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Words of a Fether

I am the way, the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father except through me. ~Jesus

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The Least of These

I think the most telling sign of whether or not a person is truly saved is how they treat those under their power or control. Jesus made it clear in many statements that God values the weak and oppressed, and it is they He came to rescue.

Can a real Christian think any others are beneath them in any way? Can they consider their friends, spouse, or children as mere appendages that exist only to serve their master? Is a good parent a selfish despot? Is a good spouse a self-centered baby?

The Biblical model is leading by example, to “practice what we preach”. If humility is a Christian virtue, then the leader must exhibit this humble life at all times. People will follow such a person because they are producing the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23). But anyone who is lacking such fruit yet demanding to be followed is a liar and conceited, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a fake and a usurper.

There are men who mock and belittle women, “pastors” who call it sin for anyone to question them, “scholars” who are not above altering scripture itself to suit them, and women who embrace this opportunity to shirk personal accountability to God, to the point of devouring their own sisters like cannibals. There are too many “good ole boys” and the women who love them, too many “Caesars” demanding that the sheep support the shepherd.

I wish such people were in the minority but they have infested the entire Christian community. The dross always rises to the surface, but there is little left of the pure. The seminaries and bookstores are saturated with prideful, flesh-based teachings that dissect the Body of Christ. The blogs and message boards are like open sewers spewing their toxic stench into every Christian church and home. As I wrote earlier, they send their assassins out to hunt down and destroy all dissent. And they think themselves pure and Christlike!

Out of a scene from Lord of the Rings, we might be tempted to say “Let [them] rot!”, but we should instead strike at the heart of the enemy and destroy it. The enemy I speak of is what I wrote about in my Nicolaitan book: hierarchy, the desire to control, no matter which form it takes, and no matter how benevolent it may claim to be. Pride is never benevolent; conceit is never kind and godly.

This is no time for reform or revival, but revolution. We can no longer afford to sacrifice so many precious souls on the altar of compromise, in the name of a false “peace”, by remaining silent or “agree to disagree”. Light and darkness can never coexist. Domination in any form is evil and must be strongly opposed. I don’t care how long this sin has been practiced, or how deeply embedded it is, or who will take offense. It is time to stand up in the “churches” and say “Enough!”

The truly humble, those who actually are serving and not bossing, will have no objection to giving up the titles, offices, privileges, and paychecks. The truly gifted will not demand others follow their “vision” or intimidate people into fearing the flames of hell should they stop blindly following them. The truly Christlike will not whine about lost book sales or prestige, or call their jets and buildings “God’s work”.

Who will stand?

Posted 2009-06-14 under , community, behavior, community, behavior, relationships, worship, community, control, hierarchy