Are we missing the point of it all? I would much rather get 10 people to start making disciples and changing those lives than 200 people commenting about instrumental music.
And here’s the amazing thing, you get to make the choice over where you give your attention, time and effort.
Sometimes it takes some adjustments in our focus. And that isn’t to say that some topics are not all that important. It just means that sometimes we are too focused on lesser things that the Bible doesn’t talk about while ignoring or putting off things in the Bible directly talks about.
Encouragement
So I want to encourage you, if you’re willing to expend a lot of time and mental energy on things like instrumental music (which to be fair, I’ve spent quite a bit of time on in my lifetime) to consider the things in the Bible that we are told to do and emphasize that we may be missing.
This would not just be making disciples, although that is important to me and certainly commanded by Jesus and given by example in the New Testament, but things like taking care of the poor and the widow and the orphan. This includes things like being people of love and mercy.
There was a story in the comments of the instrumental post where someone said that their father was attacked over this issue in demonized. Isn’t it amazing that someone can be treated so harshly over their interpretation of a matter that Scripture is silent on? They can be demonized, villainized, and have their character absolutely destroyed over their opinion on this matter. All in the name of being right!
What do you think so far? Are we missing the point?
So please, let us get our priorities in the right place. Life is more than just having certain views. Don’t leave out justice, mercy, and loving God with all your heart and your Neighbor as yourself. Don’t leave out the poor and the widow and the orphan. Don’t forget clothing and feeding people. And don’t forget making disciples. And don’t do all that to go through the motions either. I do it out of love.
Ask yourself this…
If you were to ask yourself why God put you here in the church in the world, would you conclude that the answer would be to get instrumental, music right or the other issues lived out? And I understand that creates somewhat of a false economy. So I’m really not trying to say that the issues are not important at all. But I am saying that we can misprioritize things and major in minors.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23
Live the application
I encourage you to take a few minutes and dwell on this. Pray on this. And then make some sort of commitment to moving in the direction of weightier matters without neglecting the others.
Thank you for reading all these posts (make sure to catch yesterday’s post on instrumental music). I hope they get you thinking. But even more importantly, I hope that thinking moves into meaningful action. God is working!
2 Responses
Close to about 1,000 years ago, I heard the phrase, “Majoring in Minors.” What I have always found so interesting with that question? Who determines what is major and/or minor.
Growing up in a “mission field,” and later spending time in the US, one of the main differences was what was argued about. Growing up, there was much more discussion about the validity of the Biblical text, rather than we should many cups, single cup, grape juice, wine, which translation/version was the one and only… And of course, WE ALL knew that the 1637 Staten Vertaling was the One and Only and only one accepted and approved by God… 😉
Sharing God with others around us, showing God-in-us in our daily living was more important
Agreed. In the meantime my spiritual goal is to produce the fruit of the Spirit, love joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Now that is a very real challenge.