Heart's Motive

"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

What does it mean to lead an unruly life?

Scratch that.

Better question.

Why do so many Christians in the church, when they are hurting or struggling, refuse to say anything to the rest of the church and try to "go it alone"? Why, when they keep their mouth shut concerning their problems, and try to "go it alone," are they accused of being proud and not asking the rest of the church for help?

Two reasons.

First reason. They have tried to do so in the past and, when they made their hurts and struggles known, nobody lifted a finger to help them. Can you imagine the "love" they felt? Must have made them feel wonderful to be part of that church, huh?

Second reason. Because of Christians in the church who abuse the above passage of Scripture. How many other passages of Scripture can you think of that can be lumped together with this passage, yet are speaking of how we are to be doing good to those who hurt, struggle, and ask for it? I can think of half a dozen off the top of my head.

Pretty much everyone likes to be self-made; they want to make it on their own so that they cannot be accused of receiving handouts. No one likes to feel like they are a charity case. Yes, this all stems from pride. Yet, we are commanded to be humble and to seek help when we are in need, and to help others in need. But if you have been on the receiving end of either of the above two reasons, you know what it is like to give up trying to ask for help and to always decide that it is better if you just "go it alone." Unless, of course, if you are blessed enough for God to answer your prayers in such a way as with people like George Muller, without having to ever tell another soul.

Yet, certain Christians like to make those people they help feel like they are charity cases by rubbing their "generosity" in their face, reminding them that they needed the help of others. (The reason I say "generosity" is because, is it really generosity if your heart is not void of any and all types of ulterior motives, doing so for the pure joy of doing so for the glory and cause of Christ?) That does not sound very "Christian" to me, considering the Bible says that if someone asks for your coat you should give him your shirt, too, illustrating an important principle.

Verse 10 is the important verse in this passage: "if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either." It is addressing willingness, not circumstance. This is talking about those people who do not want to work, such as those who sit on Welfare year after year despite being perfectly capable of working. Verse 13 is pretty key, too: "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good." How many passages in Scripture command us to do good unto others? Again, I can think of half a dozen off the top of my head.

In the story of the good Samaritan, when the Samaritan helped the man who had been beaten and left for dead, did the Samaritan come back and treat the wounded man as if now his life belonged to him? Did the Samaritan do anything other than perform a kindness to this man, followed by a, "Have a nice day"? No, he did not.

When you perform a good deed, when you do something kind for someone else, are there supposed to be stipulations attached to it? Are there supposed to be conditions placed upon it? Are those in receipt of your kindness now indebted to you? Are they somehow under your absolute control? Do their lives now belong to you?

With cults and cult-like Christians sects, this is precisely the case.

Whether it is tithing to the church or kindness performed to others, there is to be nothing attached to it. Just because you tithe the most to the church does not mean you have any clout in the church or any kind of say pertaining to anything about the church. Just because your family is the oldest family in the church does not earn you any favours. It does not gain you power, position, prominence, or prestige. You are no more special and no more important that the newest member to sit under that roof!

If one pastor retires and another takes over, if a member of the church says something like, "Old Pastor will always be my pastor," that member needs to be dealt with immediately because they are going to be a problem. I now understand why in certain churches when a pastor steps down, he starts attending a different church or is required to attend a different church. If he remains behind, he might cause problems for the new pastor and create a power struggle. Or members of the church loyal to the first pastor could create problems for the new pastor. People who want power and control over others always create problems for other people. People in the church are no different than those outside the church—although they should be.

Sadly, the ruling government of many Christian churches today resemble the Catholic church during the time when they were trying to stifle the Bible from being translated into English; unless they have approved what you do or you have their mark upon you, they do not want you doing anything of your own lest it goes against them, which is pride and arrogance, thinking they are the only ones with knowledge, or that you could not possibly be wiser and more intelligent than they are because you do not have any letters or degrees behind your name.

These ruling governments also resemble the Pharisees when confronting the formerly blind man; they do not like to be criticized, and they do not want to hear your explanations of anything lest it make them look bad for having a poor and perverse understanding of the Bible. And so they will put you out. Just like cults, they will twist randomly, isolated verses of scripture they have ripped out of context and perverted in order to try and justify their anti-Christ attitudes and behaviours. “We kicked them out for this bogus reason we created in our unChrist-like and anti-Christ behaviour, and therefore we don’t want any of you to have anything to do with them so that we can enforce our authority and agenda.” Their idea of "love" is control, and their daily lives are very much rooted in hypocrisy, the number one sin Jesus hated!

If your church thinks or acts as if they, or their denomination, are the only ones with light, then that is a good indicator that God has already removed His light from them and they are merely going through their mechanical pagan motions. Avoid these churches as they are dead inside and will only make you the same. Pray that Christ would lead you to a vibrant, relational, Christ-centered church. You do not want a church that resembles the stiff-necked Jews with their legalism and control.

Remember, the church is filled with sinners. Every single member still struggles with a variety of sins. Each one of them needs understanding and love.

It is one thing for the church to care for the flock out of sincere love, but it is quite another thing for the church to "care" for the flock with interests to control them and their lives. If you are going to care for someone, then do so; but do not make a pretense of caring for them with an agenda to actually control them. Whether by legalism or some other means, control is not a Christian trait. Often, certain churches confuse care with control.

When I have helped people in the past, I did so without expecting even gratitude in return. It was my joy to help them and be able to help them. Scripture talks about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing, and that God will reward you in His time. Do I require anything from the person I just blessed? Not in the least. God will provide that. Whatever we do for the least individual, we have done for Jesus. Is that not reward enough?

Certain Christians talk about being soft, polite, calm, and gentle, and yet in their soft, polite, calm, gentleness deliberately hurt other Christians in their church. Christians have changed churches or stopped going altogether because of this. Even unbelievers stepping into a church seeking something have been made to flee because of the attitudes and behaviours of these Christians, in spite of all the soft, polite, calm, gentleness they use. Newsflash!  You can convey just as much hatred through the soft, polite, calm, gentle approach as you can being abrupt or abrasive! Likewise, you can convey just as much love being abrupt or abrasive as you can by being soft, polite, calm and gentle. It is not an either or situation. What matters is the heart behind it.

Remember the old cliché, "Actions speak louder than words"? You can be as soft, polite, calm, and gentle as you want, but if your attitude and behaviour are conveying pride, arrogance, self-righteousness, and hatred, guess which one is going to speak volumes to me?

I would sooner be spoken to in an abrasive manner by someone who loves me, than to be spoken to in a soft, gentle manner by someone who thinks they are better than I am and does not really care about me one way or the other. If you are going to say that you love someone, whether another Christian or the unsaved, then show it; do not just talk about it. Jesus' number one pet peeve He addressed the most was hypocrisy. Are you being a hypocrite? In everything you do, ask yourself why you are doing it. Examine yourself. What is your heart's motive?