Hello to all:
There have been things on my mind and I coincidentally received this email from a friend. I am not calling folk crazy, but I wanted to share this email sent to me.
I can talk much in reference to this email and my thoughts, but I know many people feel the same way.
There is nothing wrong with the Church, it's some people that make up the Church. Of course there are some awesome people in the world.
Feel free to comment on what you think:
Crazy Folks
Gal. 3:3 "Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?" -The Message Bible
Some folks are just crazy! Being raised in the church as the son of a pastor taught me many things. I have observed a lot and learned a lot. But the one thing I feel I have learned more than anything is, there are some crazy people in church! Folks that profess
Christianity, but act just as crazy as the sinner man sometimes. What am I
talking about you may ask? Well, I'm talking about people that try to use the
church as a platform to overcome their insecurities. You know, the people that
come to church and shout the whole aisle, make all kinds of rain forest sounds
during the service, get up and testify about how good they are, and then go
right outside and curse you out over a parking space! I always wondered how they could be so spiritual in church and then get to their job and no body is influenced by them or even respects their so called Christianity! I often wondered why people would try so hard to appear to be something in church that they are not at home. I was a youth pastor for 10 years and I learned so much from the children of these "luke warm" saints. The way
they were away from the church was the way their kids knew them. And the
hypocrisy would devastate their kids and cause them to not want what their
parents were claiming to have. Where was this behavior coming from you may ask?
Let me tell you When you feel like you are better than others, then you
automatically have to act this way. You see, insecurity in the church has caused
people to pretend to be things they are not. It's hard to fake being rich,
because the car you drive and the home you live in will tell the true story.
It's hard to fake being smart, because if a person talks to you long
enough, they will know how smart you are. It's impossible to fake good looks,
because folks can see the truth on your face. But, when it comes to the things
of the spirit, it's easy to fake them when you are in a "religious" setting
because all you have to do there is practice the church "traditions" and you
will appear righteous. Some shallow Christians feel like when you speak in
tongues, wear certain clothes, holler and scream until your lips ash over, it
means that you are saved and sanctified. And many churches and pastors entertain
these notions and allow it to go on in the body of Christ, so people begin to
act out their Christianity instead of living it. But the sad thing is that this
totally cuts out God's power to perfect you and make you what you should be!
When you practice foolishness and craziness to appear like you are something,
then you don't need God to make you something. When you use the church as a
platform to boost yourself then God does nothing for you. When
you want to win favor of men, look better than you really look, and make people
think that you are something that you are not, then you delete God and accept
the responsibility of making your own way. God has no part in this foolishness.
And really spiritual people can see right through you anyway. The beauty of
serving the true and living God is the power he has to take nothing and make
something out of it. Don't take that away from Him! That's God's job. You can't
do it by faking it. You will never receive what God really has for you if you
pretend you already have it when you don't. God wants the glory out of your life
and He wants it to be genuine. If you are His, then he will show through you and
you won't have to pretend anymore. Then people around you will want what you
have and you will then be an asset to the kingdom instead of dead weight!
Suggested Reading: Matt. 6:1, Mark 7:9, Phil. 3:12, 1Pet. 5:10
©2005 G. Craige
Works All Rights Reserved
Posted By: WILLIAM W. HEMMANS III
Tuesday, October 11th 2005 at 1:31PM
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