By David Ryser
A number of years ago, I had the
privilege of teaching at a school of ministry.
My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways
to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for
revival in the Church. I came across a quote
attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe.
It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like
this: Christianity started in Palestine as a
fellowship; it moved to Greece
and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy
and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America
and became an enterprise.
Some of the students were only 18
or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand and
appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An
enterprise. That’s a business.” After a few moments Martha, the youngest
student in the class, raised her hand. I
could not imagine what her question might be.
I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had
performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless,
I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question, “A
business? But isn’t it supposed to be a
body?” I could not envision where this
line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was,
“Yes.” She continued, “But when a body
becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”
The room went dead silent.
For several seconds no one moved or
spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a
sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we
were on holy ground. All I could think in
those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class.
Martha’s question changed my
life. For six months, I thought about
her question at least once every day.
“When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church,
tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him.
What do I mean when I say “really know Him?” Our understanding of knowing and knowledge
stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical
thought). We believe we have knowledge (and,
by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same
thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an
eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the
eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from
premise to conclusion without regard for experience--or so we think. An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the
following two premises: First, that
wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a
cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek
culture would answer, “No. If wheat does
not grow in a cold climate and if England
has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England.” In the eastern culture, the answer to the
same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, “I don’t
know. I’ve never been to England.” We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed
the same question to my friends from England,
their answer was, “Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We’re from there, and we know wheat grows
there.” They overcame their cultural way
of thinking because of their life experience.
Experience trumps information when
it comes to knowledge.
A similar problem exists with our
concept of belief. We say we believe something
(or someone) apart from personal experience.
This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker,
however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, “I
have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next
week. I want your permission to transfer
$10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock.” That’s a lot of money for me, so I ask, “Do
you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?” He/she answers, “I sure do.” I say, “That sounds great! How exciting!
So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?” He/she answers, “None.” Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don’t think so, and suddenly I don’t
believe, either. How can we be so
discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and
so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart
from experience. The Bible was written
to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith
apart from experience.
I suspect God thinks this way also.
So I stand by my statement that
many American Christians do not know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how
we came to God. Most of us came to Him
because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in
life and take us to heaven after death.
We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as
long as we can get His stuff. We have
made the Kingdom
of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should
not be. We are called the Bride of Christ, instructed to love Him, and invited into the same relationship Jesus has with the Father (John 17)--that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are intended to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even
know? And even if we do know someone, is
that a guarantee that we truly love them?
Are we lovers or prostitutes?
I was pondering Martha’s question again
one day, and considered the question, “What’s the difference between a lover
and a prostitute?” I realized that both
do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she
loves. A prostitute pretends to love,
but only as long as you pay. Then I
asked the question, “What would happen if God didn't pay me?”
For the next several months, I
allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing
me? What if He never did another thing
for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises
and blessings of God. The issue here is
not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a
loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love
Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these
questions. Even now I wonder if my
desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with
God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never
fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.
So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the
Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are
plenty of former prostitutes in both places.
Take it from a recovering spiritual prostitute when I say there is no substitute
for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at
Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.
Responses to this article are
welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
Thank you for your testimony!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that you would comment on my Post,
http://thebigpicmin.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/pastoral-virus/
The Pastor Virus
This quote helps us to understand the Pastoral Virus. I’m not certain that it is correct, but it is very much worth considering:
http://www.godstruthtous.com/notes/churchalie.htm
“With scripture mixed with the teachings of men …. is True evil accomplished …for true evil …is evil masked in good.”
Pastor’s have an evil seed in their souls, this deception about their role. This seed has taken root and causes much destruction. This destruction will continue thru a Pastor’s career until they start really seeking and listening God; until they really start seeking the Truth. This virus blinds them from seeing their sin (the pride selfishness and greed and it’s consequences). They can not see that they are stealing form God’s flock. They can not see the death and destruction that this causes.
If they were truly seeking God, seeking his will, building on his word, following his Holy Spirit they would know that they are sinning, they could see the devastation of their work and they would repent. Unfortunately the are relying more on what their teacher told them, than on what God’s Word and his Holy Spirt are trying to tell them. Remember All scripture, not just the easy parts, is God Breathed and good for rebuking correcting…
This is incredible.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to see only 2 comments on this post. This has been making the rounds on email, facebook and blogs, and it took me a little work to track it to it's source. Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteThe formulaic approach to faith is so prevalent. So much more comfortable & predictable than experience and questions and mystery. So less real.
ReplyDelete