I listened to a powerful sermon by Andy Stanley the other day. He misquoted a Bible verse on purpose to make a point. It went something like this:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us hide, whine, complain, hoard our resources just in case, put our Bibles in a drawer, build bomb shelters, blame the cops, blame the president, blame the teachers, blame our mommas, demand our rights, build a wall, tax the rich, play it safe, find someone to sue, take back our country and pray Jesus returns so we won’t have to suffer.”
Honestly, the first thing I wanted to do was parse his words to make him look uninformed or ineffective. Why? Because the implication stings.
Then I stopped and asked myself, “How are we as Christians viewed by the world? Do we really look like a bunch of whiney self-obsessed babies?” As I thought about it, I started to feel a little sick. How many times as a pastor have people asked me to pray that they receive a raise, new job, more influence, or even health? They all say they want to use their gift of money, health or influence for “God’s work.” Most don’t. They buy bigger homes, they get busier with work and volunteer less, they get their health back and quit praying as much, serving as much and showing up for worship.
Many “Christians” aren’t’ really Christian, they are just trying to use faith as a tool to feed their earthly hungers.
What if we gave ALL of our next raises away to the poor, orphans, missionaries and widows?
What if we prayed that God would heal us and when health returns instead of traveling the world blowing our remaining resources, we traveled downtown and served in a soup kitchen?
What if we turned down promotions and higher paying jobs that make us too busy to serve or parent well?
Look at what the verse actually says, from Hebrews 12:1-2.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
We are to set aside sin and every other weight that slows our ability to live like Christ. Yep, we should do that.