Day 3011 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Revelation 3:16 NIV

Self-righteous and loitering.

Life has become basically an incessant search for a middle ground. There are such deep divides between sections of society that the best it seems that we can ever hope to hope for is a middle ground where everyone is kind of content but also rather upset at all the concession and compromise it took to find this magical place of passive peace. And yet, it seems as though the church thinks itself able to tap-dance over and around all the lines being drawn.

But too many lines have been drawn in this middle ground already.

What's actually happening as a result of this constant pressure to appease is that the church is losing its mind while also losing its purpose simply because it realizes that it must ease on the whole 'speaking of truth' part of this program as, of all the lines that have been drawn, truth is very clearly not welcome across many if not most. And so we see a swelling of this willingness to conform to societal expectations whilst still assuming we're doing what we're called to be doing.

How that seems logical, let along possible to anyone is simply beyond me. But that may just be because I'm carrying a mind and a heart built in some other time and some other way than what seems to fly these days.

Anyway, my point is that what we're trying to do and how many seem to be doing it is entirely counterproductive. We're working against ourselves. We're working against our Savior. We're working against the calling in which we've been entrusted to go and make disciples. Oddly enough, we're failing enormously by trying so hard to win. It's like we're chasing our own tails, completely unaware that this constant running in circles is getting us nowhere.

But maybe that's secretly the idea behind all this catering and complacency finding its way into the church and the messages being shared by some. Maybe it's this hope that if we sound like we're for something, without really being for it, then we can coax people into entering the doors only because they assume that everything they are and everything they're doing as a result of who they've become is entirely okay.

Then again, lying isn't exactly highly thought of by our Father, who just so happens to be the Author of truth. So again, we're kind of just falling apart as we fall into this hope that we can somehow stride somewhere in the middle and therefore successfully reach everyone.

What I don't think many seem to realize in their efforts given over to appeasement of humanity's confused constructs is that much of who we're called to be and the tools that have been given to us to help us be who we're called to be have begun being watered down so as to not offend as drastically as we know they will. We've become entirely fearful of being offensive, all because the world has made it clear that anything harsh or grating or even slightly off-putting is to be left entirely off the table.

You see, that's the problem with trying to please people and God at the same time. What the world wants and what God so fully deserves are unable to exist in this hopeful syncretism that many believe possible. As the verse from yesterday's posts posed though, "What fellowship can light have with darkness?"

The central issue in seeking a middle ground is that all passion and fervor and urgency must be quenched. It has to be calmed, toned down, relaxed and eased off of because any jarring will undo all that's been done to construct this centralized expectation of all sides appeased. We can't retain any intensity or avidity as they're only going to show which side that we lean toward. And, when a middle ground is the goal, there can be no leaning, at least that others can see or hear or feel or assume.

No, we mustn't be hot nor cold, but somewhere in the middle so that we don't burn too warm for those who find comfort in the coolness of the shadows and we're not too frigid for those who remain entirely zealous for their true beliefs.

Seems as though we've been warned against such weakness found in that foolish lack of initiative somewhere. Oh yeah, it's in today's verse from Revelation! This seeking to please everyone is only going to fail everyone, and likely anger everyone. Why? Well, because it's nonsense. It's lazy. It's a sad fearful avoidance of any and all severance or judgement or other equitable hardship.

It's a choice to forgo all extremes simply because we're not willing to embrace the obvious risk that comes from picking a side, from standing for something, from going against the grain and being hated by half, if not more, because of it.

Yet, our minds, which have somehow worked out how a middle ground of endless success and appreciation is possible, remain convinced that God will be pleased with our efforts to make people happy whilst also claiming to honor Him at the same time. Guess those clear warnings are overlooked easily enough when the goal is immediate peace and absolutely no risk of anything else.

Do we not see what is being risked though? In all this effort to mix and mingle the expectations of a fallen world with the righteous commands of our Almighty Father, don't we see all that will be lost in the middle should the middle remain our hope? Things like truth, which is of such great gravity in the scope of our salvation, is left behind. Respect is allowed to flounder. Honor goes out the window. Courage is left to die. Sacrifice is unacceptable.

Ultimately, service is entirely failed toward both sides of this one line that matters above and beyond all the rest that humans think they had the right to draw in this sand.

By not speaking the truth with passion, we fail both Him who called us to do so and those to whom we've been given the opportunity to reach. By not standing upon the Word of God, we fail both its Author and the fallen creation for whom it was written. By denying the all-consuming authority of the cross, we fail both He who died upon it and those for whom He so selflessly did so.

