Entitlement is Poisoning The Church
Noe Garcia:
I have been in church ministry for eighteen years and I have seen entitled people and entitled behavior destroy the church. It’s the silent killer of the church that creates a monstrous ripple effect in the body. There is an attitude that slowly creeps in and begins to create an underlying culture of everyone wanting it their way or wanting special treatment because of who they are and what they have done for the church. It’s the attitude of privilege and prestige that goes against the very essence of James 2. James very clearly warns against this type of attitude. However, it’s the very thing many members of the church desire, including pastors. We want to be seen, known, appreciated, and compensated. It’s in our nature to want to be noticed. The symptoms are catastrophic. Relationships are destroyed, ministries divided, and the Great Commission overlooked.
Superman Can’t Share the Gospel
Ronni Kurtz:
While it may seem a silly mental exercise, try to imagine Superman sharing the gospel. Imagine that from the lips of the Man of Steel comes the news of the Man of Sorrows. Those listening would hear the news of the suffering servant, who came in the needy form of a baby, needing to grow in strength and stature, born to humble means, in a humble town, to humble parents. They’d hear of this Jesus of Nazareth, who wandered around with a band of unimpressive friends, who would one day be charged and sentenced to death. They’d hear how he was hung between two scoundrels and even those who dared called him friend in his life deserted him in his death. They’d hear about how he was beaten, torn, and mocked until his last breath.
The Samaritan Woman and Our Barrier-Smashing Savior
Trillia Newbell:
God’s Word tells us that to endure in this life we must fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:2). But what does it mean to fix your eyes on someone you can’t see?
The Gospels tell stories about Jesus that show us his character. We learn how he interacted with people and the world around him. By studying these stories, we learn to set our eyes and hearts on him.
Jesus interacted with all kinds of people, but there’s something beautiful, convicting, countercultural, and transformative about Jesus’s interactions with women.
For Jesus’s Sake, Be Kind
Trevin Wax;
The Christian view of kindness is different. We are to show kindness even to people who may be deemed “unworthy” of receiving it, but this kindness cannot be reduced to a spirit of civility, a bland attempt to “be nice” to people. Niceness and kindness are not the same thing. Kindness requires intentional action.
Christ Over Compartmentalization
Jared Wilson:
A friend of mine gives a great illustration about how we think of our lives like a big conference table. Around the table sit the representatives of each aspect of our lives. There’s a seat for our Career self, a seat for our Sexual self, a seat for our Hobbies and Interests, a seat for our Family, etc. Then we “accept” Jesus into our life. We give him a seat at the table. Jesus fills our Religious self, we imagine.
