In today’s post I want to share part three of WHEN BITTERNESS BLOCKS BLESSING. This theme emerged as we’ve looked closely at Hebrews 12:15: “Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God. Watch out that no bitter root of unbelief rises up among you, for whenever it springs up, many are corrupted by its poison.” (New Living Translation) If you haven’t read Part Two, especially the final paragraph, I recommend you do so before continuing with today’s post.
The next stage in the struggle doesn’t always occur, but it will if the bitterness is allowed to continue to infect the church body. Most Christians, even if they’re really upset with God, will avoid getting angry with him. They have just enough fear of God to keep them from directly challenging him. So, here’s what I’ve seen happen so many times in the church. Instead of getting angry with God because he’s disciplining the church he loves (and wants to prepare her for greater things), they will deflect their angst towards Christian leaders. These leaders serve as representatives of God. I am thinking about key roles in the church, such as: pastors, elders (board members), and denominational leaders. These individuals, who have been called and appointed by others (self-appointed leaders are a whole other issue), become lightening rods for complaints, criticism and other types of condemnation when the church is going through a time of discipline. The problem, with this all too frequent situation, is when bitterness infects the body and leadership becomes a target of blame, the church ceases to be healthy.
The Israelites are an example of what happens when a “bitter root of unbelief” infects a group of people. The people started in on Moses, their earthly leader, in Exodus 15:24: “They grumbled against Moses.” They continued in chapter 16: “the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron” (V2). There was still more grumbling in chapter 17 as a pattern of behavior was being established in the people of God which continues in the twenty-first century: “they quarreled with Moses” (V2) and “grumbled against Moses” (V3). What the people seemed to be ignorant of was the fact that while they were deflecting their anger towards their leader, God who was listening the whole time. In Exodus 16:8 Moses makes a huge point: “(The Lord) has heard all your complaints against him. Yes, your complaints are against the LORD, not against us." (NLT) As a pastor for 29 years, I’ve heard my share of mumbling and grumbling among the saints. So many times the things God’s people are complaining about are things which are totally beyond my control. It’s in these situations I want to say, like Moses: “Who are we, that you should grumble against us?" (Deuteronomy 16:7 NIV) If God’s chooses to lead our church in a particular direction or to bring the church into a period of discipline, who am I to change things? Even more, why would I want to?
The concern expressed in Hebrews 12:15 is that people would “miss out on the special favor of God” and they would be “corrupted” by the “poison” connected to the “bitter root of unbelief.” I made this statement in Part One, regarding unbelief: “Mired in the depths of bitterness this person may begin to question the love of the Father for them, the goodness of God’s plans, and the dependability of God’s promises.” It is one thing when an individual experiences the poisonous effects of bitterness but when a large portion of the church body is infected with this contagious condition the impact is enormous and eternal. Dwell on the word, eternal, for a few moments. When bitterness and blame infect a church body, and displeasure with God’s discipline is deflected towards leadership, the impact has eternal implications, as people become disillusioned, discouraged, and disconnected from the body of Christ.
How do we protect ourselves and our churches from the impacts of bitterness and blame? The answer to the question is contained in Hebrews 12:15: “Look after each other…” If you see [hear] bitterness taking root in the life of someone you’re close to, encourage them to look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). Grumbling and complaining about the circumstances in our lives and in our churches is a FAITH issue. We grumble and complain when we’re not fully trusting in God. The Israelites grumbling was a sign of their UNBELIEF (Hebrews 3:19) and the exact reason the desert wanderers never experienced the promises of God. I say, let’s “look after each other” in the church family and guard our hearts from anything and everything which would hinder God’s good plans from becoming a reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment