July 03, 2009
Kiss That Reward Good-By
Recently I attended an open forum meeting where the topic of discussion was community growth. One Christian man used some of his microphone time suggesting the group’s efforts could be better spent on helping the homeless and serving food at meals sites. Boasting of his own service to the poor, he in effect chastised others for their lack of compassion and service. I don’t know how the audience felt about his assertions, but as a fellow believer I was embarrassed for the man and cringed at the shadow of pride he cast.“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” (Matt 6:2 NIV)
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Gail;
-----”Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth…’ And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (Gen 11:4 & 6) When God blessed Noah, He told him to multiply and fill all the earth. Since man declared to build a city and make a name for themselves so they would not be scattered throughout the earth, this has been the disobedience ascribed to their actions. And properly so; God wanted them across the face of the earth, they wanted to stay only in the land of Shinar. But we loose some valuable perspective by allowing the issue to settle into such simple terms. Man’s disobedience at the Tower of Babel went deeper than just refusing to spread out.
-----They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city…” Most likely that declared command was issued from a highly regarded, or at least feared, leader or leadership structure. And that they indeed built a city and a tower evidences the general submission of the entire population to the human leadership. Their submission is further evidenced in the entire population’s move from the east to settle in the land of Shinar. God’s reply to their actions indicates His concern about the possibilities such concerted effort might offer man, “…nothing they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”
-----So, what was God’s problem with man having great ability? Does He not want people to prosper in their survival, to build cities and industries? He wants them to prosper. He told Adam to subdue the earth and rule over it, stating it in the most general terms for creating industry, civilization, and building cities. And He has blessed man’s efforts throughout the world in building cities much greater than this one, and towers much higher than that of Babel. The problem is in the focus of man’s accomplishment. When that focus is removed from the leadership of the Lord and relegated to the leadership of man, it necessarily will degrade into tunnel vision. For the mind of one man, or even the minds of a few, are far too limited to envision all the possibilities within the greatness of God’s mind.
-----To call a whole group of people, whether it be a community, a nation, or a church only to interests defined by a human leadership structure is to call its individuals away from their personal relationships with the Lord. For it is He who gives gifts to people (I Cor 12:11), and it is He who desires all those gifts to be exercised by everyone who has one. He does not desire everyone to exercise the gift He gave a few people who happen to be charismatic enough to attain leadership status.
-----But this is precisely what happens in our organizations and nations. It is not that a group of people with common interests and common gifts should not collect their efforts and multiply their possibilities. That is great! It is that they must remain humble in assessing themselves and their interests as only being a small part of everything that must happen for man to prosper in the Lord’s eyes, and that they must assess others and their different interests as being just as vital.
-----Good and effective leaders do not lead into their own ways, enslaving everyone around them to serve in their own interests. Rather, they obligate themselves to fostering an understanding and atmosphere that enables everyone to flourish in who they are and what they are able to do. This makes for the healthiest and most prosperous communities and nations. And in the church, it makes for the liveliest and most genuine fellowship of believers who will have the most real individual relationships with the Lord.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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