LOUD PREACHERS AND CHURCH LADIES

LOUD PREACHERS AND CHURCH LADIES

                It is very sad that they should be in our churches but I am confident that you have seen one as well. You know, the bombastic preacher. The man who shouts until his voice cracks while running aimlessly in circles on the platform. Why? Because he has nothing of actual significance to share with the congregation and so he hopes to make up for it with volume and style. This behavior has its root in vanity. This kind of preacher is waiting for and desiring recognition and admiration. But wait, before you go off on him, how many sitting in the pews are just like him? Just because we have no podium or pulpit to project from does not mean there is not a desire to have others like us, look up to us and to recognize us for our abilities, talents or intellect? Most of us know someone who uses every opportunity to turn a conversation around to themselves. They seem to have a “me too” radar which can find in your explanation of a hardship some similar situation in their own life that was even more tragic than yours. Or an accomplishment by someone else that was not quite as significant as theirs. They really are the same as our bombastic preacher. They both seek recognition or glorification.

            I know there are many things in life that all of us can work on, many areas we can all improve. I mention this one more because of its effect on the Body of Christ and its destructive force within the believer himself. Look at what Paul said in Gal. 5:25-26 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (v.26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” As believers we are to be walking in the Spirit of God and, with this mention of the very essence of Christianity, Paul says stop desiring “vain glory.” We are to eradicate pride, vanity and conceit, the very ingredients of vainglory. Vainglory is also mentioned in Phil. 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” To live and walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5) is to exalt Christ daily in all of what we do and say, our goals and desires and everything we think (2Cor. 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”) are to be focused upon and captivated by the very image of Christ.

            And so, vainglory can be seen as the very antithesis of Christianity. In true Christianity Christ is exalted but in vainglory man is exalted. Notice again Paul’s statement in Galatians 5 above. He states that we should not be filled with a desire to glorify ourselves because it is provoking to those within the Body of Christ. When one exalts himself he, of necessity, must reduce someone else and so provokes them. When someone says, or makes an implication that, they are better or of more importance than another it is provoking. Paul adds to this the idea of envy. The one who is seeking self-glory will often find themselves envious of what others have physically or in social status. They will believe that having what others have could give them the recognition they so much desire.

            The flipside to this, or the proper Christian perspective, is found in Phil. 2:3 (above). “Let nothing be done…” is a powerful statement. It is all inclusive. It leaves nothing out. It searches out every activity, every thought and every action of every moment in every day and says to place yourself below others always. Jesus was a servant to his own creation. Should we seek a higher status than His? Jesus never sought acknowledgement or praise. It is alright if other people acknowledge our efforts. The problem is in our “vainglory” or striving toward that praise and exaltation.

            I have only known a handful of people who were truly humble and free of vainglory. I wish I could say I was one of them. They do not wear their accolades for others to see, their accomplishments are not offered in daily conversations. Their actions are designed to promote others, there is an innate desire to reach out and assist others even when it would clearly be burdensome to them. And always their actions are accompanied with the warmest smile and most genuine love, and never in vainglory (self-glorification).  Paul said let all of our actions be “in lowliness of mind” always esteeming “others (as being) better than themselves” For most this is a completely new and different attitude. It is a view of the world around us which opens our eyes to the value of other people. It is a change in our nature in which we understand that in us, within our natural self, we are less than the least of God’s creation. We begin to empathize with Paul’s humility when he said, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8a).

            Our churches do not need more loud preachers and church ladies. We need humble servants filled with the Holy Spirit of God who “esteem others better than themselves.”