Own What You Believe

In the Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon Cooper meets Amy Farrah Fowler (a match made in heaven), he offers to buy her a beverage. Amy’s response: “Water. Tepid.”

Room temperature water is okay, as long as you’re expecting it. If you’re hoping the water in front of you is super-hot (to make tea), or ice-cold (on a hot day) and turns out to be lukewarm (on the first sip), that usually results in some sort of spewing (or at least the temptation).

That was Jesus’ metaphorical response to dealing with lukewarm people in the church who were neither “cold nor hot.” The folks who made up the Church of Laodicea had an inaccurate perception of themselves. They had become so secure in their wealth and accomplishments that they had become numb to their true spiritual needs.

Like the leper who can feel no physical pain, they claimed to be “just fine” as their souls gradually succumbed to an infection they could neither perceive nor feel.

Though these words of Jesus sound harsh, they come from a compassionate heart …

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” Revelation 3:19

In fact, one of the most well-known sayings of Jesus appears in this gentle rebuke …

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20)

Renditions of this statement (like the one below) often show Jesus knocking at an entryway with no latch on the outside; the door needs to be opened from within.

God will never force Himself on anyone; but He will always respond when invited.

Reject any version of Christianity whose adherents say, “We’re kind of a big deal.”

Jesus knows better.

Especially when …

Schmidt Happens.

 

Next post: Not sure yet … 

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Every church has a reputation.

A while back, a local government official invited one of our pastors to be a part of an influential task force that would be focused on a community development project.

After working out some of the details, the pastor finally asked the director why he called our church when he had dozens of other options.

Without hesitation, the government agent said, “Oh, everyone knows that your church is externally-focused.”

Of course, our pastor was very happy to hear that.

[While I’m all for the separation of church and state, to see them work together to accomplish a common goal is an amazing thing to watch.]

The Church at Sardis was perceived in a certain way in their community …

“You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

                                                               (Jesus in Revelation 3:1)

A modern expression of this is the false belief that outward prosperity is always a sign of God’s favor or blessing.

The unspoken corollary to this is that the absence of success (namely suffering) is a sign that God is displeased with the person who is in distress.

There once was a “healing-for-hire” ministry that tried to slither its way into our congregation—one that claimed if the participants could not “hang on to their healing,” then they needed to go to the “next level” (which only cost a little more).

This group was promptly shown the door.

Reject any version of Christianity that says you are suffering (or have not experienced healing) because you don’t have enough faith.

Especially when …

Schmidt Happens 

Next post: “Tepid” :: Versions of Christianity You Should Reject (According to Jesus).

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Jesus commends His followers in the church of Thyatira not only for the depth of their concern for one another, readiness to trust the trustworthy, generous acts of service, and patience in the face of hardship—but also for their progress in all of these areas!

They weren’t resting on their laurels, but actively pursuing personal and spiritual growth.

The only thing Jesus had against some of these followers was that they were passively tolerating a person who advocated forms of dangerous indulgence, especially in the area of sexuality.

“I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:21).

While there are many variations of damaging extravagance when it comes to sexuality, let’s focus on one …

When I first encountered the word “polyamorous” (presented as a positive thing), I had to think about its meaning: poly = many; amorous = romantic relationships. My first thought was “What are they thinking? How can they possibly believe that this could work well at any relational level?”

As you may know, there are several polygamous marriages in the Bible. What you may not know is that there is not one single, successful example of polygamy anywhere in those pages. These arrangements are consistently fraught with sadness, disappointment, and jealousy. Always, always, always, one of the partners is favored over the other.

While polygamy is generally outlawed in first-world countries, the desire and pursuit for multiple sexual and/or romantic partners still runs rampant in our culture—and in some cases, even encouraged.

If I understand the Letter to Thyatira correctly, Jesus has a problem with this.

C.S. Lewis believed that the line between romantic love and friendship love can often get blurred …

We can have erotic love and friendship for the same person yet in some ways nothing is less like a friendship than a love affair. Lovers are always talking to one another about their love; friends hardly ever about their friendship. Lovers remain face to face, absorbed in each other; friends, side by side, absorbed in some common interest. Above all, Eros is necessarily between two only. But two, far from being the necessary number for Friendship, is not even the best.

From The Four Loves

Lest we think that we could never enter into the temptation of polyamory, there’s always one of the warnings in the last commandment: “Do not covet your neighbor’s spouse.”

While we might never let our bodies cross that line, allowing our minds to live in a state of FOMO (fear of missing out) can be just as dangerous to our mental and spiritual health.

Especially when …

Schmidt Happens

Next post: “Fake Reputation” :: Versions of Christianity You Should Reject (According to Jesus).

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While commending the believers in Pergamum for their faithfulness in the face of hardship, Jesus called their attention to two things they needed to address (Revelation 2:12-17).

For one, He mentions Balaam, who was a corrupt prophet in the Old Testament who was hired by an enemy of Israel to curse God’s people.

Instead, he had a conversation with a donkey … and an angel … and changed his mind. But later he went back to his old ways and was able to cause some of the Israelites to stumble morally … which turned out to be worse than any curse.

The second issue Jesus had was with a group of people who were starting to absorb the teachings of the Nicolaitians. The Nicolaitians were a type of “pre-gnostic” group who taught that anything material (like the body) was evil, and only the spirit (like the soul) was good. This eventually led to either self-flagellation or dangerous indulgence.

Why did Jesus call this out? Because your body matters. And your soul matters. In many ways, they are inseparable. What happens to one impacts the other. When one is violated, so is the other. When one experiences healing, so does the other.

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God …

… having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. 

Avoid such people (2 Timothy 3:2-5)

Reject any version of Christianity that minimizes the impact of abusive behavior under the guise of quick-forgiveness. While giving the appearance of being deeply spiritual, these groups are usually disconnected from the daily realities of healing from trauma.

Especially when …

Schmidt Happens …

Next Week: “Dangerous Indulgence” > Versions of Christianity You Should Reject (According to Jesus).

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