Jul 28 2008
Pious Platitudes and Firm Faith
Several weeks ago, at the conclusion of the Vacation Bible School program, Mary felt something odd in her chest. She went to her doctor where it was decided that she should undergo testing to identify the cause of her discomfort. Mary went through X-rays, EKGs, a heart catheterization, she was injected with dye and subjected to radiological imaging. Because of the presentation of her blood vessels, a condition referred to as, “torturous arteries,” it was decided that the insertion of a stent would not be viable. The only treatment option remaining was open heart surgery.
Mary was scared to death to think that someone was about to open her chest and attempt to bypass the artery that supplies blood to the heart, itself. This was intricate stuff and even though it has become routine in the medical world, in Mary’s world, it was anything but! The doctors said that there hadn’t been any damage to the heart muscle yet, but in Mary’s mind, 95% blockage meant that only 5% was separating her from eternity and while she knew she was a Christian, saved by faith; she wasn’t ready to go, just yet. But this was not the reason that Mary rode home from church in tears this Sunday afternoon. She had told her small group leader of her impending surgery and with a half-hearted wave over his shoulder as he walked by, he said, “I’ll pray for you.” He never even turned around, instead he walked off toward his sunny afternoon at the lake instead.
Joe sat staring blindly into nothing, cradling his head in his hands trying to understand what had just happened. He had gone to the church board president and the pastor to, once more, re-state his concern about the youth minister, (in training), who was teaching apostasy and cultish propaganda. He had brought the issue up before to the individual members of the board and the pastor, but now, having just left a meeting with the pastor and the president of the board, he was still in shock. The board president, who was obviously tired of hearing about this issue, had said, “Joe, if you can’t let this go and just get over it, I’m done with you.” The pastor, like Saul at the stoning of Stephen, sat quietly and by his silence gave approval.
In the weeks that followed, Joe became withdrawn and finally, with no help to be found, no attempt by any in the church to guide or provide discipleship, Joe found himself unable to look upon the hypocrisy of the pastor any longer. He had already walked out of more that one sermon. Joe couldn’t reconcile the message of brotherhood and love coming from the pulpit with the attitude that there was something wrong with him for speaking out against the apostasy being put before the youth. Joe couldn’t, “get over it,” and he realized that he shouldn’t. Joe ended up leaving the church because of their duplicity and disregard for the membership.
How often have you seen someone pass by an individual in pain, someone who doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone else but can not contain their inner turmoil any longer? How often have you been that person who passed by? James 2:15-16 tells us, “If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” Our churches are filled with those whose main concern seems to be, “I sure am glad that she didn’t start to cry, we could have been there for hours!” or “ He really seemed upset, but what could I have done?” Is this becoming the new Christian standard? James goes on to say, in verse 2:20, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” Of course we must know that our salvation is by faith and not by the works of the law, but the faith that saves is never present without there being evidence in the workings of that faith also being present.
It is devastating to a believer, especially a new convert, to begin to build a faith on what is supposed to be the bedrock of Christ only to turn around and discover that what they thought was solid stone is really nothing more than compressed sand. With every move, the edges crumble away a little more until they are left in a pile of sand that is good for nothing. All that remains is the rubble of a faith that ends up being no more than the trappings of pretension, the lies of the religious elite. Is it better to be a cripple who knows that he cannot walk, or to be given crutches, only to find out that they will not bear your weight. It is far kinder to leave someone in their misery than it is to give them flawed hopes and useless remedies.
There may be nothing that you can do in a particular situation to solve the problem, no one could have magically fixed Mary’s heart condition. The simple step of investing one’s self in the suffering of another costs so little, and can benefit the injured so greatly, that to avoid the effort defies comprehension. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2. This is far more than a mere suggestion, it is a command! If anyone would have approached Joe and taken the time to hear the pain of his heart, it might have made all the difference in the world, it might have been enough to keep him in the church. In many cases all we need is to be heard and understood. People know that others can not usually remove the problems in their lives but just to know that someone is there to offer support as you face whatever trial comes along is a blessing in itself. Jesus doesn’t promise that we will never go through pain and suffering, but He does promise to go through it with us.
Oftentimes people allow pride to prevent them from asking for the help that they need. We hate to be thought of as needy, we don’t want to admit our weaknesses. Sometimes we don’t reach out because we know, in our heart of hearts, that if we were the ones being asked, we might not want to help the other person. If it’s something that we wouldn’t do, how can we ask it of anyone else? We project the refusal, or reluctant agreement, that we could possibly feel on to those that we might otherwise reach out to in our suffering and, thinking that it would be an imposition, we close our mouths and do not ask. Friends, this should not be, not among the church. We are the salt of the earth, the seasoning of life! We are the light that is supposed to shine for all the world to see.
Can we sit in our heated homes and feel good in our faith because we know that if someone were to come to our door and ask, we would give them a blanket? We must take the blanket to them! Do we only do our good works when we are asked to do them, or do we step out in faith? Do we avoid eye contact with the man holding the sign that reads, “WILL WORK FOR FOOD?” We act, too often, as though no need exists unless we can see it, unless it comes to our door, unless it gets put in our faces so that we must stare at the horror of the actual human condition. We may see the disadvantaged and say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” But we never really grasp the intensity of the meaning of the words.
In Matthew 1:38 Jesus says, “… Let us go to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth.” Jesus is not waiting in comfort to tell those who come to Him the good news, He is actively seeking them out, taking the message to those who need it most. We need to follow this example. When we see a person in pain or anguish, we need to reach out to them and ask, “Are you alright? Can I help? Do you want to talk?” God may be providing an opportunity for you to serve in grace, When this type of opportunity presents itself, recognize that God has engineered it, or by His providence brought it to you, and step up to the challenge. Be the hands of Christ to reach out and extend a genuine concern for another human being. Even though you may think you have nothing to offer, the act of trying to help can make a huge difference in the suffering of another.
If we are going to claim the banner of Christ and call ourselves Christians, we need to do the things that Christ would do, we need to be the people that Christ would have us be. To say, “I’m a Christian,” and then not do the things that Christ commands us to do, is to do nothing more than give the worldlings more reason to call ours, a faith of hypocrisy. It is not enough to attend weekly services simply to hear the stories of what the Christian life should be, and then refuse to live that life. We must allow Christ to live in us and through us to model the lives of the church as He would have them presented to a hurting and dying world. Jesus says, “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33.
If we do not uphold the standard of Jesus Christ, if we merely assign lip service to the Gospel, we are the worst kind of imposters. We make ourselves pretenders who lure people to join us and, once they are added to the roll, allow them to walk off the cliffs of despair. If our faith is anything but a Firm Faith, Based in Christ, then all that remains are our pious platitudes.
All for the Glory of Christ