The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves
November 21st, 2006 by JW
This statement is meant to be funny by the fact that it is very counter-intuitive. Most comedy is only funny because it has its roots in truth. The truth is, many of us take this attitude. We beat ourselves up for our shortcomings instead of realizing that trying and failing always trumps failing to try. We often focus on the shortcomings of others as well. Many times our preaching is focused on shortcomings as well and we preach the ‘negatives’ with many a rebuke and warning.Balance is important when it comes to our relationships here on Earth, but what about in our preaching? Is there a balance to be had and sought? Is there a formula to be found in the scriptures? One part rebuke, one part warning, one part instruction in righteousness, one part encouragement equals edification? Is there an end to these questions? Do I have any answers?
My answer is this: we need to be as balanced as is called for. A pretty irritating answer right? Let me expound. I believe that the call to zealousness is a call to be greatly unbalanced in its own right. I will now take the risk of using a ‘denominational’ catch phrase… we need to be on fire for the Lord. Does this sound balanced to you?
We have a tendency to view balance with something like awe. Its as if we Christians have subscribed to some zen-esque idea of a karmic plateau where we may reach a ‘balance’ and all will be peace and tranquility. Allow me to burst this beatific bubble. Balance is boring. As is often the case, we can learn lots from our kids. If I sat my kids on a see-saw and placed them in such a way that they sat suspended, motionless, in perfect harmony of fulcrum and lever…. they would go find something else to do. So would those who hear balanced preaching.
The problem is, those who hear balanced preaching don’t find somewhere else to go… they just find something else to do. Maybe they examine the intricate hairdo of the lady in front of them, maybe they thumb through their songbook, maybe they take a tediously longtime to unwrap a piece of candy in an inexplicably loud wrapper, maybe they mentally meander through their latest TaeKwonDo form… of course these are all just extemporaneous examples and bear no resemblence to actual wanderings of this bloggers mind…
In order to be an effective preacher and one that is palatable to the listener’s mind (especially one with such an officially diagnosed short attention span as mine) we need to be wonderfully offbalance. Do our listeners know without a shadow of a doubt that we are ‘on fire’? Or do they feel like the flame has blown out? Jesus made some pretty off kilter, over-the-top statements while he was here on Earth. They made his listeners sit up and take notice. Listen to this:
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
What a ’round-the-bend’ statement this was! This does not sound balanced at all does it? Hate your family to follow Him? What!?! And these are the words of our Lord. I wonder how unbalanced the flood-era folk found Noahs preaching when for 120 years he ‘condemned the world’ (Hebrews 11:7) while he prepared the ark? I wonder how unbalanced the preaching of Jesus seemed to Peter when he was asked over and over, “Peter, do you love me?” (John 21:15-17) The theme is simple, great men of God and the Lord Himself never preached for balance, they preached to the need. This has never been easy.
How well we can empathise with Jonah. He did not want to go before and evil and despicable and utterly lost people and bash them with rebukes, chastening, and warnings. Neither do any of us. But there was a need for Jonah to preach in this manner, and when he was finally gently persuaded to do so, the response was great indeed. Ninevah certainly never looked back from their salvation to say, ‘Hey, that Jonah, what a downer, huh? Would it have killed him to preach something positive to us?”
It may be hard brethren, but we must preach to the need as men of God have always done. Paul was ready and willing to become all things to all men so that he might meet every need in every niche. In God’s eyes we are perfectly balanced when we preach what needs to be preached when it needs to be preached. This certainly means preaching encouragement and love when that is what is needed, but we should never shirk to rebuke and chasten, all for the simplistic notion that we must have ‘balanced’ preaching. Preaching for balance does nothing but prove that our spark has burned out. If we truly have a burning zeal and a passionate love for the truth WE WILL preach to the NEED. Otherwise, we are not needed but for fish food.
Well, that’s one unbalanced guy’s opinion anyway. What do you folks think?
~JW, for thegospelfortoday.com
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November 22nd, 2006 at 10:44 am
Well, as someone who doesn’t preach, I guess I can agree with you. I’ve always felt sorry for the teacher who has to give a lesson to straighten everyone up…such a thankless job. But I also don’t appreciate preachers with a reputation for “rebuke”. They just come off as angry to me. I realize that we are only human and cannot be totally like God but God has many different aspects to His being…rebuke and love, chastening and praise. I think we tend to get stuck in one or the other. So I don’t know. Does that make me a proponent of the “balance theory”?
November 22nd, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Hey Lori,
Thanks for the comment. I agree, there is a time for love and encouragement, and sometimes the need is to have several lessons of this type, however sometimes the need is for several lessons of rebuke… The point I was haphazardly attempting to get across is, that as long as we are preaching for the current need, then we ARE balanced… we shouldn’t just strive for an artificial balance that is unuseful to the needs of the congregation… does that make more sense? Probably not :) Thanks again! ~JW
November 24th, 2006 at 11:51 pm
I thought about this more over the last few days and I agree with your statement. I also think that none of us can achieve the sort of balance that God has as a part of His being. I now think that it’s ok that some speakers tend to be rebukers and some tend to be encouragers because having both sorts in the church is useful and needful in its time. Each of us has different abilities and places of usefulness and that is part of what makes the corporate worship so important (aside from the obvious commandments).
I do think it’s more striking when a known “encourager” rebukes (one of those sermons years ago had me in tears and I still remember the sting of those indictments) and when a known rebuker turns to encouragement. But that rarely happens.
Don’t know if this makes much sense but I’m not known for my deep-thinking. :-)