I sometimes run into Christians who are exhausted, intimidated, and a little scared by the “spiritual achievements” of fellow Christians who seem to be superior at this whole business of being a Christian thing.
Of course, the “superior thing” is a lie. Jesus said so himself. In many places.
We all know God has given us unique gifts, and that just because So-And-So is tremendous at hospitality doesn’t mean you can’t be just so-so at it.
And one of the most beguiling and tragic phenomenons endemic to many churches is the lionization of those with the most recognizable spiritual gifts.
It’s not those folks’ faults, of course.
They’re just really, really good at pedestal things.
And that’s great. Every single person serves their role in the body.
But it breaks my heart when Christians who haven’t been gifted that way somehow think they’re inferior, that God can’t use them, that visible good works are the only ones that matter.
And, to make matters worse, the Pedestal Christians often add to the needless shame.
“How involved are you in the body?” They ask.
And we know that’s not a question, it’s a judgment, it’s because you might sit in the back row (on the weeks you go), and maybe you’re not in a Bible study, and maybe you don’t show up for city ministry day, and so therefore, you are a wishy-washer neo-pagan who needs to — heaven help me with this phrase — “get involved.”
But for many people with depression, anxiety, or any other mood disorder, “getting involved” in things they haven’t been called to do by the Lord — well, that can kind of wreck them.
And I’ve seen it happen.
They will inevitably self-implode, or grow so discouraged and frustrated that they leave the church altogether, feeling hopeless that they’ll ever be any good. Sometimes they even leave the faith.
To Pedestal Christians and Pedestal Churches, “Good Works” are determined by the “good people,” and the good people are the people doing the most (themselves), and they speak for God, instead of letting God to speak to you.
But the greatest good you can do is literally the good that anyone can do — and that is pray.
And the way to pray, as Jesus says, is to enter your prayer closet, shut the door, be alone with God, and he can use that prayer to do mightier things than all the busy bees of church.
So I will say this — if you’re struggling to even go to church, much less do stuff there, remember that you can pray.
And since God doesn’t want us to blab about how much we pray, we will suffer from the judgment of others, but God sees, he knows, and he is greatly pleased by your prayer.
Now, I want to share this passage with you from Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love.
Chan:
“Oswald Chambers writes, ‘Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you.’
To that I would add, ‘Be careful not to turn others’ lives into the mold for your own’.
Allow God to be as creative with you as He is with each of us.
….Do you believe that you were crafted for specific good works, things that god knew before you even existed?
Or do you compare your life to others and lament what you have been given.
We have a God who is a Creator, not a duplicator.”
So please, don’t let the religious “do good works” gadflies at church bring you down.
They were in Jesus’ face, too, and they had all kinds of ideas about how he should serve.
Jesus had a very much different idea.
And he spoke with his Father every day, and his Father told him what to do, and God will tell you, as well.
He created you. And his plan for you is best. Not theirs.
And if you listen to him, you will hear the things the deaf can’t. And if you are persecuted at church for it, well, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.
Lean on the Lord, not the ones who want to push you down.
Find a psychiatrist here.
Find a therapist here.
