In
Christianity, everyone is regarded to be important (not above the others) but
equally. Although, some people, by the virtues of the offices they occupy enjoy
some necessary special treatment.
Please,
understand what we meant by ‘necessary
special treatment’. In the case of a Senior Pastor of a church and a member
of the same church – visiting a gathering dominated by members of that church, you
will realise that the office of that Senior Pastor will afford him some measure
of respect above the other church member who also attend the gathering.
This
form of scenario is not unlikely, because, Jesus Christ depicted this too and
it is not about pride, it is about function. Let us see how:
“… Go into the village over against you, and
straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and
bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord
hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the
daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an
ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
“And the multitudes that went before, and
that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest”. Matthew 21:2-5, 9,
KJV.
As
laid down by the Lord, Jesus Christ (through His leadership to His disciples)
and the doctrines He gave to the whole world, Christianity is a religion in
which love thrives. This love was replicated; strengthened by the Apostles’ and
the converts’ unity (after the Day of Pentecost) – they were all living in one
accord without claims to individuals’ properties, but there was clarity of
apostolic functions. Check Acts 2
Love gone sour:
desires overriding brotherly kindness, godliness shortchanged
If
we would intelligently look at the biblical phrase ‘the curse causeless shall not come’ we will realise that, any issue
that does not have a cause cannot stand firm. What do we mean?
The
division between Apostle Paul and Apostle Barnabas was caused by some things,
part of which were: vengeance, identity and individuality. They were not able
to overcome their differences, which resulted into decimation of their ‘strong
bond’.
In
Christianity today, we can liken the division in Christendom to what transpired
between Paul and Barnabas. Even so, we will have more reasons (responsible) for
the well-known division in the ‘body of
Christ’.
The
polarisation of church establishment (which is indeed a good omen for any
nation that will enjoy peace of God) has ‘division’
in the body of Christ as one of its causes, but the question that anyone should
ask is ‘why is so much division in Christendom?’
These are why
Bro.
Amasokaizer Jack, a lecturer at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, while
presenting a paper on how to solve
social unrest at the 2015 Leadership
Ethics Conference, LEC, said
that conflict is, “Primarily instigated by interest. According to him, when two
people disagree, it is because of their conflicting interests”.[1]
In
other words, the reason many churches spring up is as a result of conflicts
that arise within the church itself.
To
be fair, everybody is to blame. Church is composed of people, and people are
those who control the affairs of the church.
The focal
point of Christianity is “… Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself”. Matthew 22:37, 39, KJV.
However, self-interest has eroded the supposed
love. Majority of people in the church are now concerned about themselves, to
the point that some people now hold information back from others. Does it sound
somehow? Information is capable of liberating people, especially, those who
know how to use it: this is why some individuals can hold information back from
others, to keep people in a place while they continue to forge ahead – self-interest.
Self-interest
is why Christians will have joint business and one of them will defraud the
other; it is why a person will steal a friend’s business ideas and still stab
the vulnerable at the back; it is why senior
ministers will not want their disciples
to make it or why disciples will be destroying the works of their senior
ministers; and it is why we have division in the church – at present.
Remedy to the division provided
Whoever you
are, it is recommended that you check the attitudes you put up in the service
of God in any church you find yourself.
When Jesus
Christ was illustrating the story of a Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:10-14, he revealed how
intentions can vindicate or indicate one of being godless, selfish and of the
flesh.
In this
view, the remedy is to be born again and put up a selfless attitude towards the
things of God.
It should be
realised that the advancement of anyone in the church is to the benefits of
all: it will be good for all members to be rich than for the few to be rich
while majority are poor.
If you would
like to see division completely removed in Christendom, check yourself, your
attitudes to the things of God and to people.
Do you want to be born again?
To be born
again means to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. It is to surrender
yourself to God, by which the Holy Spirit will transform you into a new man.
The
transformation will happen without your understanding but it will begin when
you decide to accept Jesus Christ into your life.
Are you
ready to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? Then say this prayer:
Jesus Christ
I accept you as my Lord and Saviour, today. I give myself to you: I realise
that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. From today, let me be one of your
children – for the rest of my life. In Jesus name I prayed. Amen.
Congratulations,
please:
Join a
church and become active worker for your spiritual growth.
You must
start to read the Bible and pray, on your own, but you also need to do this
with a congregation of believers.
[1]
Amasokaizer Jack, Dealing With Social
Unrest: Leadership Ethics Conference, 2015
