Attending a Christian concert last week, I was struck with how much some of the artists used the words “I” and “me.” I know there are many songs over the centuries that have used these personal pronouns, but it seems that more than ever, the Church is incorporating the philosophies of Carl Rodgers and Dr. Spock (The Physician not the Vulcan) into its theology.
These modern tendencies are a far cry from the songs and psalms we see in the Word of God, which are focused on God. Moses and Miriam wrote about the miraculous works of the Almighty, and even when David lamented his trials, he spoke of God’s righteous capabilities. There should be no doubt, Christianity in its pure unadulterated form is God-centric. Jesus himself said, “…I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing” John 5:19 (NLT).” and the Apostle Luke citing the words of Paul wrote, “For in him we live and move and exist…’ Acts 17:28 (NLT)
When we take our eyes off God and begin to focus on ourselves, all manner of problems begin. We lose sight of God’s purposes for others, our responsibility to God, and the rest of His creation. It’s like driving while looking at ourselves in the mirror – We are setting ourselves up for a crash.
We are seeing this played out in many ways throughout the modern Church. Here are a few ways this mindset is destroying us:
- We have watered down our distinctives and values in order to attract attendees with man-centered programs and messages. (What are people to do when they hit real crises, where only the unfiltered Word of God can get them through?)
- We have exchanged the difficult and challenging Word of God for modern self-help messages and positive attitude speeches. (If I could help myself, I wouldn’t need God or the Church)
- We have traded the painful and laborious acts of repentance for a “My Bad!” flippancy that ignores the consequences of sin and writes off our actions as inconsequential because of the Cross. (In reality the consequence of our sins was the Cross.)
- We have sold the world a Park Avenue image of God that is without cost. (Unfortunately it is a false image that is also without power.)
It is past time for us to fall on our knees in repentance for spending too much time in the mirror and not enough time in His Word.
Father everything we need is found by looking upon You. Help us to take our eyes off ourselves. Help us to neither glory in our accomplishments or wallow in our failures. Instead let us look to You where every part of our lives is made perfect and complete. Bless my readers today. In Jesus Name, Amen!