Posts tagged: pride

Seedling: No Ivory Towers

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By Paula Marolewski, April 20, 2010 4:44 pm

“Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near to [Jesus] to listen to him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” – Luke 15:1-2

A word of warning: it can be all too easy to immure yourself in the Christian community. To only have friendships with Christians, to engage in activities exclusively with Christians, and to focus all your attention on Christians.

When you do, it can be very easy to slip into another attitude: looking down on anyone who associates with non-Christians. Getting on your religious high-horse and throwing up your hands in horror at anyone who (heavens!) befriends a practicing homosexual, a drug addict, an adulterer, a convicted felon … or even just an unchurched neighbor. After all, we must avoid the corruption of the world, right?

Yes, we must. But not by hiding away in ivory towers. Jesus kept himself unstained by the world, but he ate every day with tax-gatherers, sinners, and prostitutes. He touched lepers, unclean women, and the demon-possessed. He associated with Samaritans, Syrophoenicians, and Romans. He was, simply, “the friend of sinners.”

We are called to follow his example. 

  • Have you ever looked down on someone because they had friends who were “questionable”?
  • Have you ever avoided befriending someone because of their sin, past or present?
  • Would you rather live in the safety of the church than be a light of the world? If so, why?

 

Copyright © 2010, Paula J. Marolewski. All rights reserved.

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Do We Insult God?

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By Paula Marolewski, January 13, 2010 9:51 am

“Oh, I’m nothing.”

“I have no spiritual gifts.”

“God could never use me to do that.”

You know, humility is good and right in its place. But Paul calls us to “sober judgment” about ourselves (Romans 12:3). He then goes on to talk about the spiritual gifts God has given to each of us in the church – gifts, as he says in Ephesians 4:12-13, that are to be used “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Hardly an inconsequential task!

So I have a simple question today:

Do we insult God by calling ourselves “nothing” and thinking we are worthless when he has redeemed us by his blood, sealed us by his Spirit, called us to his purpose, granted us his gifts, and destined us for his kingdom?

 

 

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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