Spiritual Traffickers!

 

Christendom has seen unprecedented changes since the pandemic and has thrown each individual Christian totally out of gear. The guilt quotient varied depending on the importance one gave, going to Church. For those who only went on special occasions the guilt was on the extreme end of the scale as the Churches were shut, for whom Church going was a weekly exercise to please God became disoriented and for those who considered themselves as the temple of God it made no difference.

The clever idea to use technology to one’s advantage worked well in this crisis with Churches using every given platform to keep their flock safe from scattering. Well they just hoped so. But with varied platforms came the bane of choice for the flock to choose which service they wanted to attend. And then came in the influx of various ministries trying to invite believers to hear sermons and expositions on various topics through these online platforms.

Being an observer and also a participant in few of these I realized that these have just become activities to fulfill one’s agenda and almost the same group of people are invited time and again in these various platforms. Somehow the organizers feel that if the topic is dealt with, they have achieved their goal and there is no follow-up of outcomes laid down for these sessions. We have somehow got entangled in the mess that information needs to get dumped with outcomes becoming irrelevant. It all seems that one’s sustenance depends on conducting these meetings and word of God has become a commodity. Because its free, people flock to all the online meetings as possible. Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 2:17 very clearly states, "For we do not market the word of God for profit like so many....". But time and time again either as an individual, a Church or an organization we subtly do this very thing under the banner of ministry.

By doing this we seem to be doing two things unconsciously - 1. We keep sharing the Gospel to Christians and 2. Everything is about money. Yes, I do agree 1 Cor 9:14 says "...those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.". But we need to take 1 Cor 9:18 also into consideration "....to preach the gospel and offer it free of charge...". Jesus said in Mark 16:15, "....Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.". Unfortunately, we just got stuck with the Christians. Somehow, we are unintentionally trafficking the word of God, just shifting hands from one group to another.

Wake up Christendom! we are treading a destructive path. Persecution is around the corner and there are still thousands perishing without knowing the Gospel. The world needs a God of morality and justice and that can only be found in Jesus. The world also needs a God of hope, love and peace and only Jesus Christ can provide that. The world is thirsty and hungry for righteousness but we are still wallowing with our own contemplating various methods on how we can earn a living out of God's word. We are no different from a temple priest and Imam. Equip and send Christians out boldly to spread the gospel and let all your programs focus on making a difference in the field where the rubber meets the road.

You can follow on Twitter