Good is not good enough

One of the definition that Oxford dictionary points out for the word “good” goes this way, “Appropriate to a particular purpose; useful, advantageous, or beneficial in effect.”. Cambridge dictionary defines it as “very satisfactory, enjoyable, pleasant, or interesting:”. As human beings we all desire to attain the status ‘good’, at least we desire to be good though we do not completely attain the status of being good. A theologian quotes, ‘Are we generally good or basically bad? If you have to look around your business, workplace, or campus, you'll find ten bad men for every good man.  Sadly, every good man is a bad man as well.’.  It can be so true that all our goodness can be spurious beyond our comprehension. In fact the Bible declares in Isaiah 64:6 “..all our righteousness are as filthy rags…”. Does this mean the creation of human beings is erroneous? Definitely not, The Bible confirms that God certified His creation by saying in Genesis (1:31) “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good indeed”. It is the very nature of sin that is so much in us, that we fail to attain the complete status of being good and fall short from it. Here is an excerpt from the beautiful poem “Two kinds of people” by Ela Wheeler Wilcox (You may browse to read the complete poem), which goes like this,

“There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Two kinds of people no more I say.
Not the good or the bad, for it's well understood,
The good are half bad, the bad are half good.”

What looks good is still found wanting. Generally, most of the people are good when they are not in contact with people and less exposed to tempting opportunities and threats. The moment they have to encounter situations which can be demanding or vulnerable they fail miserably. The only solution to this dilemma is to reach out to God the almighty who is good and upright (Psalms 25:8), who stores His goodness for those who fear Him (Psalms 31:19), and earnestly invites us to taste and see how good He is. (Psalms 34:8).

I intent to draw your attention to the very popular parable of Jesus “the parable of the sower” and highlight the emphasis Jesus made to the aspect of ‘good’. In Mathew 13:8 it is being described this way, “Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown”. Isn’t it strange to be told that the seeds did fall in the good ground but there was a drastic difference in the level it produced. It is said some produced hundred-fold, some sixty-fold and some thirty-fold. How come the good ground differed in its yield?  Most of the time we fail to take the ground into consideration, the fertile level of the good ground can also vary. It depends on how much manure has gone into the particular ground and other factors that has  affected the ground fertility level. Let’s be aware that the good has its gradation depending on how much ingredients the field has received.  Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” talks about it. In fact, Jim says, good is the enemy of great. The above 60% produce depends on the factor where the good scales up to a next level to being great. He says transformation happens when the below-mentioned three factors are in place and they are as follows:

Disciplined people: You and I can increase the fertility level with our commitment and devotion to God and learning His statutes from the Scriptures and following it ardently. The Bible helps us to be organized well. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27 says "I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that the preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.".

Disciplined thoughts: The Bible tells you are defined by how you think Proverbs 23:7 it says “..As he thinks within himself, so he is..” Only God is big enough to fill your mind and heart when you look to Him with disciplined thoughts. Fill your minds with His goodness and be renewed in your mind to prove what the will of God is for your life. (Romans 12:2)

Disciplined actions: When the first two are in place your action follows according to the wishes and desires of God’s heart.

If you notice in the parable, God put the gradation from ascending to descending order, it is said some produced, hundred then sixty and finally to thirty-fold. The first expectation from God is that our yield will be at the highest level and that depends how conducive and fertile our ground is, to that extent it is cultivated to make a huge difference. Your in-depth honest relationship with God can only bring about a greater blessing to you and to others. 

Blessings 

David Raj

SOCIAL NETWORK V/S YOU

A Fact to Ponder:

Smartphones, tablets, or the Internet can be addictive because their use can trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine to alter mood — which is exactly what drugs and alcohol do. 

I wish to delve a little on this trending area of Social network. I know I am walking on egg shells but I wish to throw some light on its usage and effect on an individual. Social media has attracted masses because we benefit from being connected, being informed and being inspired. As Christians we are well aware that there are potential pitfalls with their usage as well. Though we desire to glorify the Lord and represent Him well, the world of social media can upset those intentions, if we are indiscreet. Smart phones are one compact platform where at a click of a button we get innumerable opportunities to live our life without God and Social network takes the lead.

