proclaimed to this world? Often times we are willing to be Christ-centered as long as he is willing to be man-centered. A litmus test to offer: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the recreational activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there? The implications of any answer but a hugely resounding “NO” is directly connected to our commitment to a Christ-centered mentality. ("God is the Gospel" p. 47)
If Christ is not the center of our lives and motives, then when we speak the truth, it will not be with love, but a self-centered pride from which we speak. If we offer wisdom and knowledge without a Christ-centered motive, we offer it with a prideful, self-centered aim.
The second part of speaking the truth in love is a commitment to community. Paul reminds us that it is Christ who fits the whole body together “perfectly.” It is not lacking, it is not wanting, when it is functioning together. And yet our individualistic mindset would rather believe that we can and should do it alone, without any help. Our pride prevents us from seeking assistance for fear of admitting a weakness or insufficiency. But love says we can and should ask for help and when help is requested, we should extended it without keeping record of favors or assistance you have provided. Even more, when we are working together as one body, we help each other grow which results in the entire body being healthy, growing and full of love. Yet it takes community. It takes a commitment to build relationships. It takes a willingness to call and see how someone is doing, or if you pass another Christian on a Wednesday night or Sunday morning and notice that things are not quite right, stopping and asking them, genuinely, “how are you doing?” Community involves taking time outside of normal meeting times to get together, fellowship, pray, lift each other up and support each other. Community involves being willing to step outside your comfort zone and welcome in new members into our circle. The extent to which community is healthy and present among us as leaders is the extent to which this ministry will be healthy and growing. There is a direct connection. Community is vital.
Christ-centeredness and community. When these two things take place, the body works as it should, we love each other, we help each other, we grow, we are healthy. And as this happens, we become more and more like Christ. And this is our aim and goal, for in our likeness to Christ, the world might see Christ. That is what we are about. Displaying and declaring Him to this world in need of Savior. So will you do this? Will you commit yourself with me to being God-centered; to setting aside personal ambitions, dreams and hopes in exchange for the ambitions, dreams and hopes of Christ. Will you teach the people in such a way that their desire is first for Christ instead of all his blessings to the point that if heaven were void of everything except Christ, we would be content and satisfied? Will you intentionally pursue community with other leaders? Will you seek out and build relationships with other Chrisitans you don’t know. Will you open your hearts to each other, love each other, grow each other? Speak the truth to each other in love. Don’t allow your church to be a place where you simply come, serve and leave. Allow it to be a place where genuine fellowship happens, where hearts are opened, where truth, wrapped in love, is spoken openly and freely.
Christ-centeredness and community.
Love God, love people.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
are you listening to God or doing all the talking?
Proverbs 2:1 “My child, listen to what I say and treasure my commands."
So often it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of knowledge to the point that we feel more spiritual simply because we are memorizing more, reading our Bibles more and we can trade banter on various theological issues. Yet the writer of this proverb reminds us that there is a goal that is higher than the simple ascertainment of facts, figures and theories. We see first the admonishment to listen. There is no doubt nor argument that the primary way God speaks to us today is through His Word. We have become masters at reading and not listening. Each and every day the amount of homework, work, or whatever, that dumped on us has groomed us into non-listeners. We simply read for the purpose of regurgitating information which is only stored long enough to find its way onto the page of a quiz, exam or paper, or long enough for whatever presentation we have to give. The coveted grade of “A” may be achieved, the slaps on the back may happen, but a short while later we forget what we read and listening has not truly occurred.
Many approach the Word of God the same way. They read, possibly well enough to regurgitate when a question is thrown their way, but they don’t truly listen. The Hebrew word used here “leqah” means to take, seize or grasp. When you take or seize something, there would be no doubt that you have possession and mastery over that item. In the same way, to listen to the Word of God is not simply to fumble around with it or flirting with something in a superficial manner. Listening involves diving wholly and completely in with all we have and wrestling with all the capacity God has given us. That is listening.
While listening is first, it is not enough. We must also treasure His Word. Treasuring what God tells us involves more than just the mind, it involves the heart. It involves being willing to allow silence to envelop you as you let something simmer in your brain and heart for a while. Treasure indicates the idea of value, worth, esteem. Treasure is something you long for and seek after, something that is precious to you. If it is precious to you, you will look after it, care for it, see that it is kept up and tended to. Is the Word of God a treasure to you or is it simply an instrument of mental sharpening.
There are times when I find myself reading the Word and not treasuring. As a result, I am hearing but not truly listening… the Word is making no dent on my heart, only my brain and when that happens, treasuring cannot begin. We have got to learn to listen and treasure. What does it look like in your life? Do you have a time where you simply seek to listen to God? I not advocating any of the emotionally charged and out-of-balance junk that you hear some folks convince people of but I am saying that we need to stop sometimes and listen… just be quiet and listen. Then, when you begin to listen, when you begin to seize and grasp the Word of God in your hearts, you can begin to treasure it in your lives.
