What I am about to say is going to step on my own toes.
Now that the disclaimer is over I want to share something that I’ve been mulling over for the past few days. You might be wondering what I mean by spit shine Christianity. Did your mom, grandma, aunt, etc. ever lick her thumb or spit into a napkin to rub some kind of dirt off of you as a kid? You got spit shined. As a kid we always had to have that clean appearance whenever we were around other people (at home well that was another story). Back when leather shoes were more popular it also applied to polishing your boots/shoes. Had to have that nice pristine glossy appearance, whether or not the insides stunk to high heavens.
The modern day church clung to that spit shine mentality too. You have to dress a certain way in order to show up to church. A tie was usually required, but if not you had to have on some sweater or other excuse not to have one on. The hair, perfect condition. You look at old church photos and you don’t see anyone with a misplaced hair on their head, no long hair either. Church was all about appearance and numbers. You went out on the street every Saturday and proselytized your neighbors until every last one of them accepted Jesus under pressure of hell and then they jumped into the same cookie cutter you did.
As the church has progressed not a whole lot has changed. Some churches still adhere to the principles of old. You gotta look like a Christian in order to be a Christian. You gotta believe a specific formula of the Bible or else all bets are off. Then there is the flip side that has grunged up the church but still said now you need to look at church this other way. This love way, this all encompassing grace way. People are dirty sinners and should just come as they are, don’t worry you’re covered. Problem is, while the thought pattern might have changed the principle of looking a certain way (and in this case non-conformist) has not changed.
Because there is so much emphasis placed upon man and what looks like, or what does not look like church, and what principle you should stick to, when someone falls it makes it all that much more difficult. It is so easy to end up focusing on the pieces that don’t actually matter so that we feel like we’re in control of this whole thing called Christianity.
Jesus had a few things to say about this, and for some reason none of it’s good. It all comes down on the religious leaders of the day. Don’t tell me the Bible isn’t relevant or applicable. It speaks to every day life, the phrase nothing new under the sun…yeah that’s this.
Matthew 23:13
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
These church leaders weren’t doing very well in the eyes of Christ in leading people to love Jesus. They set the trap with some nice bait and then waited for someone to be drawn in only to shut the door in their face telling them they weren’t good enough to be a believer. You don’t look a certain way, you don’t talk a certain way, you don’t non-conform just right. Then once the person does enough to convert their ways and they’ve ended up more lost than when they started.
Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
27
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
How many times do you hear messages that are all surfacy and feel good? Turn on tv and you’ll see a few. Download a couple podcasts and you’ll find a few more. God loves you and wants something better for you than the circumstances you’re in. I’m a sinner you’re a sinner but we’re all covered under grace. I’m not going to touch any offensive topics for fear you might leave the church, so just know that Jesus loves you.
White washing tombs? What’s that about? It’s kind of like white washing a fence. After a while the tomb started looking dull and lackluster so they painted the outside. Inside there was still a rotting corpse. Bones, cloth, jars of incense having long lost their smell. Inside there was still the presence of death even though they looked pretty on the outside.
Doesn’t that kind of seem like the church today/yesterday? Clean yourself up, come to church looking pretty because that’s how things work here. Inside you can be all ate up. Things can be all shapely on the outside and all out of sorts on the inside but it’s OK because you came to church and you fit what our model looks like. We won’t address your problems inside because it might make you or others uncomfortable. So just fill that pew ma’am and sir. We’ll take your money and occasionally serve you communion so that all is right in the world. All the while you just keep up appearances. You just make sure you’re getting counted in attendance.
I grew up in such a church. A lot of you are probably nodding your heads. I was inspected every Sunday and I had to wear my “Sunday Best”. I also went to a church were it was OK to wear shorts, cut off t shirts or whatever I pleased. No one would judge, now if I wore something obnoxious someone might snicker but all the same it was OK. But the message was still the same, look a certain way and Jesus loves you. Bring your bible, sing those songs and promptly attend whenever those good ‘ole doors are open. Otherwise you’re probably faking.
I can’t tell you what things are really supposed to look like other than what Jesus and the disciples laid out in the Bible (which should be our ultimate template). I can tell you that church today isn’t it…church yesterday didn’t exactly make the cut either.
Test truth continually against the Bible.
Let God clean out the inside because that is what matters.
Does your pastor have a ready room? A place where he sits and waits till he goes out, preps for his message, prays, changes, etc.?
Do you have an iphone?