Friends, how much longer we go on attempting this good work with no backbone or tenacity is up to us. But if we honestly think that we can somehow accomplish something by pleasing two opposing sides locked in this eternal struggle between righteousness and evil, we couldn't be more wrong. And because of that, we couldn't be more worthless.

Take that however you feel the need to take it. But do allow me to explain.

For this service in the kingdom of God, compromise isn't to be considered. Concession isn't to be offered. A middle ground cannot exist, because we're either right with Him or we're against Him. It is, was, will always be entirely that simple. All of this other stupidity that is running rampant through countless hearts and minds is nothing but a product of the deception that our adversary uses to keep us from doing the job we've been called to do.

Lukewarm faith is fake. Lukewarm servants are ineffective. Lukewarm Christians are only bearing the Name with no interest in doing what needs to be done in order to bear the fruit.

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."

Do we really think that we can please God by winning over a million souls who know nothing of Him because we've conveniently avoided the parts that people won't like? Do we think we're accomplishing something for His kingdom by speaking a message that's only half-concerned about those who will never see it? Do we think that we'll be welcomed home with a "Well done" having never done anything to implore others to leave behind their assumption that this place is their home?

Friends, riding the bench was never a goal for anyone who sought to compete. You didn't go through the summer of sweating and hurting and feeling horrid trying to make it onto the football team in hopes of never playing in the game. Nobody goes into strict training and planning and undertakes the immense effort and dedication to make it to the Olympics hoping that they get to sit in the stands and watch everyone else succeed.

That's stupid. It makes no sense. It's pointless. Much like a faith that claims to be bold and courageous and built on this Spirit of power and love and self-control that's followed up with an utter lack of action that gives those words their meaning.

If our greatest hope is to avoid all hardships or hatred or controversy or calamity, we're in the wrong game. We're playing for the wrong reasons. We're nothing but self-righteous and loitering. We claim to know of this truth that sets captives free, we claim to be among those who've been set free, and yet we avoid speaking that truth because we're more worried about our personal success or comfort or image than we are about the chains holding people in bondage a million miles away from the One who came to save them.

How dare we think that that kind of faith is in any way pleasing to He who carried our cross and died our death!

Friends, if nothing is risked then nothing can be gained. A lukewarm faith or a half-hearted approach to the sharing of it may be easier. It may be safer. It might seem more successful. But in the end, it's as deadly as doing nothing at all. And as our King tells us here, it will ultimately be met with utter disdain and complete rejection as He spits it from His mouth. Lukewarm faith isn't welcome, because it's incapable of doing anything.

We can keep seeking some imaginary middle ground where everyone feels good and keeps coming back because they know they'll never have to change or grow or do anything they don't want to do. But if we really believe in this faith, in this truth, in the promise of what's to come, how can we settle for hoping there's a middle somewhere between Heaven and hell? And how can we give our lives to the spreading of that false hope to others?

One Way, one Life, one Truth. One chance. Friends, it's okay to be passionate about this faith of ours. It's okay to stand boldly upon the Word. It's okay to risk losing this entire world if it means we don't risk losing our hope. It's okay to stand for something. And in this fight, we should know better than to think there's another option other than right or wrong.

Nobody needs people who hope for compromise. The world needs a church filled with those who refuse to even consider the idea of anything less than what Christ has said, asked for or promised us. And He deserves a people willing to burn so brightly that they offend every darkened corner of this broken world. No more coasting to the finish line. Because if that's all the effort and interest we're willing to invest in this good fight, then that finish line may not bring the prize we're expecting to find.

It might seem like, even feel like we’re doing something beneficial for everyone by combing through His Word, His message, His Gospel and only sharing the parts that keep people interested. It might seem like, feel like we’re walking the hard line of faith along the narrowest of paths. It might seem like, feel like we’re doing all we can to go as far as we’re allowed to go. But to accept any limit is to accept into our minds a place to which we’ll eventually stop. We’re agreeing ahead of time to stay in the middle.

We’re giving ourselves over to the plausible consideration of a lukewarm faith that seeks to do good, just without the willingness to risk anything to see it done.

Far too many are merely self-righteous and loitering. They're frozen upon this middle ground afraid of failing either side of this eternal divide. But friends, if we don't figure out where we stand, we'll fall with the rest. All because we refused to move from the safety we thought could exist somewhere in between He and here. We can’t keep being afraid of the extremes. If our faith really means to us what we claim it means to us, being seen as extreme should be the goal.

Especially in this world where compromise and consolation and all other forms of unacknowledged weakness are more than acceptable substitutes for passion and courage.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold