Newsflash!
As adults, we've (usually) outgrown the idea that the world is a safe, beautiful place populated with fairies and leprechauns, where everything always has a happy ending. Usually, as we get older, we realize that not everything good is pleasant, and that sweets are bad for you, no matter how good they taste. Santa Claus doesn't bring you presents on Christmas Eve, the Easter Bunny doesn't present you with chocolate eggs, and the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist. There are no unicorns hiding in the woods, the letter from Hogwarts will never come, and being on the receiving end of love isn't always pleasant.
Wait. What? What do you mean, love isn't always pleasant?
Oh, you hadn't gotten that far yet? Sorry, I thought all adults had realized this. But I guess I should have known, when everyone claims that Christians aren't being loving when they refuse to accept gay marriage or abortion, that it's a regular occurrence.
Apparently, love has been redefined as "the act of giving people whatever they want, regardless of whether it's good for them or not, meekly and without protest."
This is a cotton candy and lollipop version of what love is. The nutrients and substance of it has been stripped away, leaving us with a piece of sugar and fluff that has no practical use.
The world cries that Christians are unloving when we condemn certain things.
And some Christians do it too. No, we can't tell them it's wrong, it might hurt their feelings. No, we can't take action to stop this from happening, they'll hate us. We can't preach against this, because it's uncomfortable. We have to draw people in with entertainment, because we have to compete with the world. I don't have to believe what the Bible says about this action and enforce it, because that's not loving my neighbor.
Um, really?
We are not here to fall down on the ground and let people walk all over us. We are not here to win some cosmic popularity contest. We are not here to fight for fans, or attendance, or money, or to be the most popular church, or the most popular "brand" of Christian. We're not here to entertain, or make people feel good, or use secular, popular modes to draw people to our churches. If they aren't drawn by the truth, by the gospel, then they shouldn't be there. Period.
You want to draw people with music, entertainment, games? Fine. You have yourself a great time. Really. I'm not against having fun. But don't be surprised if that's all they come for. Don't be surprised if they have no interest in the truth, and no interest in furthering your good intentions. Don't be surprised if they don't accept faith, don't grow, don't change, don't better themselves.
Just like with clothing, what you advertise determines what you get. If you advertise for fun, easy, entertaining, then you'll get people who are looking for that. And if your purpose is to spread the gospel, then aren't you utilizing false advertising? If what you really want is people on fire for God, people dedicated to truth, people with depth and strength of character, then shouldn't you be advertising toward that end?
And, with that said, should you really be advertising at all? It's not a business, people. Come on! If you're in this to make money, then you're in the wrong place. A church is not a business, invented to turn a profit. If you feel you have to advertise in the usual sense of the word, you're missing the point.
The point is not money, or attendance, or popularity. Those are selfish, self-seeking motives. Those are an attempt to justify yourself, and make yourself important. If that is the point of the church, then I quit, here and now.
Advertising is the art of luring people in who might not ordinarily make the choice to be there on their own. Or, in some cases, present deliberate misinformation. It's designed to convince people to buy what you're selling. Even if it means influencing circumstances, placement, display, and color to do it. It's manipulation, pure and simple.
But manipulation is the perfect way to convince people you're telling the truth! Being motivated by money or attendance or popularity is the perfect way to convince people your motives are selfless!
Somebody help me, I think I broke my sarcasm.
Try to wrap your minds around this:
Shouldn't you be actually teaching the gospel, and not worrying about what people want? People are notorious for not wanting what's good for them. Just try to feed a little kid vegetables. If you're trying to make the word of God more palatable, then aren't you completely disregarding it's purpose? Aren't you being disrespectful by saying it's not good enough as it is, you have to add seasoning? You have to change the flavor, so that people will eat it? Food corporations do the same thing, and that's why there are so many unhealthy people in America today. They wanted to make money, so they added things to food that was perfectly fine the way it was. And now it's those chemicals and additives that are killing us.
Some things simply shouldn't be sugarcoated. It ruins their integrity and their purpose. One of those things is the truth. Luring people in with sweetness, laughter and light is all well and good for big corporations, but if you try to get people into church with those things, by coating the unsavory bits in cotton candy and powdered sugar, what's going to happen when that sweet goes away and they get hit with a fistful of reality?
Are you killing our faith by trying to make it "taste good" for everyone?
The things that are good for us aren't always pleasant. But removing them because they aren't pleasant is a terrible reason. No good parent will remove all fruits and vegetables from their child's diet because they don't taste good. Why? Because only eating the stuff that tastes good is the quickest way to an unhealthy diet and an unhealthy lifestyle. And loving parents want their children to be healthy - even if it's not particularly enjoyable for the child in question.
You want America to have a healthy spiritual life? Then maybe it's time to bring back the things that don't taste so good, and cut out the unhealthy ones that everyone loves so much.
And if you're going to point a finger and say that we can't do it because it's unloving, then maybe it's time you figured out what real love is. If you're going to call us perpetrators of hate-crime, then you are sadly misguided.
If we didn't care, we would watch you on a path of self-destruction and say nothing. Maybe you don't believe you'll destroy yourself, but that's not the point. The point of this is our motivation. We believe that. We're not fighting you out of hatred. We're not preaching against the things you want because we don't want you to be happy. We preach against them because we believe you're going down a road of pain, difficulty, and emptiness. And - get this, if you can - it's because we actually care.
Just like the parent that will discipline their child for running across the road without looking, the momentary pain of your dismissal and dislike is far better than the alternative of watching you commit what we view as spiritual suicide.
But you know what's just as sad?
Watching, listening, as people who claim Christianity act and make decisions that are in direct opposition to the Bible from which they claim their faith comes. And then proclaim it to the world, as an act of love.
...no. I'm sorry. That's not an act of love. It's an act of selfishness. And love is not selfish. You're conforming to the world, because to be different is to be uncomfortable. To tell people that they are wrong is to be attacked, provoked, and made fun of.
Someone who truly loves will fight for what's best for you, even if it makes them uncomfortable. They won't attack you physically or call you names, but they also won't bend on what is right and what is wrong. To call that hatred is to be fully ignorant, perhaps on purpose, of what an act of love really is.
But, naturally, people are incredibly good at being stupid on purpose.
So. Are you going to feed the world the sugary sweetness that could be their downfall and have them cheer you on as being loving? Or are you going to present them with the vegetables, facing down their complaints and fighting, to be truly loving?
And the rest of you. Are you going to simply accept this unhealthy, selfish version of love? Are you going to suck down the toxicity of people who think that giving you whatever you want is really love? Or are you going to look for people who will act in your best interests, regardless of what you want?
Choose what you will. But you'll have to face the consequences sooner or later. And it just might be facing all the people you've handed sugarcoated truth, demanding to know why you didn't love them enough to speak out. Accusing you of knowing the truth, and presenting it to them flawed. Telling you that their lives are skewed, warped, in ways they shouldn't be, because you lacked the courage to swim against the current.
Or, you might be the victim. The one pointing a finger at those who misled you. And a lot of the responsibility is theirs. But answer me this: Do you have to follow them? Were you so wrapped up in hearing what you wanted that you refused to search out people speaking the truth?
What are you going to believe - the reality of love, or the fairytale?
Wait. What? What do you mean, love isn't always pleasant?
Oh, you hadn't gotten that far yet? Sorry, I thought all adults had realized this. But I guess I should have known, when everyone claims that Christians aren't being loving when they refuse to accept gay marriage or abortion, that it's a regular occurrence.
Apparently, love has been redefined as "the act of giving people whatever they want, regardless of whether it's good for them or not, meekly and without protest."
This is a cotton candy and lollipop version of what love is. The nutrients and substance of it has been stripped away, leaving us with a piece of sugar and fluff that has no practical use.
The world cries that Christians are unloving when we condemn certain things.
And some Christians do it too. No, we can't tell them it's wrong, it might hurt their feelings. No, we can't take action to stop this from happening, they'll hate us. We can't preach against this, because it's uncomfortable. We have to draw people in with entertainment, because we have to compete with the world. I don't have to believe what the Bible says about this action and enforce it, because that's not loving my neighbor.
Um, really?
We are not here to fall down on the ground and let people walk all over us. We are not here to win some cosmic popularity contest. We are not here to fight for fans, or attendance, or money, or to be the most popular church, or the most popular "brand" of Christian. We're not here to entertain, or make people feel good, or use secular, popular modes to draw people to our churches. If they aren't drawn by the truth, by the gospel, then they shouldn't be there. Period.
You want to draw people with music, entertainment, games? Fine. You have yourself a great time. Really. I'm not against having fun. But don't be surprised if that's all they come for. Don't be surprised if they have no interest in the truth, and no interest in furthering your good intentions. Don't be surprised if they don't accept faith, don't grow, don't change, don't better themselves.
Just like with clothing, what you advertise determines what you get. If you advertise for fun, easy, entertaining, then you'll get people who are looking for that. And if your purpose is to spread the gospel, then aren't you utilizing false advertising? If what you really want is people on fire for God, people dedicated to truth, people with depth and strength of character, then shouldn't you be advertising toward that end?
And, with that said, should you really be advertising at all? It's not a business, people. Come on! If you're in this to make money, then you're in the wrong place. A church is not a business, invented to turn a profit. If you feel you have to advertise in the usual sense of the word, you're missing the point.
The point is not money, or attendance, or popularity. Those are selfish, self-seeking motives. Those are an attempt to justify yourself, and make yourself important. If that is the point of the church, then I quit, here and now.
Advertising is the art of luring people in who might not ordinarily make the choice to be there on their own. Or, in some cases, present deliberate misinformation. It's designed to convince people to buy what you're selling. Even if it means influencing circumstances, placement, display, and color to do it. It's manipulation, pure and simple.
But manipulation is the perfect way to convince people you're telling the truth! Being motivated by money or attendance or popularity is the perfect way to convince people your motives are selfless!
Somebody help me, I think I broke my sarcasm.
Try to wrap your minds around this:
Shouldn't you be actually teaching the gospel, and not worrying about what people want? People are notorious for not wanting what's good for them. Just try to feed a little kid vegetables. If you're trying to make the word of God more palatable, then aren't you completely disregarding it's purpose? Aren't you being disrespectful by saying it's not good enough as it is, you have to add seasoning? You have to change the flavor, so that people will eat it? Food corporations do the same thing, and that's why there are so many unhealthy people in America today. They wanted to make money, so they added things to food that was perfectly fine the way it was. And now it's those chemicals and additives that are killing us.
Some things simply shouldn't be sugarcoated. It ruins their integrity and their purpose. One of those things is the truth. Luring people in with sweetness, laughter and light is all well and good for big corporations, but if you try to get people into church with those things, by coating the unsavory bits in cotton candy and powdered sugar, what's going to happen when that sweet goes away and they get hit with a fistful of reality?
Are you killing our faith by trying to make it "taste good" for everyone?
The things that are good for us aren't always pleasant. But removing them because they aren't pleasant is a terrible reason. No good parent will remove all fruits and vegetables from their child's diet because they don't taste good. Why? Because only eating the stuff that tastes good is the quickest way to an unhealthy diet and an unhealthy lifestyle. And loving parents want their children to be healthy - even if it's not particularly enjoyable for the child in question.
You want America to have a healthy spiritual life? Then maybe it's time to bring back the things that don't taste so good, and cut out the unhealthy ones that everyone loves so much.
And if you're going to point a finger and say that we can't do it because it's unloving, then maybe it's time you figured out what real love is. If you're going to call us perpetrators of hate-crime, then you are sadly misguided.
If we didn't care, we would watch you on a path of self-destruction and say nothing. Maybe you don't believe you'll destroy yourself, but that's not the point. The point of this is our motivation. We believe that. We're not fighting you out of hatred. We're not preaching against the things you want because we don't want you to be happy. We preach against them because we believe you're going down a road of pain, difficulty, and emptiness. And - get this, if you can - it's because we actually care.
Just like the parent that will discipline their child for running across the road without looking, the momentary pain of your dismissal and dislike is far better than the alternative of watching you commit what we view as spiritual suicide.
But you know what's just as sad?
Watching, listening, as people who claim Christianity act and make decisions that are in direct opposition to the Bible from which they claim their faith comes. And then proclaim it to the world, as an act of love.
...no. I'm sorry. That's not an act of love. It's an act of selfishness. And love is not selfish. You're conforming to the world, because to be different is to be uncomfortable. To tell people that they are wrong is to be attacked, provoked, and made fun of.
Someone who truly loves will fight for what's best for you, even if it makes them uncomfortable. They won't attack you physically or call you names, but they also won't bend on what is right and what is wrong. To call that hatred is to be fully ignorant, perhaps on purpose, of what an act of love really is.
But, naturally, people are incredibly good at being stupid on purpose.
So. Are you going to feed the world the sugary sweetness that could be their downfall and have them cheer you on as being loving? Or are you going to present them with the vegetables, facing down their complaints and fighting, to be truly loving?
And the rest of you. Are you going to simply accept this unhealthy, selfish version of love? Are you going to suck down the toxicity of people who think that giving you whatever you want is really love? Or are you going to look for people who will act in your best interests, regardless of what you want?
Choose what you will. But you'll have to face the consequences sooner or later. And it just might be facing all the people you've handed sugarcoated truth, demanding to know why you didn't love them enough to speak out. Accusing you of knowing the truth, and presenting it to them flawed. Telling you that their lives are skewed, warped, in ways they shouldn't be, because you lacked the courage to swim against the current.
Or, you might be the victim. The one pointing a finger at those who misled you. And a lot of the responsibility is theirs. But answer me this: Do you have to follow them? Were you so wrapped up in hearing what you wanted that you refused to search out people speaking the truth?
What are you going to believe - the reality of love, or the fairytale?
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