pastorrudytlc

One of the results in a world where social media has become a way of life is that anyone can say anything at any time and gain an audience whether there is any truth to the statements being printed or not. People who have no trustworthy resume or proven character can spout off their thoughts and record their rants just because they have access to a computer. What is missing is accountability. Do you remember when we took English Classes all those years ago learning how to add a bibliography so others could check the reliability of our sources? I laugh when I hear well-meaning individuals using the phrase, “Well, I saw it in the internet,” as their way to back up their outlandish information. The world of cyber space can at times be quite the deadly place if not traveled wisely and with some solid boundaries.
The reason I am sharing this today is because I see too many good people being hurt by the mindless opinions of others. I have never been a fan of those who hide behind their pen. It is so much easier to just sit in judgment and write about someone rather than to be the one who musters up the courage, faith and perseverance to attempt to make a difference in the world we live in. Too often, it is the ones who have the most to say who actually do the least. It is way too comfortable to just throw rocks rather than use those resources to build a cathedral of life and hope. I am tired of the fickle crowds trying to crucify the Christ over and over again! Before you tear another down- ask yourself, what are you doing to try to rectify the situation? If your answer is nothing, then let your speech be the same! This person doesn’t care what you have to say if what you do doesn’t match the sentences you share.
Church Ministry can be a jungle to work in. I love the Lord with all my heart and I honestly do my best to love people, but serving God and sacrificing for others can still end up with you having your heart busted and broken up pretty good. Still I just shake my head when one believer takes pot shots at other believers without even showing the common courtesy of meeting face to face. Have you ever been wrong about another based upon what you heard but everything changed when you finally got to meet that man or woman? Has anyone ever believed rumors about you that were unfounded and not true and if they only took the time to hear your heart you could have set them straight? I know too many wonderful people who have big holes in their souls because of the pounding they have taken from what might be defined as “friendly” fire.
All I know is that I can’t stop the audience from booing. I can’t guarantee that the majority will approve of what I say and do. But I do know this- I am doing something! I get up each day and make it my mission to show others Jesus the very best I can. Some appreciate it while many do not. Still I don’t want to just be a pew sitter or a congregational critic. I want to be in the heat of the action. I know that I am far from perfect and make many mistakes. But a failure is not somebody who gives it their all and fails. A failure is the one who should have and never did a doggone thing!
God didn’t leave us here on earth to just supervise. We have been set apart to make a dent and to do so by not just reciting our creeds but by rehearsing our daily godly deeds! It is time for the church to not just rate the other churches in town but to be the church that God has called that particular local body to be.
I close with a story told by Chuck Swindoll. He writes that during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men on an investigation of the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there. After investigating, they reported: “The only silver we could find is the statues of the saints standing in the corners.” The radical soldier and statesman of England replied: “Good! We’ll melt down the saints and put them into circulation!”
The practical goal of authentic Christianity is to be salt in a world that has lost its flavor and light to a place stumbling in its darkness. We are to be on the front lines in the midst of it all and not all lined up in pretty little rows of nice and neat, highly polished, frequently dusted, statues stuck in the corners of elegant cathedrals! It is time to get real! We may feel the heat by circulating through the mainstream of humanity but bringing worth and value down where life transpires in the raw is what it is all about! It’s easy to kid ourselves. We must guard against self-deception. We can begin to consider ourselves martyrs because we are in church on Sunday—really sacrificing by investing a few hours on the “day of rest.” But the real success of our labor is what occurs on Monday or Tuesday and during the rest of the week. That is when we’re “melted down and put into circulation.” That’s when others go for the jugular. “Sunday religion” may seem sufficient, but its weekly weight is in the ways you live! Stay in circulation and your faith won’t go to sleep!!!