ObeyGC2 is not about criticizing the church as it is, but about becoming the church we were meant to be.
There is a quote which I have kept on my desk for well over a decade through many moves to various countries. It is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt and is hard to beat for expressing my sentiments on this topic.
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Matt 7:1-5
7:1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
This is a tough one for me Curtis. I agree 100% with being part of the solution. I have sold out to being part of the solution. My gifting is in the prophetic category. When I read the Bible I see many times by many prophets declaring warnings and condemning things that were wrong. I agree with all the scriptures that you posted. However isn’t there a place for speaking out things that are wrong? I just read 1 Tim. 4 this morning. Paul had lots of hard things to say to the churches.
How do you reconcile these things?
Darrell, I certainly understand what you are saying. In Jesus’ own ministry, his harshest criticisms were reserved for the religious establishment which he observed following the instructions and patterns of men rather than God. I was reading Titus 1 just as you were writing your comment, which is even harsher than 1 Tim. 4 that you were reading. The two warnings I would give are as follows. First, we need to be pursuing a positive alternative to the negative we are criticizing. If we don’t, we are hypocrites. Second, we need to speak the truth in love. This can be severe if that is what is required, but we need to do it with a heart of humility and with the good of the other party at heart. It is for the purpose of redemption and a motive of grace. Having said that, it is clear that God is far more concerned with our character than our comfort. He has a pattern of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable so when we speak on His behalf we will often be led to do the same. Thanks for the great comment!
Thanks Bro. That helps!