When I was a kid, I really looked forward to summer time. I
don’t know about you, but for me, summer time was the best! We’d often head up
to my Grandparent’s cottage in Central Michigan, where they lived on a small
(but long) lake. Appropriately, it was called: “Long Lake.” We had several fun
summers of building sand castles, skiing, fishing, water tubing, swimming, and
just taking the boats out for leisurely ventures.
Perhaps my favorite memories were centered around
Independence Day. Up at the lake, Independence Day didn’t constrain itself to
the fourth of July, but really lasted all month long. After a long day of work
and play, families would gather on their beachfront lawns and set off
fireworks. Because this lake was not being very big, you could see many family’s
different fireworks displays. As a small child, I remember “ooing” and “awing”
at the various presentations, but as I got older, things… changed…
There began to arise a spirit of competition between
families; who could do the biggest, bestest, baddest show on the Lake. I
remember very well that it started simple enough. The North side of the lake
(of which, we were a part) against the South side of the lake.
We would each take turns shooting off our fireworks. Our
neighbors to the east were first, and then the folks across the lake from them.
Then it would be our turn, and the folks across the lake from us, so on and so
forth. And we’d cheer for the folks on our side, and we’d jeer for the folks
across the water (though, if I can be honest with you, the house directly
across from us had some really nice stuff!).
There was never an official “winner” declared. Just a bunch
of people yelling in support for their favorite teams. Before much longer,
eventually the warring sides dissolved, and the result was a very anarchistic
“every man for himself” sort of battle. People would set off their fireworks,
and instead of hearing “OOO!” “AAAAHHH!” You’d hear: “BOOO! “AWFUL!” When, in
reality, every display was actually pretty fantastic!
Before long, people in the community began to realize the
toxicity of the activity. So, everyone agreed that we’d go back to just
enjoying each other’s displays. By about my senior year in High School,
everyone had buried their hatchets, and re-joined in America’s real favorite
pastime, watching fireworks while eating marshmallows on the beach.
Why do I tell that story? Sometimes, a little friendly
competition can be fun. Even healthy. But there are times and situations where
it causes way more harm than good. I’ve noticed that competition seems to be
something we’ve really invested in as a culture lately.
Of course, there’s the upcoming election, and a wealth of
sharply dividing opinions on the candidates and opinions there. It’s NBA
playoff time, and everyone’s rooting for their favorite team to take out the
others. And even in our movies, we’re putting beloved superheroes against one
another. Batman vs Superman, Iron Man Vs Captain America, which has gotten my
attention, when I feel like I should really be focusing my energy on Finding
Dory.
I bring this up because I see competition working its way in
our churches. And of all the things Jesus wanted us to be, competitors in a
competition is not one of them. The Holy Spirit equips us for many things, but being
combatants in an arena is not a part of his spiritual gifting.
People seem to be at war in churches across the country over
issues like worship music, worship service elements, leadership politics,
Biblical translations, right on down to how we dress and behave on Sunday
mornings.
The trouble with this is that we’re tearing ourselves apart as opposed to building the kingdom up. We convince ourselves that we’re right,
that this is how Jesus would really want things to be, but we bust ourselves
apart from the inside. People on both sides of these issues need to remember
that Jesus’ prayer was for us to be unified. To be one, even as he and the
father are one (John 17:21).
This is, in part, why I’ve chosen to focus our attention as
a church, as Plum Creek, on the book of Acts, and analyzing how a healthy
church operates. Where everyone was devoted to the apostles teaching, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer, and everyone had everything in common and gave
to those in need (Acts 2:42-45). Where they were one in heart and mind, and
didn’t consider anything to be their own, but shared with each other (Acts
4:32). God blesses this sort of behavior, and the church grew exponentially as
a result (Acts 2:47).
What we need to remember is that no matter how much we may
prefer something to be one way, or that something not be another, we need to
remember that Jesus’ desires for his church trump ours. And his primary desire
is that we be one. If we can’t find a way to settle our differences, then we
should expect things to get more chaotic rather than less. We need to remember
that Paul gave us that Spiritual Armor in Ephesians 6 to combat the world, not
each other.
We need to step together, and we need to keep in step with
him. Let’s seek his will for the church, and not our own.
