A few years ago, I attended a
church where I had an immediate and negative reaction to the pastor’s style of
preaching. It wasn’t that his main points weren’t sound – they were – but how
he chose to present them was not in keeping with the standards of
righteousness. He used a clip from The
Simpsons that was openly mocking baptism as the quirky and relatable
opening for his sermon about the significance, meaning, and importance of being
baptized; he used a curse word from the pulpit; he sacrificed integrity for marketing.
Romans 12:2 “Do not
conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (NIV)
Please don’t misunderstand, the
strength of my reaction doesn’t come from disdain or judgment; when I watched
that young pastor, I saw all the worst, most questionable parts of myself glaring
back at me.
The desire not to seem haughty
twisted into lowering ourselves from a position of righteousness.
The longing to be inclusive and loving
warped into compromising our identity in Christ and the authority of scripture.
The want to seem like an average
joe and not a holier-than-thou religious person robbing us of our place – set apart as those chosen to be made holy
and new.
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light.”
This isn’t a message of legalism;
people who are in the light get tan – it’s cause and effect.
Christians should
look, sound, act, and feel different. We should be different from
non-Christians, certainly, but more importantly different from ourselves.
Colossians 3:1-3 “Since, then,
you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God.”
We’re not called to be better
than anyone but ourselves. We’re not called to imitate anyone – pastors,
writers, evangelists, or otherwise – except Jesus.
We’re called to set aside the
camouflage that helps us avoid ridicule, discomfort, and awkwardness and put on
the new self that we have been granted as part of our inheritance.
Ephesians 4: 22-24 “You were
taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old
self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be
made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new
self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
A while ago, I prayed for
conviction and I’ve found it here; looking in the mirror of the pastor from so
long ago. My camouflage has failed me; my gilly-suit is torn and hanging
limply, the grease paint is getting in my eyes, and here, at the feet of Jesus,
I find myself totally exposed. Thankfully, that’s all that’s asked of me. All I
have to do is stay here in submission, continually setting the me aside, and God will take care of the rest.
Luke 9:23-25 “Then [Jesus] said
to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and
take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life
will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good
is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very
self?”
Friends, do you struggle with this too? Are there habits of your old
self you need to let go of in order to move forward into your calling or to
strengthen your witness? How can we go about this continual submission in our
daily lives?
