Hello Church,
What do you own? Your answer likely includes things you have laying around. Let's forego those answers for now. What do you own that are not physical things?
Do you own your words, actions, and thoughts?
What comes out of my mouth is mine. If I speak unkind words, then I did that. No one else did. I should own it. If I speak kind words, it was me. My brain told my mouth to convey such words. No one else did that. If I speak in the tongues of man or angels but do not have love.... that is my fault. No one else's.
The issues of ownership has been a hot topic in my life lately. What do I own? What don't I own? What does the church own? What doesn't the church own? What shouldn't I own? What is healthy to own? Where do I draw boundaries of ownership?
Issues around personal responsibility can really get my heart pumping. Maybe I am just getting old and crotchety, but it seems that when something goes wrong it is always someone else's fault. There is no sense of accountability. The idea that you can 'face adversity and overcome it' is replaced by 'if so-and-so would just do such-and-such, then I wouldn't have such a difficult time'.
I go a step farther and speak to corporate responsibility as well. The church as a group has a responsibility as well as the individual. God doesn't just call you. God calls you as part of a larger community.
Does the church own their words and actions and thoughts?
As I get more excited about what comes next, I am deeply involved in these questions. What does God want us to own? Are we willing to invest in God's Will? Will we put forth the energy, money and time to invest? Are we willing to let go of what we won't own? What shouldn't we own?
I hope you sit back and listen this Advent. A time is soon coming when we will be asked to speak.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
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