Avoiding the Crazy Label

 

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.  For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.  Well then, what shall I do?  I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand.  I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.  For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you?  How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying?  You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.  But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.  Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things.  Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.  It is written in the Scriptures:  “I will speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners.  But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.  So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers.  Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers.  Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy.  But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.  As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”   1 Corinthians 14:13-25

I’m not sure I’ve ever known anyone who claimed to be super-spiritual.  I have known several gossips who criticized others (behind their back, of course) that they were such.  The point about being super-spiritual or holier-than-thou (a phrase from another era), is that one who is truly so close to God that one gains the reputation of being something of a spiritual giant, well, that kind of person would never claim that status; humility would forbid it.  They would be denying attaining spiritual heights with pride.  Consider God’s Word on the matter:

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.  James 4:10

But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.  Matthew 23:12

And he gives grace generously.  As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6

Avoiding the “crazy label” is a matter of humility and truthfulness.  People who show-off with their so-called super-spirituality, or over-the-top-humility, are those who put-off others enough to derail a church’s entire ministry.  The apostle, Paul spoke of prophesying, or speaking the truth about God and humans in a way that exalts the LORD, and encourages people.  We can shirk that responsibility in more than one way:

1.    We can favor the appearance of super-spirituality, gaining the applause of men…a rather empty sense of accomplishment

2.    We can fade into the woodwork in feigned humility, a lie (at best) of the greatness of the Holy Spirit residing in your heart.

Either of those is not that to which God called any of us.  Rather, the body of Christ is to be a working force, every member using his or her gifts appropriately, respectfully, and humbly, so God gets the glory as unbelievers are converted.

For You Today

Our goal as a church is never to approach entertainment or satisfying someone’s opinion or preferences…or even just keeping peace.  It is to have the mission of Christ effective in our lives, declaring with power that God is truly among us.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

Good Advice from a Prophet a Long Way From Home

[1]

                                                                Friday, June 17, 2016

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.  James 4:10^(NLT)

I have watched many documentary programs that deal with the issue of racial integration in this country.  One of the strong impressions I usually come away with is the picture of isolation experienced by a single African-American kid in a white school.  Trying to understand the difficulty of it all, I would attempt to put myself in that kid’s situation.  Of course that’s difficult – imagining what someone else is going through. 

But a few years ago I stumbled across some thoughts that made me realize I have more in common with that struggle than I previously imagined.  There are two aspects of my minority status which stick out like a sore thumb:

1.   I’m a Yankee who has served his entire ministry in the deep South!

Having been born and bred in the Northeast, and spent the last 39½ years in Dixie, there have been more than a few times when someone has pointed out how very fortunate I am to have been allowed to live below the Mason-Dixon Line.

A good friend who was born, and lived all his life, near Tallahassee, Florida once took me fishing in the Gulf of Mexico along the panhandle.  As he was driving us to the launch area we travelled through a deserted forest area and I asked him what this place was called.  In true Southern Speech (with a hint of New York Gambino family mixed-in) Joe Ball said:  Don’t rightly know the name, but we call it that place whar’ Yankees ain’t never heard from ag’in.  Needless to say, it was a long afternoon until I got back home.

It’s tough enough to be a preacher these days with the likes of snake oil salesmen, “so-called preachers” who wind up in jail for fraud or sexual scandals…or the rock stars whose TV ministries would probably make Jesus turn over some more tables in God’s house.  But add to that the problem of being a long way from home and being an alien just trying to love the locals; it’s like Amos, a good ol’ po’boy shepherd from Southern Judah being sent by God up to northern Israel to preach to them Yankee fat cat rich folks.

It’s not easy; sometimes being humble means swallowing your tongue when you encounter regional prejudice.

2.   I’m a Methodist minister who speaks with a Baptist accident

You heard right…a Baptist accident.  While I was thinking about this minority dilemma, I was speaking my thoughts into a digital recorder.  I meant to say “Baptist accent” but it came out “Baptist accident”.  I became a Methodist by accident…and that’s another, very long story.

But it works in this case; as a people-pleaser I have a natural tendency to try to fit-in with people.  A New York twang spoken from a southern-drawl pulpit gets old when you’re the week-in/week-out pastor.  The accident of losing my accent (mostly) didn’t take long. 

But it still shows up occasionally – particularly for those protectors of the border who are looking for any trace of impurity in their parsons.

I’m not sure if Amos had a different regional speech pattern than the folks who populated Israel’s capitol city, but his sheepherder’s rough-cut ways had to set him apart from the genteel manners at court.  He was a long way from home!

For You Today

The fact is all who love Jesus Christ, and wish to serve Him are a very long way from home!  Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern…all are under God’s sun. 

In reality, we are only one race – human.  And that’s a good reason to be humble.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Gustave Doré [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons