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For Whom Have You Been Building? |
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Written by Benjamin Johnson
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Sunday, 06 August 2006 |
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There is a subtle war that is taking place right before our eyes; only
a few have taken notice. Incredibly this war will determine the
efficacy of our churches, rather, our very lives. It is a power
struggle taking place within the structure of what we call the church,
and the side we choose may determine whether we are actually fighting
on the side that we claim.
You see, there is this scripture that is troubling me. It is almost as if we have even forgotten that it exists.
Psalm 127: 1
Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
Juxtaposed to this verse is a new “scripture” taken from the sacred texts of Hollywood.
“If you build it, he will come.” – The Voice, Field Of Dreams
Taking our new divine revelation to heart, we begin by building elaborate enclosures to house our entertainment potential. Every meeting becomes a spectacular extravaganza where we strive with our endless litany of sequels to produce the next big blockbuster. Even churches without limitless resources and vast facilities envy the mega churches and do their best to imitate the production values of the big venues. Instead we end up with a Little Rascals like production where you pay a quarter to get in to the show and you get what you pay for…
We become very busy attaining our new goals, and we seldom stop to check and see if these are goals worthy of attaining. Here is the real problem though, the Scripture doesn’t warn those builders apart from God’s construction team that they will only receive a diminished return; it warns that they “labor in vain.” Could someone tell me what enticing people’s flesh to come back week after week for a drink of watered down humanitarian, prosperity, or entertainment gospel has to do with the kingdom of God? We act as if getting them in the door is better than not, but I am not so sure with the poisoned water that is being offered at some wells.
I often hear and read the message espoused that we can’t reach today’s young people, that we can’t hold their interest, unless we employ the latest in presentation and distraction technology. You know, these people are half right because we can’t reach this generation for God with the spiritual treasure we have. Most of us our nearly bankrupt!
The ones that we do convert become twice the son’s of hell we are, to quote Jesus. We temper the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their lives instead of letting Him do his work. We ease the consciences of young people by showing them they can say a prayer and not really have to surrender lordship of their lives to Jesus to avoid the flames of hell. By our example we teach that you can see your brother in need and do nothing while continuing to accrue the finer things in life for oneself. We demonstrate that some token sacrifice at the carwash fundraiser absolves us of taking up our cross daily. Our lives reflect that dropping a few extra dollars in the offering is a far easier way to cleanse one's conscience than to become a living sacrifice, daily dying to self that God may be glorified.
Church, we need to consider what we are building. Are we on God’s construction team, taking His orders to build to His glory or is all our striving to build a legacy to ourselves? Do you think we can really expect God to show up just because we build it? I strongly believe that lie is keeping a majority of the American church in an endless cycle of vain toil.
Perhaps you have heard about the person who was so heavenly minded that he was no earthly good. I have never met that person. Those who are truly in touch with the head builder work diligently – and their labor is not in vain. For whom have you been building?
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Last Updated ( Monday, 07 August 2006 )
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