Ebook and E-Study Guide
By Jeremy Lopez
I have been a Christian for many years now. And over the years God has done some amazing things. But there was one thing that was hard to miss and that was the things that were wrong with the church. It has caused me much pain and even had caused me to leave Christianity at one point. It actually wasn’t the only factor in my decision to do so but it certainly was a big contributor.
The thing is though what I have found is that I saw some of the same issues with secular organizations that I joined and with non-Christians. A theme seemed to be there, and all the same problems arose. Some of the blame can be on me for being not your normal guy but what it all came down to was this wasn’t a problem with just me or Christianity this was a problem with man. Any time man gets involved you have error and problems. Things aren’t perfect because man is not perfect.
In the Old Testament Israel had some problems. God had appointed Samuel the prophet to lead them, but they demanded a king.
1 Samuel 8:4-5 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
Here we can see that not even Samuels's leadership was perfect, but the people rejected it and wanted a judge and ruler. And this is what Samuel warned would happen if they got their king.
1 Samuel 8:10-20 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the [c]practice of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to [d]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. 16 He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and [e]use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.” 19 Yet the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
Basically, it wasn’t going to be a great thing and the king would do some bad stuff. He would be unjust, and people would get hurt.
In the same way, even though Christ instituted the church, the church is run and carried out by man. Man has authority in the church, it comes through man. When Saul was appointed King over Israel what happened? He did what Samuel said he would do, and he went even further. When God anointed David came onto the scene Saul tried to kill and oppress him. Sound a bit familiar to some? That is exactly what happens in some churches. The leadership seeks to oppress and stomp out God's anointed. So, people get hurt and people leave the church feeling like the whole church thing is corrupt. And it is corrupt. It is corrupt because man is running it. Man is involved in it and things are not going to be perfect.
But its imperfections are no reason to give up God or Christians, they are a reason to hang in there and try and make a difference one person at a time. Imperfections only make the genuine article all that more desirable and that genuine article of perfection is found in God. Exhibit Gods perfection to someone today whether it be at church or not. But be what you see lacking in this world and be a vessel of love.
Adam Becker
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