Jesus, Please Tie My Shoes!

"No Larwin!" He pulled the shoes out of my hand. "I can do it by mysewf."

Anthony, a little boy I babysit, was determined to tie his shoestrings all by himself. He would have none of my help.

"Are you sure, Anthony?"

"Yes, Larwin . . ."

I decided to let him try. Before long, the laces were tangled together, and his shoes were on backwards. He walked around like a clown, fell down, got back up, and fell down again. I giggled at him quietly, and before long, he waddled over and let me help him do it properly.

It has been a while since I've posted, mostly because of travel plans and whatnot :) But today, I really felt the need to give a message that's been dying to come out for the past several weeks. I've struggled with it, I've been hurt by it, and finally, I have come to terms with it.

In the past several years, our church has had a difficult time with compassion. Unlike most churches, they are very closed-fisted, and the leadership seems to stand far off from the rest of the body. The result is a hurt congregation, and lost souls. Instead of coming to a place of love, bruised and battered Christians find themselves in a judgmental atmosphere that deepens the pain they are already enduring. In our situation, the church was quick to judge my Mother. "Divorce is never allowed" seemed to engulf my sister, mom, and I, during a time when we needed support and love. Because they didn't know the entirety of the situation, they looked at us and gossiped. They looked at us without the empathy of Christ. And their coldness has permanently wounded me. However, when families in the church stood up to them, questioning some of their actions, "where in the bible is this or that?" The leadership responded . . . "It's not. This is just the way we do things."

Today I was reading the Gospel of Mark . . . Chapter 7. I read this:

“Now when the Pharisees gathered to him from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his diciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash....) And the pharisees and scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the traditions of the elders, but eat with defiled hands? And he said to them, “well did the prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

You leave the commandment of God, and hold to the tradition of men.”

This really struck me, and I wanted to share it with you. When a church admits, “well this is just the way we do things. It isn’t in the Bible, no . . .” But they stick to it anyway and force it upon the Body, they are teaching it as doctrine (vs. 7).

Instead of acting in humility, by admitting that yes, they are just human, and their "policies" may not always be aligned with the Bible, they teach it alongside of scripture as infallible.

They try to tie their own shoelaces. Set their own standards. Create their own rules.

Unfortunately, the reality is . . .

They can't, yet. And they will never be able to, apart from God's word.

Instead of letting someone else do it for them (in this case, God) . . . They're trying to figure it out themselves. And so far, they've only tied themselves up in knots. God has clearly commanded:

"Mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep." ~Romans 12:15

"Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble." ~1 Peter 3:8

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." ~Galatians 6:2

"So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." ~1 Corinthians 12:25-26

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ~John 3:17

When the church ignores these commands to LOVE because of their rules and regulations, they are following the traditions of men over the commands of God.

It's time for the church to ask Jesus to tie their shoes.

After all, our "faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:5)

~Lauren Lee