In a conversation with a good pastor friend of mine over lunch he made a comment regarding the importance of the Church of Jesus on the earth to be faithful. While on the face of it all I agree in principle, I began to ask myself, what is faithful, what does faithful look like and what if anything could be a person who thinks they are faithful, but are in fact not? Confused? So am I but in my normal stream of consciousness way here goes;
I know men and women in North Dakota who are faithful in marriage. They don't cheat on their spouses. They show up for occasions. But there is nothing between them except the faithfulness they show. IF you asked they would say, "we're still married by God". No love, no passion, but permanently faithful till the day they die.
I know Parents who are faithful to provide for their kids, see to it they go to school, see to it they have a roof over their heads but let the TV do the baby sitting and the baby sitter do the changing. Parenting for them is a title not a love. The kids grow up and never really knew for sure if they were loved by the parents they had. But the parents were by all accounts faithful.
There are politicians in Washington and in state governments who succeed by keeping their heads down. They show up for meetings, they do the minimum needed to keep being reelected. They never say or do much that could be construed as controversial. They put in time. BUT, they are faithful.
I have had employees who were faithful workers. Showed up on time, few sick days, never a problem but if I tried to figure out what they accomplished there was a problem. They depended on the demonstration of faithfulness by showing up to keep from being fired. They did not depend on effectiveness. Was that faithful?
Jesus talked of faithfulness in the parable of the mina or talents. You can look it up. Those who made something of the resources entrusted to them were rewarded with more. The one who was faithful in his own eyes tried to just preserve what was given him and had it stripped from his hands. He was called unfaithful. Wait a minute, didn't he do the minimum of what he was called to do? The criticism is he didn't do what he could have done. He didn't do what he was called to do. We all have a called on what we are to do. We just should all that and more if we are truly faithful.
I know a pastor who pastors a congregation on a good salary. The congregation requires that the pastor visit the old folks in the home, make every member visits and pray with the fold, visit the sick in the hospital and conduct the old women's bible study. He has a facility, he has a territory he should be reaching but he is marking time being faithful. A hireling. Oh, in one case I understand it. He has about 40 members with a legacy endowment that allows him to take 70 grand a year in remuneration. Reaching out could cost him his "deal". Not a bad man, but faithful to the call of God on his life? I'm not convinced. Would Jesus judge him faithful? You answer that one for yourself.
Can a church or denomination be unfaithful? Yes!! If it deals with the world from a protectionist standpoint it is unfaithful. If it just goes thru the motions it's unfaithful. If it just tries to preserve the status quo it's unfaithful. If reaching out to it's community is sacrificed by sacred cow theologies that are like arguing over the bar tab on the Hindenburg then it's being unfaithful. The question gets to be, how faithful are you, we, us in what has been entrusted to us. More important to whom are we faithful. To our denomination or some ancient theologies? Or to the Spirit of the Living God. How much do we really want to reach a fallen world or are we going to try to keep pouring new wine into those cracked broken busted leaky old wine skins.
It has never worked and it never will. Every attempt by man to use the old in "Harmony" with what God is doing today is a complete and utter failure. In short order the provider of all new wine will stop and tradition takes over. Then like the Rolling Stones sang, "It's all over now".
When you think you are being faithful and it is really an excuse for mediocrity you no longer are being faithful. Mediocrity at the expense of excellence has no place in Marriage, Parenting, Politics, Work, Pastoral and Church callings.
We don't have to be lukewarm and mediocre to be faithful. True faithfulness will exhibit true passion and desire.
I want to be truly faithful. How bout you?
No comments:
Post a Comment