Spectatorship Breeds Irrelevance
April 07, 2009
The one dissonate thing about Christian believing over the years that has finally become very real to me is that spectatorship breeds irrelevance. Today's church, at least for the majority is set up to foster spectatorship. This is unlike the early church where life with Christ continued through work and prayer. Early christians prayed so as to work, and worked so as to pray. This rythmn is still the order of St Benedict and is the summation of their daily intent.
We are created to be active. Those who have become active, if they are not given the opportunity to do so, soon move on to places where they can be. Being responsible in life creates the scenario in which the most responsible are always given more task while those who languish in the shadows, remain. Again, we were all created to be active!
Jesus said "Don't worry.... Instead, be concerned about his Kingdom, and your Father will provide you with what you need." Luke 12:31 We spend most of our waking lives working for what we need rather than working in the Father's vineyard, trusting him to provide. When faith is relegated to a system of belief rather than action, we are soon destined to irrelevancy both in our thinking and especially in our lives.
Activity and direction go hand in hand. We pray so as to receive direction and we are active to the degree we are given direction, thus the rythmn of our life with God. Here recently, I've been moved by two different people. One is a young man in his 20's who stated that he was standing beside his kid brother whose life has been ravished by drugs and the consequent break up of his brief marriage. The other is a daughter in her 40's who is changing direction in her life to take her ailing and aging mother to worship. Both of these people reflect their faith in the scripture given by Paul to Timothy "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 5:8
Action for the Christ follower? Yes, our future and the future of our world depends on it!
