Church Wars

"The LORD is good to all;
   he has compassion on all he has made."

Psalm 145:9

As a white woman married to a black man, I have seen all kinds of churches.  Little country churches in the backwoods of Mississippi and huge cathedrals in the center of sprawling metropolises.  I've seen how people of different backgrounds worship, and the diverse beliefs about who God is and how His people fit into His kingdom.   Some are pompous and arrogant, some are humble and modest.  Most are somewhere in between.  No matter what our beliefs, the Lord is good to each and every one of us.  If God does not discriminate, why do we?

Background   Humans tend to flock together with birds of a feather.  I am drawn to those who look like me, share the same beliefs as me, and who share a similar background as me.  But this is contrary to the teaching of the first church.  Peter, one of the leaders of the first church, also held this same belief due to years of following the Old Testament rules of purity.   Peter had been taught to keep away from certain foods which would make him unclean.  Since Gentiles, or anyone who was not Jewish,  regularly consumed many of these foods, Peter had been conditioned not to eat with non-Israelites.  The thing was, God was about to send Peter out to preach the Gospel to these "unclean" Gentiles. God gave Peter a vision that made it clear that under the new covenant, the old laws no longer applied and that he was ". . not (to) call anything impure that God has made clean." (Acts 10:15)  Peter went on to preach, saying, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right."(v 34-35) Today's church, or Body of Christ, is made up of people from all backgrounds and nations. I should not get caught up in old prejudices and attitudes, but worship together as God intended; blind to color, ethnicity and culture.

Bias  I grew up with a certain style of worship and preaching, and it is easy for me to think this is the only and best way of worship and preaching.  Thankfully, it's not the style that matters, but the One whom we are gathered to worship that is of the utmost importance.  Paul, in teaching about living as children of light in a dark world, said to,  ". . .be filled with the Spirit,  speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20) It's about Him, not about me and my biases.  I can use any method to worship as long as my heart is focused on glorifying God! 

Beliefs  "Don't play cards."  "No Fishing on Sunday."  "Don't listen to secular music."  "No yardwork on Sunday."  It is so easy to become like the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' time who came up with all these rules to "help people to follow God's law."  The problem was, it put a heavy burden on the people who thought they had to do what the leaders said as well as what God said.  Since Jesus set us free from the burden of the law; we know we are not saved by following the law.  This is because no one is able to follow the law in it's entirety.  But many times, I carry around these weird human beliefs that have been passed down from generation to generation.  I'm sure you can add a few to the list above.  Paul taught that,  “ 'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is constructive.  Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."  (I Corinthians 10:23-24)  Instead of focusing on what I think I should and should not do in order to make myself more holy, I should instead focus on what is good for those who are watching and for those I live with.  But most of all, I should seek to glorify God in all that I do (including where I choose to worship), and not worry about silly old beliefs. 

Do I focus too much on my own background, biases and beliefs which keeps me from worshipping in spirit and in truth, as Christ intended?  

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I may let go of those things that keep me from really hearing a message you are sending through a person that looks, sounds and acts different from me. 

How am I pre-judging without even realizing it?


Where am I holding onto old beliefs that are not based on the scriptures?