In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 1 Corinthans 11:17
I wonder how true this is of the meetings of my church.
I wonder how true this is of me.
Paul is talking about divisions in the church and the harm they cause. Now, on the surface we're all pretty civil and polite to one another. I can't recall the last time a fist fight broke out in the worship service. But are there divisions among us? Indeed there are.
Paul also says that divisions are to be expected, and indeed are one of the ways we figure out what God wants. We "discuss" things, perhaps intensely, and then sort out which of us has "God's approval." That's just spirited debate, and not something we should run from. That's not what Paul's talking about.
It's the other kind of divisions that make church do more harm than good. The ones that tear other people down because I don't like what they're doing/being/saying.
I wonder how much of that attitude I bring to church.
I wonder.
5 comments:
Rob - Interesting timing of this post. I'm always tempted to avoid church business because I don't like the "business of church." I prefer to stay in the dark about what goes on in the church office. Really. I don't want to know a lot of the stuff that gets discussed. For example - what should be the goal of the church? To recruit wealthy and affluent people who will tithe and thus, sustain the business of the church, or reach people for Jesus. Oops - I was trying to write a non-emotional response. Guess it didn't work. My husband is quick to remind me that the church has overhead just like any other business and if the lights aren't on - you can't reach people for Jesus. Is this an attitude?
No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. (I Cor 11:19 NIV)
I don't think I ever noticed that verse before! Thanks for pointing it out. I would never have believed it was in the Bible. Surely Paul is saying that, in light of the fact that the Corinthian church is so messed up, there would have to be some people stirring up division by pointing out the errors or they would never get corrected. Fascinating. But I wouldn't take it to mean that divisions are a good thing, per se.
Is that how you would read it?
Super Churchlady, you're right. The purpose of the church is to reach lost people and teach them about Jesus. As far as I'm concerned that's it. Everything that doesn't support that purpose doesn't belong. I think we get distracted by all kinds of other stuff. So much so that we don't even keep track of how many people we reach! How many people know Jesus today because of the ministry of our church? Some certainly, but the fact that I don't know is disturbing. I can tell you how much money we owe on the building, and the weekly financial needs of the church, but not how many people we reach in a year. Surely that's the "business" of the church.
Bill, I was surprised when I first read verse 19 as well. God desires unity among his people, not division (e.g., Eph 2:3), but according to v19 he uses division as well. Does he actively cause divisions as a way of communicating his will? Does he passively use the divisions that occur instead of preventing them? If we work to avoid divisions in the church are we interfering with God's will? I don't find any of these ideas very appealing. He is, after all, God and he can do what ever he chooses to do. Divisions are not a good thing. Can God do bad things? I think I recognize an old argument coming on...
Does he actively cause divisions as a way of communicating his will? Does he passively use the divisions that occur instead of preventing them? If we work to avoid divisions in the church are we interfering with God's will?
You know, for a long time, I was very bothered by the division between Protestants and Catholics, and further, the division between Protestants in denominations. I felt surely it must be against God's will to have so much division in theological thought and practice of worship within Christianity.
Recently, I've been thinking, that yeah, maybe it isn't what God desires: all this division. Surely it can't be, because we do seem to turn our noses up at one another, don't we? But he has allowed it for some reason. It was definitely man's will set in motion, to break away from each other. But to me it seems that God has allowed it to occur, has let us go in so many different ways, so that more people will be reached and included into the body of Christ. It's a beautiful example of how God uses everything for the good and for His purpose, even if our will goes against His.
When God gave us free will, he must have known that divisiveness would be a result, good or bad. So, the problem is not within the divisions, but in how we, as Christians, handle those divisions.
To me, this somewhat relates back to the lesson on Temptation. Some think that if you are a good Christian, you don't get confronted with temptation. Just so, some people think that being a good Christian means not being confrontational and not having a divisive notion.
But if we confront the divisions, with all glory being to God, and having God as our main focus in settling them, then we are doing our Christian duty. If we don't, the result is gossip and/or moving to a Church that does satisfy our criteria.
So, just as giving into temptation is self-serving and therefore a sin, so goes ignoring divisions that might not be in our best interest, but is in the best interest of serving God.
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