"I look at the painted smiles on your face. The emptiness shows that you never had a place.
I look around and see an empty pew, that could have held someone like you.
I hear the preacher at the pulpit, teaching words hollow as his heart.
I wish someone would open their eyes to see how things really are.
I watch as the stranger stands in the back.
The judging whispers of the crowd piercing like an attack.
I feel the pain as rejection tears streak down his face...
He would have been better off anywhere but this place.
I listen as the choir sings songs of acceptance and love for all,
Yet when someone different comes in, prejudice arises and that love falls.
In the shadow of the outside, people wander in the dark.
We teach of holding out our arms, 'it only takes a spark'.
But when someone from the outside tries to reach out from the black.
We sit here in ignorance, taking our arms back.
Now I sit here in wonder... What are we in Christ?
If we refuse to make a difference... I have to wonder why?"
I wrote that poem earlier today as I was thinking about things. I was listening to the songs "If We Are The Body" "Does anybody hear her?" and "Stain Glass Masquerade" by Casting Crowns. And, you know? It really got me thinking. I get so tired of the 'fakeness' of the church. Now, you can go and attack me all you want; "Oh, my church isn't like that at all. We all love each other and the Lord." Well, if that is true, then I'm very happy for you. I wish everyone was like that. But, stop for just a second and ask yourself. Really think... Is it really like that?
Let me expand on my usage of 'fakeness' for a moment. What is fake? It's not the truth, is it? It's imaginary. A lie. A mask to make you think one thing, when it's actually another. It's not what it appears to be.
Sadly, this is a good description of the church. Not only the modern church, but any and every church. It's been that way from the beginning. People judge and hold prejudices against each other for every little detail. It's wrong.
James 2:1-4
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Romans 12:3-8
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 Corinthians 12:27
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Take a close look at these verses. What do you see? I see something that everyone avoids...
I see the truth. We are all apart of one body. Christ's body. And in that body, things should run in love and forgiveness, in compassion and mercy, in acceptance and trust. But what actually happens is far from it. We are prideful, judgmental, suspicious. It's quite bothersome, in all honesty.
The church is one of the most judgmental bodies out there. That is what upsets me most to know. Prejudice consumes our hearts, and we hold that against each other in grudges. I mean... Why can we not look through each others eyes? Why do we move on with fake grins and sayings that life is a bowl of cherries and everything is okay. When in reality, it's not. We're afraid to say anything, and we move on, wishing that someone would understand.
Anyone who is not in our denomination or do not believe the same way we do are wrong, right? Anyone who picks and chooses, anyone who doesn't dress or act like we do. Anyone who dislikes our church rules or beliefs is just going to go to Hell. That's it. End of story.
No.
I get sick to death of this judgement of each church against each other. Catholics and Protestants. Baptists and Methodists. Pentecostals and Church of Christ. Why do we spend so much time hating on each other, when we are all apart of one body? If we spent half as much time trying to reach out to those we judge on the outside, instead of judging on the inside, imagine how many believers we would have in the world! We could touch ten billion lives... But instead, we're sitting here within our own church walls picking out the other churches and preaching against them. I long for a day where a Pope and a Pastor, a Priest and a Bishop, Catholics and Protestants, can all come together in peace without argument of who's religion is right or wrong, who's faith is truer, and who's more worthy of heaven, and just glorify God together. Because, in the end, isn't He all that matters in the first place?
We also hold the outside in constant judgement. Is there darkness in the world? Sure. Should we be careful about who we associate with? Of course. But that doesn't mean we turn our backs on the lost and broken. Did Jesus do that? Did He only walk with the ones who believed just like him? Did He only talk to the wealthy? Did He only love the ones who loved Him back or those who were already a part of the believers? No. He didn't. He reached out and loved the unlovable. He gave hope to the hopeless, and life to the lifeless. He touched the untouchable and gave second chances to those who thought it was the end. It didn't matter that they were covered in markings or looked, acted, or talked poorly. It didn't matter if they were rich or poor. It didn't matter that they had murdered in their lifetime, nor did it that they were thieves or liars. He loved all, and as believers, we should too.
"If we are the body" ~Casting Crowns
"It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is away?
There is a way
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Jesus is the way"
"Stain Glass Masquerade" ~Casting Crowns
"Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small
Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong
So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them
Chorus:
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade
Is there anyone who's been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who's traded
In the altar for a stage
The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart
But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be
Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay
Chorus (x2)
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade
Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small"
"Does Anybody Hear Her?" ~Casting Crowns
"She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon's ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She's another two years older
And she's three more steps behind
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even knows she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away
If judgement looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we never even met her
He is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction"
These lyrics are so true. It pretty much sums up all the feelings I have into three songs. Why do we judge before we've walked a mile in their shoes? Why do we wander about lost within our own church walls? Why do we hurt on the inside, but act as if it's fine on the out? We shouldn't wear masks and put on an act. If we wouldn't do it for Jesus, we shouldn't do it for each other. And, trust me, Jesus is watching. Don't live a lie.
In a round about way, I'm trying to say... Stop. Take a look around. We are all different. We face different problems and we all have different ways of doing things. We all look different, we all act different, we all are different. That doesn't make us any less apart of the body of Christ. Don't tear a brother down, or turn him away if he doesn't 'fit the part'. Love him as Christ loved you, and give him encouragement. If he's lost, show him the way, don't turn him away.
If one of us cries, we should all cry. If one of us laughs, we should all laugh. If one of us rejoices, we should all rejoice. And if one of us mourns, we should all mourn. We are one body. We should lean upon each other and encourage one another. Because we are all ONE body in Christ.
Don't be a hypocrite, fellow believers. Don't just talk the talk; walk the walk, and do what is right. Remember, in the end, God is the final judge, not us. He will tell us whether something was right or wrong. In the mean time, love like Jesus is watching. Because He is, and He commands us to. Even if no one else is loving, don't be a crowd follower. Take a stand, and make a difference. Because that's what we are to do. We are to shine a little bit more of the Everlasting Light in this dark world, one person at a time.
"Somebody like me" ~Jason Crabb
"The congregation parted like the Red Sea
When that old drunk stumbled in down the aisle
And took a seat
Right in the middle of Amazing Grace
He could feel the judgment they were passing
Thought to himself “Ain’t that just how some folks act”
He’d rather be on the street than in this place
And with tears on his face
You’d think somebody would put their arm around him
You’d think somebody would hit a knee
Pull him in, say a prayer
That’s what I’m talking ‘bout right there
You’d think somebody would practice what they’re preachin’
Well, I wonder who that somebody could be
Prob’ly somebody like me
Well, he’s got problems nobody wants a part of
When he got up and slipped out nobody stood up
They don’t wanna make a scene
So they let him walk outta there without a prayer
You’d think somebody would do something different
You’d think somebody would go against the grain
Be the one to run him down
Bring him back and turn him around
You’d think somebody would wanna make a difference
Well, well I wonder who that somebody could be
Prob’ly somebody like me
Oh can I get a witness
Oh yeah
You’d think somebody would put their arm around him
You’d think somebody would hit a knee now
Pull him in, say a prayer yeah
You’d think somebody would put their arm around him
You’d think somebody would hit a knee
Pull him in, say a prayer
That’s what I’m talking ‘bout right there
You’d think somebody would wanna make a difference
Well, I wonder who that somebody could be
Prob’ly somebody like me"
As always, thanks for reading. =)
~Sam
