6. 09.
The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works
- Augustine of Hippo
This is the first of the four corporate disciplines that I will be going through. These are disciplines that relate to the corporate life of a Christian, in fellowship with the Body of Christ.
The biggest problem with confession is that it makes Christians look “bad”. As believers, we like to make ourselves look holy so that others get the impression that we have it all together and that Christianity means a better and holier life. While I agree that Christianity should result in a holy life, I don’t agree that we should withhold confession in order to maintain a good reputation. God could care less about our reputation with others if we neglect our responsibilities as believers to live holy lives.
Another problem we come up against is that of embarrassment. We tend to think we are the only ones not living up to the high standards of Christ, and that we will be looked at as a failure if we confess we have done wrong. What results is a secret and hypocritical life which leads to deeper and more damaging sin.
I admit, I haven’t always confessed what I have done wrong right away. I am no better at it than the rest of us. I have no excuses and no reasons, other than the two mentioned above. What I have done, however, is made a commitment to a mentor that I will confess my sins to him. By doing that, I have someone holding me accountable, someone who cares about me, and who has gone through many years of practicing the christian disciplines.
I encourage you to find a mentor you can trust. Not multiple people, just one, who you can confess everything to. This could be a parent, counsillor, teacher, elder or pastor. My only recommendation is that you find someone who has dedicated their life to practicing christian discipline. My warning is that you don’t choose someone the same age as, or younger than you. The reason is that this can often turn into an accountability relationship, where you are holding them accountable. You may wonder why that is a problem. Here is why: the blind can’t lead the blind. If this person is experiencing the same struggle as you, they would be fine accountability partners, but not a good mentor. Accountability partners walk and struggle together, whereas a mentor leads the mentoree in their walk with God.
5. 06.
I finally got around to writing the second part of this topic. Between preparing for two sermons, work being busy and trying to keep up with yard work, I have had little time for anything else (not to mention playoff hockey).
When we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of, then we cannot be manipulated.
(From Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline)
Servanthood requires a great amount of humility. Not many of us are willing to become a servant to the point of allowing people to take advantage of us. Now, let me be clear about what I mean. I am not talking about involuntary and cruel slavery, rather, the type of servanthood in which a person chooses to engage in and allow people to make full use of the servant’s gifts and abilities. True servanthood means serving is constant and never ending, always willing and happy to be of service to another person, even when the other person is not grateful.
Humility is a virtue that is never gained by seeking it. The more we pursue it, the more we move away from true humility. I can’t decide one day that I will be humble, however, I must decide to do good to others and put their needs before my own. Soon, without realizing it, humility will be built within my character and will be evident by the way I treat other people.
While studying and fasting can be done and moved on from, service is something that is ongoing and should be built within someone’s lifestyle.
19. 05.
This is such a broad discipline, it’s hard to summarize it in one post, so I will be using two posts for the discipline of service.
First, I would like to distinguish the difference between self-righteous service and true service. I will be using references from Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline as well as my own notes.
- Self righteous service is mostly concerned with acts of service that will get noticed and are a big deal. It enjoys serving, especially when the service is titanic.
- True service does not concern itself with acknowledgment or the size of the act.
- Self righteous service acts based on moods and whims.
- True service acts faithfully because there is a need, despite it’s mood.
- Self righteous service is concerned about the glorification of an individual, fracturing community.
- True service builds community. It quietly goes about caring for the needs of others without concerning itself with the glorification of any person.
- Self righteous service comes through human effort and eventually wears out.
- True service comes from a Divine Source and does not tire or grow weary of doing good.
When I first wanted to get involved in ministry, I wanted to do the things that were at the forefront of the ministry, that people would notice and give me praise for. I wanted people to notice that I was serving. I soon realized that I was not getting the acknowledgment I was seeking and quit serving altogether.
As I grow deeper in my understanding of Christian service, I try not to concern myself with anything but simply caring for others and pleasing God. Of course, I am not even close to having achieved this perfectly, but I keep trying and in doing so, God blesses me with more opportunities to serve in a way that will bring blessings to both myself and others.
In the next post I will write about humility and door mats.
William Knelsen