Every church seems to have at least one or two persons that stand in the way of liberty of expression, honesty and openness in the midst of the congregation and of the community life. They are usually unaware that our spiritual adversary is using them in this manner as an obstructive force. The way to lovingly defy them and defeat them is to obey the promptings of the Spirit of God no matter what these critics think say, or do, and no matter what dirty glaring looks might be directed toward the breakout of freedom.
It has been said that demons love to attend church; and the three primary churchgoers among demons are criticism, gossip and exaggeration. No, I’m not exaggerating! Maybe, in fact, a fourth could be added to this scheming trio: self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is like a plantation that enslaves millions of believers. Once we begin to break free of this oppressive condition and escape the boundaries of the plantation, a whole new world of possibilities opens up to us; the world of Jesus Christ who lives within us and longs to live THROUGH us.
Sometimes there is a very thin line between despair and hope, after all. We may be discouraged, for example, and in a self-centered state associated with that discouragement. When we’re experiencing that discouragement, encouragement is never very far away, though it may not feel like it. We have only to begin to think some of God’s thoughts, and a transformation begins. Conversely, when we’re feeling very hopeful, despair also is lurking close at hand. We have only to yield to a selfish train of thought or entertain some feeling of self-pity, and the hope quickly begins to dissipate.
Our Creator, the Psalms say, assigned only the sun to rule over the day (one ruler for the day) but the moon and the stars to rule over the night. (multiple rulers for the night) The darkness of night is more unruly than the light of day, so we need to be careful, and help each other be careful together. Amen?
trbarlow 