21 Oct Community Thief
Cleaning out closets makes me tremble with dread therefore I avoid it for way too long. Recently, this feared chore couldn’t be delayed any longer and I spent a long and lonely Saturday plunging into the chaos.
I confess that my progress was often stalled by the many memory rabbit trails I found myself hopping down. On one such journey, I discovered a note written to myself, scribbled on January 17, 1982. It seems that my ten-year-old self wanted to impart some wisdom that my older self is still trying to learn. She/I said:
“I know that when The Lord speaks to you, you get a bubble in your heart and you know you just had an experience. And that’s the way I felt. And the bubble was getting so big that it almost popped…and I was praising The Lord. You see, two little girls were laughing at me, but that did not stop me, I knew it was the devil.”
I can’t recall the details of why I felt urged to write this to myself, but I clearly thought it was noteworthy. And now, 32 years later, I am finding myself thinking about how our enemy works hard to stop praise and growth in our lives, as individuals and within church community. Satan wants to keep our lives in chaos, like my cluttered closet, so we are not functioning for the Kingdom. He easily uses our sinful bent towards either passivity or autonomy to accomplish that goal. Even as a little girl, I recognized that the devil was trying to distract my praise through the mockery of those other girls. Somehow I saw it then and yet, as an adult, I can loose sight of that truth so easily.
“I can quickly veer off track, shut down and self-protect, simply by feeling someone’s disapproval instead of grace.”
I have seen Christian community unravel far too many times when the Praise of Him shifts to criticism and control of someone else. Often in the name of “being honest,” the cloaked reproach creates wounds, not health. I have been on both sides of this, where I felt compelled to speak out and correct someone. When it was sourced in my own pride and judgment, it did not produce any good fruit, only more division. However, in those times where the Spirit led and grace spoke the words, it produced unity and healing. I have also been on the receiving end of someone’s “correction,” felt the biting sting of rejection and disdain. It was a deep cut, one that stayed sore for a long time. On the other hand, when I experienced the hard truth wrapped in love and grace, I was hungry to move towards change. To grow in maturity, as individuals and as a community of believers, we must speak and receive Truth…in love, while also refusing to be tossed from the work the Lord has for us.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”-Ephesians 4:14-16
These verses are describing what healthy community looks like, where the collection of believers is acting as one body, under the authority of Christ, our head. When we are living in submission to Him in the way we love each other, there will naturally be growth and unity.
In 1 Peter 5:8, we are told, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Be assured, our enemy hates what God is calling us to, he hates community. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
If our words don’t bring life to others, then the source may not be what you think it is. We can see that our enemy hates true community, so we must know that God HATES anything that harms His Body. These are things we must be watching for and guarded against:
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”-Proverbs 6:16-19
In order to guard against the thief sneaking through the backdoor, we must ask ourselves, as a part of His Body, some tough questions:
Are you pursuing, speaking, and receiving Truth, in love?
Before “speaking the truth,” have you prayed earnestly for that person?
Has gossip invaded your community? Is it a safe place?
Are you growing in maturity?
Are you united against the enemy?
Where have autonomy and self-protection blocked healing and unity?
Dearest Lord, may I seek to praise you, despite the attempts of the enemy to blow me off course and distract me from You. Truth brings freedom and life and you love when your children worship you together in unity and peace. Please bring healing and help us to grow in maturity, loving you more than ourselves and loving each other rich with grace.
-Kristi Carden, Pelham