This post begins a bit differently then most, so give the first four or five paragraphs a read before deciding if you want to finish it or not. Thanks.
There was a chain email / post going around the web regarding gun control last year (it probably still is today, but I have not gotten it in a while). It talks about a new government plan to take up your guns every morning - for cleaning and storage. Then the guns will be returned to you, via you checking them out, each afternoon for your to use - with the understanding that you will return them the next morning for cleaning and storage during the day. This new law will reduce crime, allow for better control of guns, and guaranteed safety since all gun owners will have daily cleaned and checked guns. Of course this will require registration and more government workers, but those will be offset by the increased safety and service for all gun owners.
In this email / post just about the time most people are about to explode at the incompetence or illegality of one or two of the ideas in the new law the post quickly changes tone and points out that the post is really not about gun control but about public schools. Basically the author is arguing that we care more for, and worry more about protecting, our gun rights then we worry about protecting our children from state indoctrination via government school systems and Godless curriculums. His argument is that each day we give the government our most valuable resource, our children, with little regard for what and how they will be taught. We put them on a state bus, with the promise of state protection, to attend state schools, to be taught what the state deems important, with little regard for our own personal views and our families values. He goes on to argue that all this does is create citizens that believe that the state is the solution to, or has the solution too, all our problems.
This post is not about gun control or state schools though. I am not going to get into the validity, or lack there of, of any of the ideas expressed in the email / post. What I want to point out is that many times we can put our Christian walk and growth in the exact place that the author claims that public schools put our children - independent of our own views / opinions and in the control of others.
Understand as well that I am not saying that we should not learn from, and even emulate at times, Christians that are more mature or more experienced in an area then ourselves. No not at all, mature brothers and sisters have a lot to teach us, and we know that iron sharpens iron and that being surrounded by Christian support and encouragement will do wonders to carry us through and around the mistakes and the problems in our lives. What I am saying is that many times if we are not careful we can become more attached to the teachings or programs of some other person, or some other church or some other teacher or some other ministry, then we are focused on what God has for us individually. We can begin to say - "Well you know so and so is doing this, so we should do it too." It is a Christian form of Orwellian group think.
Why do we worship this way?
Well that is how church XYZ worships.
Why do we use this material? Well group XYZ recommends it.
Why are we helping this other ministry? Well person XYZ supports them.
My point is that one of the greatest gifts, if not the second greatest - behind our salvation, that God gave us is the ability to talk directly to Him, and to hear directly from Him. If we remove our desire to hear directly from God then we are basically saying that we would rather follow the actions of man then the directives of God. We do this because it is easier and requires less work / commitment on our part. That is a dangerous road to follow, and one that is bound to end in spiritual disillusionment at the least and spiritual destruction at the worst.
My purpose in written this is to encourage you to continue your path of worrying more about what God has for you, and your church, then what He is doing at XYZ or with ABC. You may not even hint at following after others. You may be a fairly independent agent of/for God, which is great. Simply I just want you to continuing watching your personal habits, and the habits of those around you, to be sure that there is not even a move to beginning a dangerous act of devotion minus individual direction.
Our most valuable resources, minus our salvation, is our link to the Father via the Son. We must fight to maintain that. God wants to lead us individually, which leads us to corporate unity. God's plan for me is different then it is for you. I respect and learn from many people, but I would never follow them to the point where they are interrupting and directing my life or my walk with Christ. That is man worship, not God worship. We must guard against that at all time. We need to be especially careful about that when we begin to venture into new areas for us that have been previously explored by others. I guess simply, I believe that others can show us areas to avoid and possible paths, but the eventual map that we follow should be one drawn personally for us by God.
Stay strong, stay independent, be courageous and listen for God's individual call in both your life and your ministries.