So often it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of knowledge to the point that we feel more spiritual simply because we are memorizing more, reading our Bibles more and we can trade banter on various theological issues. Yet the writer of this proverb reminds us that there is a goal that is higher than the simple ascertainment of facts, figures and theories. We see first the admonishment to listen. There is no doubt nor argument that the primary way God speaks to us today is through His Word. We have become masters at reading and not listening. Each and every day the amount of homework, work, or whatever, that dumped on us has groomed us into non-listeners. We simply read for the purpose of regurgitating information which is only stored long enough to find its way onto the page of a quiz, exam or paper, or long enough for whatever presentation we have to give. The coveted grade of “A” may be achieved, the slaps on the back may happen, but a short while later we forget what we read and listening has not truly occurred.
Many approach the Word of God the same way. They read, possibly well enough to regurgitate when a question is thrown their way, but they don’t truly listen. The Hebrew word used here “leqah” means to take, seize or grasp. When you take or seize something, there would be no doubt that you have possession and mastery over that item. In the same way, to listen to the Word of God is not simply to fumble around with it or flirting with something in a superficial manner. Listening involves diving wholly and completely in with all we have and wrestling with all the capacity God has given us. That is listening.
While listening is first, it is not enough. We must also treasure His Word. Treasuring what God tells us involves more than just the mind, it involves the heart. It involves being willing to allow silence to envelop you as you let something simmer in your brain and heart for a while. Treasure indicates the idea of value, worth, esteem. Treasure is something you long for and seek after, something that is precious to you. If it is precious to you, you will look after it, care for it, see that it is kept up and tended to. Is the Word of God a treasure to you or is it simply an instrument of mental sharpening.
There are times when I find myself reading the Word and not treasuring. As a result, I am hearing but not truly listening… the Word is making no dent on my heart, only my brain and when that happens, treasuring cannot begin. We have got to learn to listen and treasure. What does it look like in your life? Do you have a time where you simply seek to listen to God? I not advocating any of the emotionally charged and out-of-balance junk that you hear some folks convince people of but I am saying that we need to stop sometimes and listen… just be quiet and listen. Then, when you begin to listen, when you begin to seize and grasp the Word of God in your hearts, you can begin to treasure it in your lives.
why?
Motivation is everything. Without motivation, things become a task, a chore, something we must do instead of something we want to do. Without motivation, the flame of passion can dwindle to a mere flicker that the smallest amount of doubt can quickly extinguish. Yet motivation for the sake of motivation is not enough. It must be true motivation, pure motivation, for wrong motivation, the kind that springs from a love of self, is even more deadly and damaging than no motivation at all. What is your motivation? Where does it spring from? From where does your motivation come from as a student… as a son or daughter… as a husband or wife, mom or dad… as an employee… as a friend… as someone who is involved in ministry… as a Christian? You know, as I think about it, even people who claim they lack motivation are still motivated… they are simply motivated by the selfish desire for inactivity, laziness, and passivity. Everyone has motivation… the question is, what is yours? Paul turns on a few lights for us regarding the question of motivation. In his first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica he writes “… our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.” (2:4-6) Obviously, Paul’s motivation for his ministry was being called into question. Some thought Paul’s motivation was personal glory, that his goal in ministry was for people to tell him how amazing he was. Others thought his motivation was financial gain, that he befriend the people with the deep pockets just so his pockets might be more sufficiently lined. Yet Paul was clear, his actions were not done so he might be declared as great and mighty, he ministry was not about his own financial well-being. He was motivated by one thing and one thing alone… the pleasure of God. Any other motivation is simply selfish. No matter how noble the motivation may seem on the outside, God knows the true motivation within our hearts and is not fooled by the false pretenses that we so creatively erect. What is your motivation? What is it that fuels the flame of your passion? If you are invovled in something simply for the "thank you" or the pat on the back or so youc an check off the box that says "Christian Servant" on your "I wanna be a good Christian" checklist, then your motivation is off. True motivation when it comes to this ministry or any other aspect of your life is about one thing and one thing only: the pleasure of God. If God’s pleasure is the true motivation that fuels the passion within your heart then things cease to become about the checklist and begin to be about joy. They cease to be a duty and begin to be an act of love. If God’s pleasure is your true motivation then when you commit to something, you commit with everything that you have and everything that you are. Yet if God’s pleasure isn’t your true motivation, if your reasons have to do with anything else besides God, they are ultimately selfish. Acts of love and service become a burden. Speaking the truth in love becomes an annoying waste of time. Engaging people in genuine community becomes uncomfortable and feels forced. Discipling begins to be something you used to do when you had more free time. What is your motivation? It is far more honorable to be genuine and true to yourself than it is to be fake and simply a pretender. If you find that your motivation is not true, maybe its time to take a step break and rekindle a true, pure motivation. And if your motivation is right and true and pure, then jump in, with everything you have and everything that you are… not for the praise of man but for the pleasure of God!
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