It’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between “secular” and “christian”. With divorce numbers being almost identical in the two groups, and addictive tendencies being no less prevalent in one or the other, there seems to be very little that differentiates a believer from a “non-believer”.
Some would say that what distinguishes Christians is their good moral behavior. The problem with this though is reality. While so many Christians would react negatively to alcohol, smoking, drugs, tattoos, piercings and adultery, they altogether ignore the fact that every buffet restaurant in the nation is filled with church goers on sunday afternoons, stuffing their faces uncontrollably with food and drink, they ignore that a large portion of pastors, elders, and deacons, are really just “christian” business men, trying to turn a greedy profit. They ignore that 50% of their marriages are over, that large portions of their male congregants are addicted to pornography, that large portions of their female congregants are gossips, and busibodies.
I’d rather go to church with a drunk who sees he needs Jesus, than a fat, gossiping, divorcee who thinks Jesus owes them something, becuase they “serve” Him.
So heres my point. As the body of Christ, I think we, much like the overwhelming population of our nation, have become obese. We’re so fat with sinful, undisciplined, ungodly “Christians” that we can’t move, act, work, heal, redeem, engage, and operate they way we’re supposed to. We’ve made church so individualized, and selfish, that the body is destroying itself for the sake of the part.
We need to heed the Bibles instruction, to “discipline ourselves for the sake of godliness”. We need to go on a diet and exercise plan. Maybe it’s time to start enacting so real, loving, firm, Biblical church discipline. We should not be holding “non-believers” to the standard of Scripture, but we are commanded by God to hold belivers to it. But we let things slide, in the name of tolerence, “kindness”, and “love”. Last time I checked I thought we were doing things in and for the name of God the Father and His son Jesus.
We’ve allowed too many local churches to become impotent, self-serving, sin-tolerating, fat, lusting, obese bodies, who care more about their own comfort than Jesus Christ. Who would rather spend their time lusting after the things that Jesus made, than the Jesus who made them.
Discipline yourself for godliness. It is not easy, it is not natural, and it is not always fun, but it is entirely neccesary, if we’re ever going to attain the calling the we’ve received to be the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth of Jesus Christ, to declare His redemption to all of mankind, and to worship Him through all eternity in Spirit and in Truth.
It’s time to start showing people what real love is. Love somebody by taking them aside and in love and gentleness showing them their sin. Love somebody by commiting to work together, to sharpen one another, to shape one another, the love one another. Love sombody to take the time to invest in their spiritual well being. Christianity was not created to be done in isolation, it was meant to be done in groups, to work together, to offer different insight, and giftings, and perspectives, to build each other up. You’ll never get there on your own. You were never meant to.
Don’t be spiritually fat. Get to work, ask for help, train to be godly.
