It does matter to God

In my early years as a married man, I was, after a church service, approached by a brother 'D2', who expressed that he always felt encouraged by my family’s presence at every church service, event, etc. He would, subsequently, without fail, write me a birthday card every year till date [now via SMS]. When we relocated to Kent in the UK many years later and had to commute via public transport to church in London at least thrice a week, another brother 'MB', who is married to a Jamaican Nigeria-enthusiast, would echo what 'D2' had expressed back in Africa. Lately, I had the rare privilege of offering a lift to a dear sister to a social event that was being held in honour of another lovely sister. As we journeyed, I tried to encourage the sister to go beyond her past hurts and attend church in-person [she participates in offshore online services instead]. While I tried to suggest that her presence at church could strengthen the faith of others and motivate them, her reply was hilarious: “Here we go again… the familiar church lingo!”  At that point, I decided to acknowledge her hurt and respect her decision. However, I was alarmed that she was still carrying hurts of almost three decades ago! I pray she is able to seek closure on the matter [Matthew 18:15].

Recently, a brother [I held in high esteem] and I exchanged short messages that almost degenerated into ungodliness [I smelt pride on both sides], and I quickly admonished us with Titus 3:9 / 2 Timothy 2:22-26. Thankfully, we were able to resolve the matter through a telephone conversation [it was communication gone awry!]. This was a brother who was lied about to me and my wife by a former 'brother' concerning my family’s situation when we newly relocated to the UK; I hated this brother so much that I almost fell ill! But God helped me out eventually [the lying former 'brother' had threatened not to say anything to me in confidence any longer, if I challenged the other brother] when this same brother and his wife [after a church service] took me and my family to their London home, and we had lunch with him and his family. I was confused and concerned [Romans 12:20] but knowing myself, the hatred for the brother started to dissipate – especially when he offered to give us a car to ease our commute to church from Kent; we could not take up the offer for logistics. Why did I bring him up? When he used to preach before the church, he would acknowledge our long commute [plus costs] to church even when it snowed or rained. However, I did approach him after a church service and politely and respectfully [after thanking him] advised him to stop sharing about us [I and my family did not want to receive our reward here on earth – Matthew 6:2].

“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been around [being a disciple] …” Is this a familiar phrase? There also is an associated contradiction in the sense that whenever it suits us, we broadcast how many years we have been "a disciple."

Having been around for 32 years [again, the only person who wished me a happy spiritual birthday was 'D2' ! I forgot too!], I know the ‘culture’. How we dishonour and weaponize the pulpit to ‘hit back’ at anyone who dares to ‘challenge’ us. If I have been a disciple of Christ Jesus for 32 years, and there is nothing to show for it [Matthew 25:14-30], maybe you can justify the cliché. But I know motives behind the cliché are usually almost self-seeking, selfish and ungodly.

From a judgemental standpoint, we are quick to play the ‘humility’ card by perceiving our ‘loyalists’ as ‘humble’ and constantly “ready to learn.” And we place anyone who is bold [2 Timothy 1:7] enough to ‘challenge’ [Galatians 2:11-13] us in a box… and put a label on him/her. While we are adept at quoting Galatians 5:19-26, why we do not give the same treatment to the chapter’s very first verse speaks volumes. How would you feel if someone said to you that your life did not matter? That is exactly how I feel if anyone says to me that my 32 years of self-denial [Matthew 16:24; 19:27] mean nothing! Why would anyone [who has a conscience] ever use the sacred pulpit of God to spew out such discouragement?

We can act humble to hide or disguise our pride by being self-deprecating [Matthew 6:16-18]. Undervaluing or belittling ourselves to appear less important and make others think we are modest is not humility, but an indirect expression of our ego, arrogance, and conceited confidence. What we may not know is humility, like any virtue, is a journey, not a destination; it is a continuous growth process. I have come to understand that no matter how talented we are, there is almost always somebody who can do better than we [Philippians 2:3]. In sum, nobody is the best at anything, and we always have something we can improve on. While there is nothing wrong in having healthy self-esteem, we must be careful not to constantly bring attention to ourselves and our achievements [Proverbs 27:2]. If we sense that we are doing great things, chances are people will start to notice, and they will come to respect us even more for our humility [James 4:10].

We all are variously gifted by God [Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11]. Prophesying, serving [1Peter4:10], teaching [Exodus 35:34], encouragement, giving, leading, being merciful, are all gifts according to the grace given to each of us. It is therefore dangerous to violate these passages for self-interest. 

I am not going to deny a fact: the Lord commands that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel [1 Corinthians 9:14]. In a nutshell, we are encouraged to give generously [2 Corinthians 9:5-15]. I would naturally have a very soft spot for those who give ‘handsomely’ were I to earn my income fully from serving as a preacher – this is an undeniable fact. However, note what Apostle Paul [the same author of 1 Corinthians 9:14] says in verse 15 through 18; he de-emphasizes a preacher’s reliance for survival on what the church gives, despite the fact that he justifiably needed financial support because of his peripatetic evangelistic life [he owned no car, had no mortgage and knew no holiday].

I am tempted to boast [like Apostle Paul in verse 15] about how, for many years, I fulfilled 2 Corinthians 9:5-15, but I shall be self-restrained. We should note as well that our economic/financial situations may change from time to time. For example, if you recently relocated to the UK from Africa as a disciple, you will understand the point I am trying to make here. The apostle Paul says he preaches voluntarily and simply discharges the trust committed to him. Do you know what he considers to be his reward? That in preaching the gospel he may offer it free of charge and so not rely on church contributions for survival; we know from Acts 18:1-4 that Apostle Paul was a tentmaker. He earned money by making tents not only to support himself in his real ministry of witnessing to Christ, but also to benefit the broader community. Apostle Paul also provided financial support to the entire community and did have an economic impact on the Ephesians [Acts 20:33-35].

We do not earn equally, and our circumstances differ. What is crucial is to give like the widow in Luke 21 [I can bet that the highest givers in the church do not give like the widow]. However [and disappointingly], our contemporary church attitude is to try to give gifts [that have not been given by God] such as teaching and leading [Romans 12:6-8] to the ‘high monetary givers’ [HMGs] and completely ignore/marginalize/ostracize the ‘widows’ in our midst. Do we even care to know how people are doing – their jobs, health, marriages, parenting, struggles, challenges, etc.? When a congregation strives to help its people become better stewards at home, those same people have no choice but to become more generous to and through the church; as people have more, they give more. It is important that congregational leaders look not merely to the financial needs of the church, but to the financial needs of the people in the church. It is believed that a crucial aspect of helping congregants build a healthy relationship with God is to help them build a healthy relationship with their money and possessions in a godly way. We should be thinking of honouring the whole person, forming healthy Christian disciples and supporting faithful stewards.

While I will never discount ‘high monetary givers’ [even if they fall short of the widow’s standard], at the same time, I will not judge those who struggle to give. This is because what is invisible to man is laid bare before God [Hebrews 4:13]. While everybody ‘respected’ and ‘favoured’ the ‘HMGs’, no one took notice of the poor widow because what she gave was ‘insignificant’ to the temple. Is that not how it is with the 21st century church? I recognize HMGs’ [comparatively] as gifted by the Spirit of grace to do just that. And if it is clear that the Holy Spirit has further gifted them to lead and/or, teach, then it will be obvious to everyone.

If we do have the privilege of using the pulpit, we must strive not to offend anyone in the congregation. Rather, we should strive to inspire an atmosphere of reverence [for God] and engender a setting that is welcoming to all. We must acknowledge the pulpit as the most sacred and exalted place in the church, and whoever has the privilege to occupy this position stands as Christ’s mouthpiece. I am fully in support of the use of the pulpit to denounce sin and courageously challenge evil. I welcome using the pulpit to preach about the truths of God, which pierce as a two-edged sword, resulting in congregational conviction and remorse 

However, we need to check our hearts and our motives when have the use of the pulpit; let us not cause offence. The pulpit is not a place to make anyone look small while at the same time praising others. There is nothing wrong in mentioning individuals in the pulpit, but to frequently exalt and give them accolades is uncalled for. Anyone who uses the pulpit will be held responsible by God for the impact that their use of the sacred platform has on the congregation. Let us therefore be very careful how we use the pulpit; it is not our AK47 for ‘assaulting’ our perceived antagonists. No one should hear from the pulpit that all their years of sacrifice, self-denial, etc. do not matter. God does not think so! Just meditate on 1 Corinthians 15:58.

This is wishing all a Happy Easter!

Madrid Church of Christ, 25/02/2024