Who’s Thinking For You?

The process of our growth and development as a born again believer echoes that of our natural lives. We begin as spiritual infants, regardless of our chronological age. We are innocent and open, like the blank pages of an unwritten book. Everything we see and hear from that point –  about God, church, faith and being a Christian – will begin to imprint upon us. We will inherently trust those of the faith that are nurturing us in the same way a natural baby trusts its parents. If we are going to survive, then we really have little other choice.

The way I see it, things become problematic when you consider that the majority of people getting born again are most likely to develop through their spiritual infancy within the confines of a church.  Because our Christian life has begun in a church, the pervasive and systemic thinking of that church will then direct and colour our perspectives.

As we grow spiritually, it will build a frame of reference within us through which we then view all other things, including how we define life as a Christian. For most, it also becomes the point of reference in our identity as a Christian, so being a Christian becomes intrinsically bound with our being part of a church. We learn indirectly that to be a good Christian, you need to be part of a church. That message becomes so ingrained that many people don’t know how to be a Christian without church, nor do they really know how to be around anyone Christian that doesn’t go to church.

Church thinking also instils an indirect fear within us of anyone that is Christian but is not part of a church. They are almost perceived as a threat of some sort, as though we need to be on our guard because consorting with them may somehow taint us and put at risk our own life and identity as a Christian. And the opposite can also be true.  When someone claims to be Christian because they are involved with a church, we may subconsciously accredit them with the virtues we have learnt to associate with the Christian label. Yet both perspectives are equally flawed because both use the church as their standard of measure.

Our faith and identity as a believer needs to be anchored in God, his Word and his love for us, and not in the church. We must not permit the church to become a stronghold we hide behind to protect our Christian insecurities. Rather than being taught to think for ourselves in matters of faith and our expression of it, the church influences us, both directly and indirectly, to think in a particular way that can end up causing us to limit ourselves, or God. Without meaning to, we will end up filtering everything through the framework of thinking learnt through church, and may not realise when it is at odds with what the Word of God says.

Whether it’s intentional or not, the way we have learnt to think in church often constrains us. It may directly or indirectly influence when, where or how we believe we are permitted to minister, whom we may minister to or even if we may minister at all. It reinforces the hierarchical thinking we have learned naturally from childhood, and often ends up creating a blinkered perspective that can make us quite narrow minded.

Think of it this way. If you imagine an old fashioned tent, there is a basic framework assembled, and then a canvas stretched over it. The canvas will fit perfectly because it has been cut to fit that particular frame. Being born again into a church means it will be the culture, beliefs and values of that particular church and its affiliate denomination that builds the framework and provides the canvas. With your perspective on all things relating to God and his kingdom having been shaped by that church, any further information you receive on those subjects will be regarded through that framework of understanding and from your position within that tent.

Now pause for a moment and imagine you are one of the first disciples of Jesus. You are a Jew, with hundreds of years worth of laws and traditions as the foundation of your thinking. You’ve been happily living in your tent, secure in the knowledge of the rules and laws. Your day to day life functions within that framework because it is the norm – for you, and for most others you know. Your attitudes, actions and behaviours all stem from that framework and perspective.  

Then Jesus comes along.

He starts to show you the deeper meaning behind the rules, and in the process offers you hope of a better life, free from oppressive rules. He demonstrates God’s power as He heals others and performs miracles, then tells you that you will do those things too, and more. You begin to get a fuller picture of the nature and character of God that shows him to be far more than just a rule-maker and judge: you begin to see the depth of His love.

Listening to Jesus takes courage, because what he is teaching seems so counter-cultural. It takes courage, because just listening to him could badly effect your relationships and your standing within the community. And it takes courage, because choosing to believe Him means being willing to not only change the canvas on your tent, but allowing Him to actually dismantle the old framework before building you a new framework as well.

It must have been mind-blowing for those first disciples, because Jesus was practically turning everything they knew on it’s head. Eat this, don’t eat that. Go here, don’t go there. Fellowship with these people, but don’t talk to these others. That was how life had been for them before Jesus, but before long they’re eating grains on the Sabbath, going to foreign towns and talking to heathens, and sitting down to a meal with prostitutes and tax collectors.

What Jesus taught them was a whole new way of thinking and looking at things. Using the tent analogy again, He was offering them a completely new and different tent, not just a new canvas. When Jesus taught about not patching an old garment with new fabric, I think he was trying to help them understand that following him and being part of his kingdom meant more than just adding a new perspective to their current framework of thinking. I believe He was trying to help them understand that just changing the canvas of their tent would not work, and might in fact cause them damage. Because each canvas is cut to fit a particular frame, it just isn’t possible to fit a new and different canvas over an old frame with any real success. You could rip the new canvas as you try to tug it over a tight spot, you could end up with gaping spaces where the sides are not long enough, or the new canvas might be so much bigger than the old one that the weight of it would collapse the original frame.

Here again, I think Jesus was letting the disciples know that if they weren’t willing to completely change their framework of understanding, rather than just updating the canvas, it would have a dramatic outcome that was potentially devastating. I also think he was trying to communicate his desire for their preservation. Those first disciples were brave men, because they risked financial loss, the wrath of their church and their sense of belonging to their families and communities just to follow Jesus. As you may recall from scripture, the church of Jesus’ day were not happy about it, because it was the church of His day that eventually forced his execution.

Significant change takes time to establish, but it begins with a willingness to not only consider the possibility of changing, but to recognise that change may be needed at all. There were plenty of people that could not recognise the need for change or were unwilling to change in Jesus’ day, and all had their reasons. Some people were afraid of being rejected, because change can lose you friends and family. Some were afraid to change because they felt safe and secure where they were, and didn’t want the risk of not having that security. Some were afraid because change could mean losing the position, power or prestige they enjoyed. What you may notice is that all of those fears are based on what might be lost, rather than on what might be gained.

Those first disciples underwent a paradigm change that took them from the rigidity of the law to the liberty of grace. They moved from the model of priesthood to a model of brotherhood. Their motivation changed from fear of punishment under the law, to rejoicing in the love of God and sharing that love with others. They moved from a sense of powerlessness under the weight of the law to victorious triumph as they ministered healing and deliverance to those who were oppressed. They understood that they had gained far more than they had lost.

If a man can only serve one master, then it needs to be God himself, rather than indirectly through the intermediary of church or a ministerial leader. However, if our identity as a Christian is developed directly through the Word of God and our relationship with Him, then we will develop confidence in our spiritual identity and liberty in our expression of that identity that is not dependent upon church. If we are to fulfil the purpose God has for us in life, then we may need to be looking beyond where we are now in our thinking and understanding. It is up to each of us to decide whom we will permit to be the greater authority in our lives – the church, or God.

Hint: choose God.

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