Today as I sat in my pastor’s office, he talked to me about some very simple truths that I found to be quite profound. He touched upon today’s culture, and how we as a christian society strive to be culturally relevant in our world. Let me explain . . .
The new wave of preachers, teachers and counselors often come from the “been there, done that” mentality, and feel that to effectively “identify” with those they are reaching out to, they have to have already lived a life full of past sins, mistakes and wrong lifestyle choices. They use their “testimonies" of how God has radically changed their lives and saved them from the miry clay, to reach out to the masses. It almost seems like you need a pre-requisite in sinful living to be a qualified counselor these days. They use their “pearls of wisdom” about everything they have gleaned from lessons learned the hard way, to preach the message of getting back on the straight and narrow. I guess they feel that if they can identify with others who have made or are currently making the same sin choices, they can better reach out to these lost souls.
I used to think that the some of the best counselors were the ones that had “been there, done that”, because I could readily identify with them on a real and personal level. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing ministries and testimonies out there of how God has radically changed the lives of those who were once broken, hurting and lost. But I also believe that we as a church body in our culture today have lost the value of living a moral life. What’s wrong with setting a high standard of righteous living anyways? Have we gotten so far away from the truths of God, and His standard of righteousness and holy living, that we feel that we need to see what is on the other side of morality? The grass is NOT greener on the other side, and we don’t have to jump the fence just to come to that conclusion. I could have saved myself years of pain and a world of hurt, if I would have held steadfast to the truths of God, and not tried to seek after “greener pastures”.
My pastor explained it to me in a way that made so much sense. He said, “Nikki, let’s say your car has broke down, and you depend on that car daily to get where you are going. There are two mechanic shops in town. One is a little po-dunk mom n’ pop shop, it’s not too pretty, but the shop owner has a vast wealth of knowledge about cars, and every one of his cars are in perfect running order. Then there is a shop across town that is state-of-the-art, pretty and pristine, and the shop owner has lots of really cool race cars that he owns. Though they’re really awesome to look at, none of these cars run, and he has no knowledge in how to fix them. Now which one of these shops would you trust to fix your precious, broken down car? Well, of course that was a no-brainer, and I said, “Well, that’s easy, I’d take it to the shop where the owner’s cars run, cause he knows best in how to fix them!” “The other guy may have some really cool looking cars, but what’s the point of having them, or better yet having a repair shop, if he doesn’t know how to make even his own cars run?” It’s pointless really. So the question is this, would you go to seek advice from a counselor who has some dynamic, dramatic and awesome testimony about how God delivered him from a life filled with wrong choices and sin issues, and has a wealth of knowledge about what "not to do in life" from his past experiences, yet he treats his wife like garbage and his kids hate him? In other words, does his character match up to what he preaches? Is his life consistent on a day to day basis? Or would you rather go to someone who was wise enough to not delve into a life of sin in the first place; a person who has understood the value and preciousness of following Christ, and the importance of obeying His word, and values his family and honors them?
Wow. I had never thought of it that way. Yes, there are many good people out there that make wonderful teachers, preachers and counselors that have come out of a life of sin into the marvelous light of the Lord. But there are also many "who talk a good talk", but fail to truly “walk the walk”. So many churches and pastors today have compromised so many of God’s standards in the name of being “culturally relevant”, while forsaking the simple and profound truths of OBEYING God’s word. So many minister’s custom tailor the Bible to meet their needs, and they have watered down the gospel and make it easy for all to freely sin, with the mindset that we’ll just ask for forgiveness later. I call that “greasy grace”. Yep, exactly what Romans 6:1 tells us NOT to do!
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God FORBID! How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2
Many christians today use grace as a “license to sin”. If we truly want our hearts to be changed by the powerful, life-changing love of Christ, then wouldn’t we want to aim to please the One who we claim has captured our heart and affections?
More importantly, if we are to seek out counseling, we had better take a very good look at that person’s lifestyle. Is this counselor the same person at home as when they are preaching from the pulpit on Sunday mornings? If you ask their wife, husband or children just what kind of person they are 24 hrs a day, you can probably get a pretty good idea of who they are on a day to day basis. Asking for God’s wisdom too, is extremely important when choosing to seek out wise counsel or advice. I have received some pretty bad advice and wrong counsel over the years that has led me onto some unnecessary and dangerous paths.
I could have saved myself a world of hurt if I would have simply taken a step back, and looked at these character issues I mentioned above more clearly. A lot of counselors will even tell you things are”thus saith the Lord” about your life, when they are not even hearing the true voice of the Lord! Test everything to the word of God, (the Bible) which is the true standard of God.
As my pastor continued to pour precious truths into my life, he made another profound statement that gripped my heart. He said, “Nikki, I would rather spend 3 minutes in my prayer closet and have sweet, genuine communion with the Lord, than to pray for 3 hours at self - directed agendas spawned out of my flesh and mind, for the sense and purpose of “feeling spiritual”, and the end result being that I simply feel more spiritual.” Jesus talked about this, when the pharisees were heard praying self-righteous prayers, just to put on the appearance of being humble and holy.
~ What IS our true purpose and agenda for praying?
~ Do we pray out of a desire to feel more spiritual, or to simply commune with the Father out of a heart of love?
~ Do we yearn to know our Father in heaven more intimately, or are we praying simply out of duty and ritual?
Hmmm, it got me thinking anyways. What IS my motive for praying and seeking the Lord? Is it genuine, coming out of a heart filled with love and desire for relationship, or is self-seeking, directed and aimed to please myself to feel more spiritual?!
Amen or oh my?!
Ouch. I can honestly say I’ve been guilty of the latter more than once in my life. “Lord, help me to be completely honest with myself and with You. You know every thought and motive in my heart anyways, who am I fooling? Certainly not You, and what’s the point of serving You if I can’t do it out of a genuine heart?! I’ve even prayed self-righteous prayers, thinking that I was totally humble and submitted to You in the whole process!"
“Oh Lord, I desire for truth on the inward parts, as I become less and You become more; a vessel that can be used for Your glory to be manifested in and through” . . .
"Create in me a clean heart Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me” . . . Psalms 51:10
