: Are you a Critic or an Agent of Change? -
The world is filled with critics. I’m not talking about the people who write the reviews that wind up on rottentomatoes.com. I’m referring to a word best illustrated by those in the old school: The NAY-SAYER. These are the people that have never seen an idea that they couldn’t criticize.
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The world is filled with critics. I’m not talking about the people who write the reviews that wind up on rottentomatoes.com. I’m referring to a word best illustrated by those in the old school: The NAY-SAYER. These are the people that have never seen an idea that they couldn’t criticize.
There’s a little bit of a critic in all of us. I think this is a good and constructive piece of our humanity. For example, I don’t think a lion has ever paused with a mouthful of Rhino and asked a member of his pride, “do you think this could use a little more salt?” Constructive criticism can lead to some of the greatest changes and innovations the world has ever known. However, a critical spirit can be as ugly and detrimental as a well-placed explosive.
There is an ugly, age-old, Satan-entertaining practice within the body of Christ. It occurs when we absolutely ignore what Jesus asked God for in one of His last recorded prayers on planet earth: “Father, let them be one as we are one.” Spoken on the night before his egregious betrayal and brutal murder, this prayer should absolutely redefine the way Christians respond to each other. Sadly, a quick glance at the blogosphere could tell a different story.
Why are there so many critics? Because it’s easy. When I criticize something, I immediately feel better about myself. I pointed to something and called it bad. The unspoken thing that I am actually shouting would look something like this: “AREN’T I SMART FOR FIGURING THAT OUT? Who’s impressed?” Perhaps this is why scripture says that knowledge “puffs up.”
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that just because you are a Christian, that you should get a free pass. I believe that the right change always begins with asking the right questions. I also know that the only real way to affect a lasting change within the body of Christ is actually within a BODY OF CHRIST. I can’t find an example in the New Testament of what I’m supposed to do if I disagree with a preacher I read about online. I read a ton about what I’m supposed to do about the brother or sister in Christ next door.
I hate that a lot of young guys (and some young women) feel like they are solving the world’s problems simply by agreeing about who to disagree with. Here are some helpful things to remember:
- Noticing something is not the same thing as making a difference. (it’s step one in a multi-step process.)
- Talking about discipleship is not the same thing as making a disciple.
- Pointing to something that is wrong does not mean that you are right. (just ask the Pharisees.)
- Critics are usually silenced and almost always forgotten.
- Agents of Change make a lasting difference.
- If you’re claiming Christ, but you’re not displaying the fruits of His spirit in your approach, you might want to take a second look at the thing sitting next to your contact lens…it’s called a plank.
No worries. We’ve all had them (things in our lives we have to deal with before we can make a real difference in someone else’s life). Take a second and remove it (that’s called revival). Then humble yourself before God and let the Gospel wreck your life (worship). Next, show some earth-shaking love toward a brother/sister in Christ (community). Then, submit to authority (it’s just so biblical and counter-intuitive to your flesh, its bound to tick the devil off). Now go change the world.
So…does everyone get a free pass? Heck no. Critics drop truth bombs and walk away. Agents of change pay the price to speak their mind with their humility, long-term commitment, and their love.
Subtly letting others now about how fantastic your life is while undercutting it with a bit of self-effacing humor or “woe is me” gloss.
@OfficialMsTila “I hate my lambo! Police is ALWAYS pulling me over just cuz its a lambo so they always think I’m speeding but I’m not!! Then they let me go!”
Subtly letting others now about how fantastic your life is while undercutting it with a bit of self-effacing humor or “woe is me” gloss.
“By what power or by what name did you do this?” - Acts 4:7
Peter and John stood before a hostile Jewish council.
At this point, Jesus Christ, the Living God of Heaven, had been turned over to be ruthlessly butchered by men who should have known better. In doing so, the Jews helped hundreds of years worth of ancient prophecy (prophecies most of them had memorized) come true. Guilt must have seized their hearts as God darkened the land with a supernatural spectacle in the moments that Jesus died.
If that wasn’t enough, Jesus created chaos for the power-hungry when he slaughtered death - inconveniently rising from a grave that couldn’t hold Him.
Peter and John stood still on that day. These Jews had their worlds turned upside down. How relieved they must have been when Jesus stopped showing up… Maybe the last few months - the last few YEAR - would soon pass from memory.
