I know that I am basically adding to the flame with this, but I also know that no one really reads this. So, this is my way of getting out some of my frustrations with the understanding that some of them I should just get over myself, while others need to be addressed and taken care of.
First, why do people within God's Church forget that our enemy is not one another? We want to argue and get upset with each other when Satan is the one that we are supposed to be working to defeat. Satan is the one that wants us to keep up the arguing, the deception, the lack of communication and the lack of trust. God wants us to work together as the Church that He designed for us to be a part of. But instead, we want to make our local churches about us, about what we want, about what we think and about what we feel.
Preaching to myself here as well, it's not about us. We are only here to worship God and be a vessel for Him to work through in order to bring others into a relationship with Him and His Church. When will we break through our huge wall of pride and realize that no matter how hard we try to work to please God, we are not going to do anything that amazes Him. We need to do what we can to praise Him, not try to impress Him. And although these two things can appear similar in what we do, the difference is the heart that we do it with. I hope that you see the difference between trying to do something that is excellent to praise God and trying to do something excellent that impresses God.
Second, when you have a problem with something that is done, or something that is said, you are supposed to talk with that specific individual and not other people. Again, I have to watch what I say and do in this as well. However, before we even go and talk with that specific person, we need to think about why we're upset in the first place. Is it really a problem that we need to work through and get over ourselves, or is it a legitimate issue that needs to be discussed. All too often, if we would take the time to unbiasedly think about the reasons we are upset, we are looking for a reason to get mad. We are taking the words of someone and making them more harmful than was ever the intention. We become hypersensitive because we don't want to be criticized or critiqued. I'll say the same thing again, get over yourself. This is not about us. Spend some time in self-reflection. Spend some time in prayer. Go to God with your feelings because, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure."
The last thing I'd like to throw out here, and I'm not trying to contradict myself in this, but I hope that people understand, things like Sunday morning worship, Sunday School, Bible Study, Small Groups, Service Projects, etc., just because we aren't trying to impress God and our main goal is to worship God, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't do our best. We will never do things completely perfect; we know that and shouldn't be downcast when we fall short. However, we should have a mentality that strives to do our best because we are doing it for God. If we are willing to sell ourselves short in these things that are supposed to be acts of worship to the All Mighty Creator of the Heavens and Earth, why would anyone give a care about this God that we claim to believe in. We should do these things with the desire to do them perfect for God and prepare with the desire to do them perfect for God because ultimately that is what will give glory to God and it will also show the rest of the world how serious we are about our relationship with God.
I know this is probably some rambling and might even be confusing, but I am just fed up with the Church battling within itself and forgetting that we are supposed to be battling Satan. Stop letting our pride keep us from a healthy relationship with God and His Church, stop letting our hearts tell us how we feel on a day-to-day basis and start doing everything in your life with the desire to do it well as an act of worship to God and so many of these stupid issues that we have with one another will come into perspective, and therefore will get rid of themselves.
First, why do people within God's Church forget that our enemy is not one another? We want to argue and get upset with each other when Satan is the one that we are supposed to be working to defeat. Satan is the one that wants us to keep up the arguing, the deception, the lack of communication and the lack of trust. God wants us to work together as the Church that He designed for us to be a part of. But instead, we want to make our local churches about us, about what we want, about what we think and about what we feel.
Preaching to myself here as well, it's not about us. We are only here to worship God and be a vessel for Him to work through in order to bring others into a relationship with Him and His Church. When will we break through our huge wall of pride and realize that no matter how hard we try to work to please God, we are not going to do anything that amazes Him. We need to do what we can to praise Him, not try to impress Him. And although these two things can appear similar in what we do, the difference is the heart that we do it with. I hope that you see the difference between trying to do something that is excellent to praise God and trying to do something excellent that impresses God.
Second, when you have a problem with something that is done, or something that is said, you are supposed to talk with that specific individual and not other people. Again, I have to watch what I say and do in this as well. However, before we even go and talk with that specific person, we need to think about why we're upset in the first place. Is it really a problem that we need to work through and get over ourselves, or is it a legitimate issue that needs to be discussed. All too often, if we would take the time to unbiasedly think about the reasons we are upset, we are looking for a reason to get mad. We are taking the words of someone and making them more harmful than was ever the intention. We become hypersensitive because we don't want to be criticized or critiqued. I'll say the same thing again, get over yourself. This is not about us. Spend some time in self-reflection. Spend some time in prayer. Go to God with your feelings because, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure."
The last thing I'd like to throw out here, and I'm not trying to contradict myself in this, but I hope that people understand, things like Sunday morning worship, Sunday School, Bible Study, Small Groups, Service Projects, etc., just because we aren't trying to impress God and our main goal is to worship God, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't do our best. We will never do things completely perfect; we know that and shouldn't be downcast when we fall short. However, we should have a mentality that strives to do our best because we are doing it for God. If we are willing to sell ourselves short in these things that are supposed to be acts of worship to the All Mighty Creator of the Heavens and Earth, why would anyone give a care about this God that we claim to believe in. We should do these things with the desire to do them perfect for God and prepare with the desire to do them perfect for God because ultimately that is what will give glory to God and it will also show the rest of the world how serious we are about our relationship with God.
I know this is probably some rambling and might even be confusing, but I am just fed up with the Church battling within itself and forgetting that we are supposed to be battling Satan. Stop letting our pride keep us from a healthy relationship with God and His Church, stop letting our hearts tell us how we feel on a day-to-day basis and start doing everything in your life with the desire to do it well as an act of worship to God and so many of these stupid issues that we have with one another will come into perspective, and therefore will get rid of themselves.
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