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Real Christianity
Part 2. Brotherhood or Egocentricity?
September 15, 2008
By
Ron and Karen Schwartz
Brotherhood is a characteristic of Christianity that is next to
non-existent among Christian leaders today. Brotherhood has become
watered down to the point where it now means nothing more than good
friendship, fondness, personal accountability, and, in some cases,
subjugation to a leading human authority. Although there can be
some merit to the “brotherhood” found in these things, there remains
one aspect of true brotherhood that is never discussed or embraced
by today’s Western Christian culture.
“I have no need of you…”
The
best definition of brotherhood is not found in what are considered
the ministry epistles or the epistles of John or Peter. The
best definition of brotherhood is found in the unlikely pages of a
letter written to a church in chaos: Paul’s first letter to the
Corinthians.
1
Corinthians 12:7-11
7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal.
8
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the
word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing
by the same Spirit;
10
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another
discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to
another the interpretation of tongues:
11
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to
every man severally as he will.
In
these verses, Paul describes with perfect clarity the nature of
Christian leadership with which we are all familiar: every member is
unique with special talents and gifts. Corporately, these members
fuse together to form the Body of Christ. The distinctive
idiosyncrasies of each Christian are supposed to blend together in a
harmony of supernatural symphonic praises. Each member, no matter
how obvious or how hidden, receives satisfaction from the
achievements of the Body of Christ.
At
this point, we could possibly conclude a rough similarity between
modern Christian leadership and that described by the scripture.
However, the scripture does not end here. Paul goes on to write:
1
Corinthians 12:20-23
20
But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee:
nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22
Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more
feeble, are necessary:
23
And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable,
upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts
have more abundant comeliness.
Now
it becomes evident that what really defines the difference between
brotherhood in first century Christianity from today’s Christian
leadership: dependence, integration, selflessness… What we actually
find today is just the opposite. Rampant among Christian leaders is
the need for power, control, dominance, influence, notoriety, and
authority. All these nouns cry out, “I
have no need of you.”
Christian leaders actually do “have
no need of”
others. They are quite adept at working independently. Some leaders
are part of coalitions, associations, and denominations, but for the
most part they function independently, heading up their own unique
churches or ministries.
Missing from Christianity today is the harmony, the blending of
voices into a choir. Instead of a Body of Christ that appreciates
the uniqueness of each member, we find separate Bodies of Christ
scattered everywhere, refusing to even acknowledge one another.
This will become clearer as we consider this subject in more depth.
Two By Two
Luke 10:1-2
1
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent
them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither
he himself would come.
2
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the
labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that
he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Consider the paradox of working this blueprint. If each member of
the Body of Christ is unique and possesses a unique function, then
it is safe to assume that no two members (or Christian leaders) will
necessarily be hearing the same instruction from the Holy Spirit.
Paul went on to write, “Now
there are diversities of gifts, differences of administrations, and
there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which
worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the
word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge …to another faith
…to another the gifts of healing …to another the working of
miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to
another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit,
dividing to every man severally as he will (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).”
Given the inimitable way in which the Spirit works in the life of
each believer, no two Christians will ever be thinking exactly
alike. Their vision and purpose will unique. Consequently, how can
two Christian brothers work together “two-by-two” unless one man
takes the lead and the other takes a subordinate posture? And that
is inevitably what we find in our culture: one man with a vision
with a constituency of others supporting and executing it. The
unique vision of members other than that of the leader never gets to
the table for consideration.
Consider the following scriptures that many Christian leaders use to
justify their independence:
Acts 15:35-41
But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many
others taught and preached the word of the Lord. Some time later
Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all
the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they
are doing." Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with
them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had
deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the
work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.
Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and
left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
This was not recorded as an example of the fact that Christians will
disagree. This was recorded for our benefit so we know what not
to do. It is an example of arrogance, control, retribution, spite,
and disrespect. Paul had not heard from the Lord to reject John
Mark, his judgment was simply clouded with angry. If we condone
this behavior, then it will be impossible for Christian leaders ever
to work together
because then
almost anything can be grounds for separation. The premise of
Paul’s arrogance sets such low standards for cooperation that no
leaders would work two-by-two unless one submits to the other. If
Paul had chosen to work through the problem, he would have had to
eventually come to accept his own sin and repent of it. Instead, he
allowed his ego to speak, and in the end, sin and separation won.
The Paradox
Consider the following two events:
Matthew 21:1-7
1
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage,
unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2
Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and
straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose
them, and bring them unto me…
6
And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7
And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes,
and they set him thereon.
And:
Matthew 26:36-40
36
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and
saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to
be sorrowful and very heavy.
38
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even
unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep,
and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Consider these two events carefully. When it came to ministering to
Jesus’ physical needs, His disciples were right there. But when it
came to helping Him with His spiritual needs, they fell asleep.
I
have some precious brothers who love to help people. They will
bring food, give money, and work hard for their brothers, but when
it comes to helping their brothers with the spiritual work for which
they’ve been called, they are nowhere to be found.
Let’s be fair. God never told Peter, James, or John about Jesus’
mission. He only told Jesus. These men missed the same thing that
almost every Christian leader we know of misses: the “law of
Christ!”