I wish to give some statistics to give you a perspective and for us to be enlightened on this subject:

• An average Facebook user now has about 338 friends, (A possible place to dwell on superficial relationship)
• An average Indian spends minimum 2.5 hours per day approximately on mobile internet. (Have you wondered that’s the basic tithe in a day (24 hours) you are robbing off.)
• The average daily usage of social media worldwide. As of 2017, daily social media usage of global internet users amounted to 135 minutes per day,
• The average person will spend more than five years of their lives on social media, according to a study by influencer marketing agency Mediakix. (More than five long years of meaninglessness and life without God)

Alarming stats! Wouldn’t you agree with me? An everyday presumably harmless activity is consuming millions of people in the name of networking and subtly disconnecting your communion with God, which was satan’s original ploy. A UK study found that people who spend a lot of time on social media are more likely to display negative personality traits such as narcissism(Self-admiration). The negative effects of social network are initiated not from outside influences but from the depths of an individual’s character.

It gives us the leverage to maintain a superficial relationship with our Virtual friends and this ultimately spills over to our relationship with God without us realizing it. Social network successfully promotes non-commitment and a hypocritical lifestyle. It pushes us to a point where all we want is to impress ourselves, in terms of prominence, personal significance and superiority. Do we blame the advancement of technology that has made the world closer and smaller by reaching out through social network or our failure to manage our emotions effectively? In both cases the effects are not very complimenting.

Augustine and Martin Luther are known for describing the human condition as incurvatus in se (“curved inward on oneself”). Theology recognizes that human hearts are curved inward, inclined to boast, and always looking for opportunities to prove their own self-righteousness. Rather than living a life that is aligned toward God and others, human sinfulness directs our life inward, toward self-justification, self-gratification, and self-aggrandizement. The notion that sin has warped, twisted, maimed and ruined human goodness is as universal in theology as Facebook is in modern life. If you are trying to value yourself more than you should you would fall into the sins of pride, deceit and arrogance. Instead Jesus set an example by humbling himself, taking on human flesh and dying on the cross. We are called to have the same attitude of humility, which may be counter-cultural to social media.

Sean Parker, founding president of Facebook, recently came out with some harsh words regarding the social media platform: “God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.” Parker is not alone in this sentiment. Chamath Palihapitiya, another former Facebook executive, has suggested that social media is destroying how society works, and Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has publicly stated that he does not want his young nephew to use social networks. It would seem that Parker’s ominous words are prophetic God only knows what Facebook is doing to us. Facebook’s technology (for that matter any social network) is designed to accommodate, encourage, and exploit human depravity. The “Like” button on Facebook is not there by chance; the “Like” button was created to satisfy our deep longing to be liked by others, lauded for our accomplishments, and acknowledged for our righteousness.

Beware! Social network can shape you to brag about yourself and display a false you.

Social networking site is not going to help you in your spiritual identity because you are forcibly constructing yourself. You are trying to maintain the impression of yourself when it is absolutely wrong. You need a true estimate of yourself without being prideful and impressing yourself of who you are. You need to get and outside view of your inside situation. God gives the sense of value and dignity. Would you be able to draw a line and ensure the priority doesn't exceed God and you don’t fall into gross sinning?

May God help each one of us especially our children in this strange area.

Blessings

David Raj

References: 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic

https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic

https://helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm

Blessings

David Raj

Church qualifying rate is 28.6%

I am inspired strongly by the spirit of God to pen down on the difficult subject that relates and reiterates on the body of Christ - The Church.   God was gracious to give me an opportunity to be part of an organization that worked in partnership with over 150 Church denominations in India for close to two decades. The Church is the hope for the nation which is striving to bring peace in all facets of life and therefore the Church should exist holistically (areas pertaining to spiritual, physical, emotional and cognitive). Bryant L Meyers in his book 'Walking with the poor' sadly remarks the poor understanding of the Church on Holism "We express our captivity to a modern worldview when we say that holistic ministry means combining evangelism (meeting spiritual need) with relief and development (meeting physical need) as if these were divisible realms and activities. Then we make it worse by insisting that the church or the evangelism part of our organization do the former, while the development agency does the latter. A number of serious and thoughtful Christian groups are organized this way". Influencing the unification of Churches and refining the approaches towards mission and development is challenging because of the Church diversity in pattern, doctrine and many other factors that raises questions for a non-believer and for the non-Christian world. With all honesty in Christ I am only striving to put things upfront what the Lord is putting in my heart without diluting the facts by any means.

 Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimated 34,000 denominations in 2,000, rising to an estimated 43,000 in 2012. I believe it would have reached close to 50, 000 by now. It is said, every day hundreds of new denominations keeps emerging.  The sad story is that every Church displays Christ from their own denominational framework distorting the core Message of Biblical Holism [(meeting spiritual need) with relief and development (physical need)]. I want to draw your attention to the seven Churches described in the book of Revelation, only two successfully qualifies out of Seven which works up to 28.6%.  Jesus always had concern on the way the temple of God was managed and the way the priest and leaders were not doing justice to ‘the house of prayer’. He condemned the spiritual leaders by saying “you are making it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13) and later John in the book of Revelation articulates the wretchedness of the seven Churches. One of the senior leader from a political party in India remarked this way "The problem in our country is not the lack of leadership, in fact we have too many leaders". It is so true even when it comes to the Churches today. We have too many leaders yet the Churches are not significantly making any impact, either because the Churches are selective in priorities, concentrating only on themselves or have not understood the gospel correctly.

 Let me give you the success rate of Jesus leadership team. Except Judas, eleven were successful that works up to 91.7%. I am sure you will agree even today with so many Christian leaders on air, on magazine yet unable to create successful impact in the society and in our nation. The statistic scale today is not very different from the seven churches qualifying rate as described in the book of Revelation. 

In the book of Ezekiel God raises several allegations against the leaders, pastors and every individual who claim to be His disciple. It says "You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.". Ezekiel 34:4 CSB. What is our response to this accusation? Do we take God's love for granted? Let's not forget He is also consuming fire.  Churches all over the world are going through serious persecution, in fact God is trying it, to ensure only the Churches with correct understanding of its vision exists.  Take this into cognizance, if as an individual or Church you maintain a superficial relationship by shutting your ears and closing your eyes to the need of the poor and failing to have a proper strategy derived from the vision for your church, then it is very much likely both (individuals & Church) will fall miserably from the divine standard.  The Bible cautions us of the judgement that is going to start from the house of God as said in 1 Peter 4:17 "For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God"?   

Philip Yancey, in his book What's So Amazing about Grace? Quotes “Having spent time around "sinners" and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the saints put on airs, judged him, and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end it was the saints, not the sinners, who arrested Jesus.”. To be more precise, the priest and leaders from the synagogue are the ones who got Jesus crucified.  History will definitely repeat, if we operate from a selfish zone by making Church as a business centre as Jesus mentions it in the book of John (2:16) "..stop making My Father's house a place of business", failing which it is very likely we would be crucifying him yet again. Leaders and believers, can we position our Church holistically and be active like the early Church reaching out to the poor and needy? 

Thought provoking article on live and dead Church (author unknown)

Live churches have space problems;

Dead churches have no such worries.

Live churches are always changing things;

Dead churches don’t have to – they remain the same.

Live churches have noisy children and active youth;

Dead churches are fairly quiet and serene.

Live churches have a shortage of staff;

Dead churches usually have a surplus.

Live churches are always overspending their budgets;

Dead churches maintain large bank accounts.

Live churches are keen to develop new leaders;

Dead churches use the same ones over and over again.

Live churches spend much on missions;

Dead churches keep it all at home.

Live Churches have an active leadership team and a structure;

Dead Churches structure confines to the pastor and his family alone.

Live churches are filled with givers;

Dead churches are filled with tippers.

Live churches operate primarily on faith;

Dead churches operate totally on sight.

Live Churches sermons are refreshing and new every week;

Dead Churches repeat the sermons and illustration over and over.

Live churches strain to learn and serve;

Dead churches seek their comfort zones.

Live churches evangelize; 

Dead Churches fossilize!  

Blessings, 

David Raj