But those pesky followers…
Peter and John were headed to the temple to pray, as centuries of Jews before them had done. On the way, a crippled man asked them for money. Rather than dropping some coin, these men unleashed the healing power of God. The man got up from his infirmity, and WALKED.
Acts 3:9-10 - And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter and John were just getting started. As a crowd amassed, certainly waiting for the next magic trick, these two Christ-followers began to preach the Gospel. The next thing you know, 5,000 men have been saved.
It was a busy day in Jerusalem.
That’s why Peter and John now stood before the council - the men who likely plotted the murder of Christ. They wanted to know the source of power on which these men relied. They got an ear full! Peter and John spoke up and said something like this: ”Our power comes from the ONE you’ve been waiting for, the ONE you were threatened by, the ONE you murdered, and the ONE you rejected. Your only hope of salvation is to be accepted by Him.”
Acts 4:13 - Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
May we stay so close to Jesus that people MARVEL at His power.
May we remain so in love with the Gospel that the world will MARVEL at His grace.
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What if you could hear directly from God today? What if His voice could pierce through everything you’re thinking/hearing/feeling. That would be cool. What would His voice sound like?
Deep?
Resonant?
Loud?
Scary?
Kind?
What would happen in your chest as you listened? What would you feel in your bones.
What if He said, “I need you to know something - I love you. Your existence is quite delightful. You’re maddening, but you’re mine. I made you. I loved you. I paid the price for you. I love you. I also need you to know that I made the universe. I invented DNA. I am Mighty. I am Victorious. I am Enough. I AM. Stop looking/striving/toiling. I’m here. I hate the junk in your life. It’s a waste and it gets in the way of my best. Get rid of it. And let’s do this! Feel the weight of this heavy love I have for you. Let it draw you. Let it push you. Let it change you. Open up to me. I want more than what you have to offer. I want you. So throw up your hands and give up, ‘cause I’ve got this. I got you. Because I love you. With a heavy, holy, life-changing love.”
What if God spoke that through the cosmos and into your heart? Tradition says, it would be nice, but it wouldn’t be enough. We’re stupid and thick-headed. Hence, the cross. Not only did Jesus pay the price, His obedience forever declared, “God’s love is big and this work is enough.”
So stare into the cross. Ponder it, till it starts to bother you in all the right ways.
John 12:25-26 - Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Capitalism gets a lot of press these days. Simply stated, it means that I own stuff…not the government or anyone else. It means that the government works for me, and not the other way around.
As a social structure, Capitalism is oft debated. From a personal standpoint, I would say I have personally benefited from the ability to own stuff. In order to fuel an economy, Capitalism makes sense. It means that personal desire is the chief engine of my productivity. The idea is that if I want, I work. If I work, I can (have the chance) of having. Any good idea is ultimately critiqued based on an analysis of its extreme points of use. This begs the question, is it good to be greedy?
Jesus’s words in John 12 fly in the face of what I am comfortable hearing. There are times I want God to tell me that He just wants me to be happy… that He exists so that I can “Love My Life.” This can easily turn me into a spiritual capitalist. Not only do I want/desire/need material blessings, but I also want/desire/need everything to go my way…all the time.
This is not the message of the Gospel. Jesus tells us that the broken kingdom is never supposed to be that great. It a rotten, stinking, sin-soaked heap. Its filled with broken people who break things. The only redemptive elements (joy, peace, love) are borrowed glimpses from the Kingdom to Come.
Spiritual Capitalism makes me horde elements of this world. The constant call of Christ is to die to self, let go, and surrender. We all want abundant life. We don’t often realize that death is the key.
Megachurch-Oriented Cities Researched, Ranked by Barna Group -
cool article: The Barna Group has reported on the results of a survey of the most and least “megachurch-oriented” cities in the nation, i.e., cities which have the highest and lowest concentration of megachurch attenders among the Christians who live there.
“God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. We say, “I know that this is what I should do”-and suddenly the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We show our ignorance of Him in the very way we decide to serve Him….Is that anything like the spirit of our Lord— “I delight to do Your will, O my God …” (Psalm 40:8).” —
Oswald Chamber, My Utmost for His Highest
