yes, parasitic – not paralytic.
or, for an alternate title: can Christians NOT have a ministry?
so, i’ve been thinking about this: to EACH is given a spiritual gift to serve the Body…
1) EACH Christian is given a spiritual gift.
2) the gift is for the Body – not the person.
so, if we’re IN the body, we should be serving the Body. there’s a piece of His Spirit that only we can give to the rest of us. otherwise we’re just taking in the benefits without contributing. can i be so bold as to say we’re actually robbing the Body of what only we can give? there, i said it.
i’m not talking about new Christians, the ones that Paul alludes to that should be drinking spiritual milk. i’m talking about the grown-up meat-eater Christians, that can stomach the real stuff. and, yes, part of maturing is realizing and utilizing your spiritual gifts.
example: how crazy would it be for bands to have talented members who just stood there & didn’t sing/dance/play, but they still received ALL the perks of being in the band?
OR – think about how crazy it would be for my healthy right arm to decide it wanted to survive off the benefits of my body, but not contribute anything. we call those types of entities parasites.
par·a·site
[par-uh-sahyt] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment.
2. a person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others.
3. (in ancient Greece) a person who received free meals in return for amusing or impudent conversation, flattering remarks, etc.
—Synonyms 2. sycophant, toady, leech, sponge, hanger-on.Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
if we’re not giving, we’re just taking.
here’s a personal example: i greatly value those with the gift of encouragement. especially when i find myself serving in ministry capacities that involve drama or frustration or grumbling… but, if those encouragers don’t bless me with their gift, then my ability to lead can be greatly hindered by extreme discouragement and weariness. but, they get to sing and worship every sunday.
what do you think about this? too harsh? too cynical?
Hebrews 5 & 6 covers exactly what you talked about but more so at the beginning of chapter 6:
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.
The last verse (verse 3) is the gatekeeper to our maturity. If God is our Lord and we submit fully to Him, then we can go on if He says so.
He is the Teacher. God knows, more so than anybody else, how our spirit has matured. If we are still babes and still need milk, then He will tell you “wait, be still” (or as I like to tell my son, “hold on”, “wait for it” and “hold your horses”).
There is no way I want to move without His will and His command. Oh surely I could try but would I be successful? No.
I appreciate the transparency of this post. Awesome!
Nothing particularly insightful comes to mind to add to what you are saying…it’s the truth. However, this may lend something somehow…the scripture comes to mind, so I’ll post it: (Rom. 15:4)
“1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
–
EVERY time I’ve needed my spirit encouraged and I say, “Lord, I need some encouragement, I’m weak”…he just seems to send it, and soon. When I ask for it, I seem to appreciate it more than the casual compliment or word of encouragement. ***When I’m needy, he supplies more deeply.***
Be sure to ASK. I know you sound like you are digging at the Lord for compliments, but don’t feel that way with Him, he above all knows the difference in encouragement and compliment (flattery).
___
2 Thess 2:16, I’ll leave you with this:
16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
I don’t know how to follow up that great comment above…but I did want to say that I totally agree. People often think they aren’t “helping” but don’t think about the possibility that they are instead harming. Parasite is the best word for that, great post.
maggie: thanks for all the verses… its good to know that my spiritual imagination isn’t heretical.
Whoa..so weird! I’ve been listening to a Willow Creek series called “Living Beyond Yourself” (every time i go to Chicago i buy tons of their sermon series that my mom and i listen to throughout the year in the car..we love Willow Creek!) and just today i finished the disc about how EACH of us have a spiritual gift. The next disc is about how to figure that out…but i do agree with you. God blessed us with a gift, some of us even have more than one, that we are to use to the best of our abililty. If we don’t, it’s almost kind of like we’re ignoring God…unless of course we don’t know what our gift is, then it’s still up to us to determine that. I think a lot of people are just lazy, they know what their gift is, but they instead sit back and take it all in at church. Or they don’t like their gift so they choose to ignore it. I think we all do that at times so i’m not saying i’m perfect! Parasite is a good way to describe it too.
Parasites suck the life out of people. Parasites suck the life out of churches. It happens girl…you hit it big time!
Our Pastor calls those who sit and watch “consumers”. We all need to be contributers. Even the newbies can contribute. If we’re all contributing in the Spirit, we all get fed.
Yes, yes, yes! I totally agree! This happens far too often in churches — & for the Body of Christ to function properly we need each part to do as it is gifted & given to do, otherwise, we might be thumbless, armless, handless & mindless as the Body of Christ. When one part malfunctions, it affects all the others. (Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12 is where I’m going…)
I think you are right on. You summed your whole post up in this statement.
“If we’re not giving we’re just taking.”
Good challenge for each of us. It is hard to watch people who should be edifying just sit there. I pray we can all lovingly encourage each other to service.
Whoa girl! Is you hair song at a dead end? Just kidding!
Great, great post! No, you’re not being cynical at all. You’re calling those out! Not only do the takers rob the body – they lose their fervor. They miss out big time on the blessing of serving. They atrophy and die off…it’s real. It’s sad.
I have to say this again for those leading. If you are leading, don’t miss that second verse: God NEVER leaves us without encouragement. I’m going to add my notes and really meditate on what is here with me:
“May our LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF
AND GOD OUR FATHER (as if Jesus was not enough to say),
who loved us and by his GRACE, GAVE (past tense)
us ETERNAL ENCOURAGEMENT (eternal encouragement!)
and good hope (AND HOPE…strength to go forward),
ENCOURAGE (AGAIN, more encouragement, here present tense, just in case “eternal encouragement” was not enough)
your hearts (your very inner being)
AND STRENGTHEN you (from his own very life,giving us strength to keep walking)
in EVERY good deed (in all we do)
and word (in all we say).” 2 Thess. 2:16
God is very serious about making sure we stay encouraged. He takes that responsiblity onto His very self: here, through Jesus, God the Father, and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
I just want us to be clear here: God will NOT leave us wanting for courage if he still has work for us to do.
If read that there is nothing God tackles in scripture with his people more than fear and down-heartedness.
Yes! He uses the body, we need each other, and we could do better. Yet, he doesn’t leave us at the mercy of mortal, fallible men in this area.
Yet, I know that leading worship is a very tricky thing. We NEED to weigh response: did I inspire? Did I draw people’s hearts to the Father? Do I need to be doing this?
But, He has you there. As long as He has you there…keep going strong! Keep pouring yourself out as an offering. Keep being used and abused. Jesus was (see the first verse above). We will be. I am so guilty of saying, “Lord USE ME!”, then praying, “Lord, I feel so USED!” or, wanting with all my heart to be poured out ‘as a drink offering’, then feeling almost bitter for feeling so “wasted”…???
What do we do, but be re-filled?
I remember that man who said, “I don’t remember every meal my wife fixed over the last year. I can’t give you many of the menus. All I know is that I’ve been fed.” There may be times people are reading email while they eat, or watching TV, or on the phone. They may not comment about the food. But, they still need to eat. They are being fed. If they weren’t being fed, they wouldn’t come back.
Oh! Be encouraged. You ARE a giver of good courage.
Maggie: i’m glad you came back and emphasized that His word promises we’ll be encouraged… and that i can just ASK for it and He’ll send it my way. that’s refreshing this morning… i’ll be chewing more on your thoughts.
with sincerest thanks,
mandy
and here’s a new question to chew on…. how can we encourage/exhort the takers to become givers? how can we motivate our brothers and sisters to become a more active contributor to the cause?