Galatians 6:2
Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
It
is impossible to “fulfil
the law of Christ”
without doing something that every preacher preaches against:
assume. We cannot bear the spiritual burdens of our brothers
unless we first assume that they are capable of hearing from God
just like we can, and what they hear
is the direct
leading of the Spirit. The real question that remains to be asked
is, “are we willing to give our brothers that kind of respect?”
Over the years, we have expressed (as have many of you) to our
brothers the different things God told us to do. Bet you can guess
how they responded. They responded exactly like your brothers
responded to you. They always say: “I’ll pray about it,” or, “I’ll
consider it.” First of all most of them never do pray about it, and
if they do, when God does not tell them exactly what He has told us,
they get bored and fall asleep.
The
events above describe with perfect clarity the bond that exists
between Christian brothers today. They may be willing to help each
other physically sometimes, but not spiritually unless there is
something in it for them.
Have you thought through why Christian brothers are willing to help
each other physically? They know they will receive a blessing, or
at least they will walk away feeling blessed by the Lord. But
what if their burden is like Jesus’ burden: a spiritual work. Then
brothers pause and reflect and listen to see if it rings true in
their own hearts. Is God telling them the same thing? No? Then
they simply dismiss it. We find that even among Christian brothers
who are very good friends, there exists what we call Spiritual
Egocentricity: self-interest, self-absorbed, and narcissism
of spiritual work.
Now ask yourselves this: wouldn’t it have been easier for Jesus to
endure suffering and die if He were hanging between two of His
friends rather than between two thieves? Most godly men, though
having much resolve, do not possess the stamina of Christ. As a
result, when temptation comes many give up on the work to which God
has called them. In every city of every nation the work of God
hangs crucified, abandoned and left to die because godly men do not
“feel” that they have been specifically instructed by the Spirit to
help one another.
My Brother’s keeper
Genesis 4:9
And the Lord said unto
Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my
brother's keeper?
Cain was right, no? When did God ever tell Cain to be accountable
for his brother and for his welfare? When did He ever command him
to know what His brother was working on? He didn’t. Though God
never did give such specific instructions He did, however, expect
(or assume) Cain to stay joined enough to his brother so that he
knew what was going on in his life. Similarly, God did not need to
tell the disciples to minister to Jesus’ spiritual needs. The
Spirit didn’t need to specifically instruct the disciples to be a
spiritual support to Jesus. As with Cain, He simply assumed
that they would.
God’s question to Cain serves to demonstrate that there are aspects
of your brother’s life that He simply expects you to be aware
of – whether or not He specifically instructs you to do so. God
expects you to use your God-given talents and gifts to help your
brother accomplish the spiritual work he is faced with.
The
answer to Cain’s question is, “Yes, you are indeed your brother’s
keeper.”
Summary
Jesus found the grace to accomplish His mission even without the
help of His disciples. God had given Him disciples (friend) to
support and encourage Him but they were too wrapped up in their own
affairs to care. So they fell asleep while the greatest work of God
came within a single prayer of failing.
Consider your brothers in the Lord. Do you know what God is telling
them to do? And do you even care?
Are you bearing your brother’s burden? Are you fulfilling the law
of Christ? And do you even care? Or are you falling asleep,
overwhelmed by your own affairs, while your brother struggles to
understand how he is to obey the direction of God on his own?
Today the work of God hangs on crosses all around this world
surrounded more by thieves than brothers in the Lord. Few men are
willing to venture out two by two and show one another equal
respect. Few men are willing to work together to want/try to
understand what each is hearing from God and how they may serve one
another.
Instead, they are Spiritually Egocentric and proud of it.
They boast about how they are able to hear and receive direction
from God and work for Him alone. But they ignore “the
law of Christ.”
Do
you remember the story of the disciples in John 21? It was after
Jesus had died and rose from the dead. They had fished all night
but “they caught
nothing.”
Jesus saw them fishing and cared enough to involve Himself in their
work. “Throw
your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some,”
He said (John 21:6).
Like the disciples, each one of us is almost able to
accomplish what God wants us to do. We need the help of our
brothers. But the sad fact we all face is that in order to get
their help, we either need to sell them on the idea or buy their
help. Consequently, quite often many Christian men and women become
overwhelmed by their duties and simply give up, and the work of God
goes undo. Look around. Everywhere around us the work of God is
undone, and few Christians are even trying. And those to do so
quite often do so alone. Why?
Our
Western Christian culture has taught us that we each are independent
agents, accountable for no one other than ourselves. If you believe
this, then you are as worthless as the fool who buried his talent,
you are as useless as the disciples who fell asleep when the
greatest work of God was at risk of failure, and you are saying to
the rest of the Body of Christ, “I
have no need of you.”
We
pray that no one we know will ever hear us say the words that we
have come to dread: “I’ll pray about it.” These words have come to
mean “no,” they encompass the entire failure of Western Christianity
and iconize its collapse. Brotherhood is about more than
friendship, and it is vastly more tangible than fellowship. It is a
spiritual bondage between Christian men and women to the work that
they individually feel moved of God to do.
Do
you know what God has told your brother or sister to do? Why not?
Are you walking with him or her two by two? We bet not. Are you
willing to help them fulfill the work God has given them to do, or
are you simply praying about it? Will you be your brother’s keeper,
or will you remain spiritually egocentric?
It
is time to act. It is time to repent.
God
bless you all.
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